The Spartan volleyball team left East Lansing on Thursday with hopes of returning with a 9-0 record and wins over Wisconsin on Friday and Northwestern on Saturday. Twenty-eight service errors later, the Spartans (7-2, 0-2 Big Ten) found themselves on the first losing streak of the season, falling 3-1 to No.
Evanston, Ill. - Twenty-four hours after the MSU volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season, it had a shot at redemption. But the Spartans (7-2, 0-2 Big Ten) failed to close the weekend with a win as the Northwestern Wildcats swept them 3-0 at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday. MSU couldn’t overcome a balanced Northwestern outing, Spartan head coach Chuck Erbe said, and lost 24-30, 30-32, 20-30.
Madison, Wisc. - After seven straight wins, the Spartan volleyball team\'s winning streak came to a screeching halt Friday, as the Wisconsin Badgers rolled through MSU 3-1. "They didn\'t do anything I didn\'t expect," Spartan head coach Chuck Erbe said. The Badgers (7-2, 1-0) used various rallies throughout the four game match to break down the Spartans en route to the home victory winning 30-24, 30-18, 25-30, 30-20. The Spartans (7-1, 0-1) tried to control their poor passing and serve receiving in an effort to keep the match close, but the Badgers were too much. Outside hitter Erin Byrd led the Badgers with 20 kills and 11 digs, claiming her fourth double-double of the season. Middle blocker Sherisa Livingston also added 19 kills for the Badgers, but fell short of spectacular with 11 attack errors. Senior outside hitter Erin Hartley and junior outside hitter Kyla Smith led the Spartans with 13 kills each.
MSU’s volleyball team has won all its matches this season, but the “real season” is about to get underway. The Spartans (7-0) open Big Ten play at 7 p.m.
In a conference as stocked with talent as the Big Ten, it’s hard to try and pick a clear favorite.
Surprises have surrounded sophomore outside hitter-turned-defensive specialist Stephanie Knopp all year.A pre-season chat with MSU head coach Chuck Erbe left Knopp thinking she had to improve if she wanted to play, she said.
Things are good in the world of MSU volleyball. The Spartans (7-0) are off to their best start in 12 years, and one of their star players is the reigning Big Ten Volleyball Player of the Week. Senior outside hitter Erin Hartley earned the honor with an MVP effort in the Coca-Cola Spartan Invitational, which the Spartans won this weekend.
Senior outside hitter Erin Hartley is no stranger to personal accolades.She can now add most valuable player of the Coca-Cola Spartan Invitational to her list of individual accomplishments, after she led the Spartans (7-0) to another undefeated weekend and tournament title at Jenison Field House.MSU hasn’t started the season 7-0 since 1989.Spartan head coach Chuck Erbe said Hartley is playing at a level he has never witnessed.“Erin Hartley played the best weekend of volleyball I have ever seen,” he said.
Listening to Spartan volleyball players and coaches talk, you’d think they were rehearsing an Aretha Franklin song. “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.” Head coach Chuck Erbe knows those seven letters are embedded in the minds of his players as they look to make it two tournament titles in a row at the Coca-Cola Spartan Invitational this weekend. “I’ve always told them the first rule of war is to respect your opponent,” Erbe said.
On a team where experience is minimal and youth is abundant, Spartan volleyball head coach Chuck Erbe needs some of the youth to mature quickly. Freshman outside hitter Michelle Kopka - one of seven freshmen on the team - took steps in the right direction in Friday and Saturday’s MSU Volleyball Classic.
Good teams usually have one player it can turn to in pressure situations. Very good teams may have two.
The MSU volleyball team can check one goal off its to-do list after winning all four of its matches at this weekend’s MSU Volleyball Classic at Jenison Field House. “To win this tournament on our home court was a big goal of ours,” senior outside hitter Erin Hartley said. The Spartans defeated Auburn 3-1 and Dayton 3-1 on Friday and capped the tournament with 3-1 victories against Denver and Western Michigan on Saturday. “These early season victories will help the team become more sure of itself,” sophomore setter Nikki Colson said. “It’s an incredible confidence booster.
Junior outside hitter Kyla Smith knew before Friday’s opening match of the MSU Volleyball Classic that she would have to take some pressure off senior outside hitter Erin Hartley.
A bundle of nerves. Spartan volleyball coach Chuck Erbe knows his team will be battling its emotions as well as Auburn, Dayton, Denver and Western Michigan this weekend.
On every team, every player has some responsibility. Some have more than others. In volleyball, the setter plays that lead roll. Spartan volleyball Coach Chuck Erbe describes the setter position as similar to other sports’ positions often mentioned in the same breath as leadership. “It’s like the quarterback in football and the point guard in basketball,” Erbe said.