Ann Arbor - After two hours and four games of volleyball Wednesday at the Cliff Keen Arena, the Michigan Wolverines and the MSU Spartans were right where they started - tied.
The job of a middle blocker is simple - don’t stay in one spot for too long and attack from all angles at the net.
When Michigan’s and MSU’s volleyball teams square off at 7 p.m. tonight at Michigan’s Cliff Keen Arena, it will be for more than in-state bragging rights.
Two weekend losses against Iowa and Minnesota would have left the MSU volleyball team with zero wins in four tries against Big Ten opponents.But MSU didn’t fall in that hole.
Despite a shaky finish Saturday evening at Jenison Field House, the Spartan volleyball team hung on to defeat the visiting Iowa Hawkeyes 3-1.The Spartans (9-2, 2-2) extended its home winning streak to nine games with the victory.Game one began with a shower of Spartan points as sophomore setter Nikki Colson (match-high 49 assists) served for seven straight points.The Spartans’ lead would stretch to nine with sophomore middle blocker Jenny Rood’s (11 kills, five blocks) swooping kill.The Hawkeyes, (2-8, 0-4) would get no closer than eight points the rest of the game, which was sealed with a solo block from junior outside hitter Kyla Smith (match-highs with 15 kills and four solo blocks) making the final 30-18.Game two was more of the same from the home team, as sophomore defensive specialist Stephanie Knopp served eight straight points to give the Spartans an 9-0 lead.
Despite a shaky finish Saturday evening at Jenison Field House, the Spartan volleyball team hung on to defeat the visiting Iowa Hawkeyes 3-1.The Spartans (9-2, 2-2) extended its home winning streak to nine games with the victory.Game one began with a shower of Spartan points as sophomore setter Nikki Colson (match-high 49 assists) served for seven straight points.The Spartans’ lead would stretch to nine with sophomore middle blocker Jenny Rood’s (11 kills, five blocks) swooping kill.The Hawkeyes, (2-8, 0-4) would get no closer than eight points the rest of the game, which was sealed with a solo block from junior outside hitter Kyla Smith (match-highs with 15 kills and four solo blocks) making the final 30-18.Game two was more of the same from the home team, as sophomore defensive specialist Stephanie Knopp served eight straight points to give the Spartans an 9-0 lead.
The Spartan volleyball team took the first step Friday towards rectifying two losses last weekend at Jenison Field House as they rolled over the No.
The MSU volleyball team is out to prove it’s not knocked out after losing two straight in last weekend’s Big Ten opening matches.The bell rings to start the second round at 7 p.m.
Senior defensive specialist Lisa Ashton had big plans for this season. Her relentless hustle on defense, her work ethic and her leadership were going to be inspirational for her teammates.What the Spartan volleyball co-captain didn’t plan on giving her teammates was a lesson in vulnerability and optimism.“Maybe taking a look at me on the sidelines will remind them they aren’t guaranteed four years of play,” Ashton said.
The MSU Spartan volleyball team saw two extreme ends of the spectrum last weekend. At No.
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.