Thursday, March 28, 2024

Sports

VOLLEYBALL

Losing weekend continues for volleyball team; MSU loses to Northwestern, 3-0

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.

VOLLEYBALL

Badgers end Spartan winning ways; spikers go down 3-1

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.

SPORTS

Flights around sports stadiums banned by FAA

The Associated Press Washington - The government has banned all aircraft from flying within three miles of major professional and college sporting events and any other large open air gathering. The Federal Aviation Administration’s notice to pilots became effective at noon Thursday, said spokeswoman Laura Brown.

FOOTBALL

Smoker, Van Dyke play video games, share a pad, agree its all about support

Roommates Jeff Smoker and Ryan Van Dyke couldn’t wait to give the video game, NCAA Football 2002, a shot this summer.The two quarterbacks, who shared playing time during the Spartans 35-21 victory over Central Michigan last week, flicked on the television screen, loaded up their Sony PlayStation 2 and were amused at what they saw.Smoker, a sophomore, was listed as MSU’s starting quarterback, while Van Dyke, a senior, was depicted as backup with one noticeably inaccurate quality.“I’m just the backup, and I don’t appreciate that they have me left-handed too,” joked Van Dyke, who’s right-handed.

SPORTS

Toloff, team prepares for Spartan invite

Chris Toloff isn’t labeled with any of the question marks that usually hover around true freshmen competing in Division I athletics.The rookie runner for the MSU men’s cross country team is strong (he says he prefers courses with more hills to utilize his power), he’s talented (finishing second overall in MSU’s first race of the season), and he’s confident.“I expect big things for myself this year,” Toloff said.

ICE HOCKEY

Hockey ticket goof-up angers students

A rude awakening greeted several Spartan hockey fans Monday morning when their student season tickets weren’t available as scheduled in the Athletic Ticket Office in Jenison Field House. The tickets were supposed to be available at 8 a.m.