The volleyball senior class has seen steady, season-by-season progression since joining the program. Coming in as freshmen, middle blocker Alexis Mathews, setter Kristen Kelsay and outside hitter Kelsey Kuipers entered a program that hadn’t seen a great amount of national success.
Senior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski transferred to MSU from Northern Illinois before her junior year. Despite only being with the program for two years, her impact on the team’s success has been measurable. Last season, Wicinski helped the Spartans achieve a 25-10 overall record and Sweet Sixteen finish in the NCAA Tournament. It was a definite leap forward in the program.
It’s no secret the MSU volleyball team is talented. In the past few weeks, it’s become more clear just how talented the roster is in a historical sense. A week after junior libero Kori Moster became the all-time digs leader in MSU history, senior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski set the all-time career kills record against Iowa on Saturday.
Since becoming a member of the MSU volleyball team, junior libero Kori Moster knew she wanted to leave her mark on the program. In her three years as a Spartan, her impact has been considerable. In addition to strong leadership, the co-captain has entered her name into Spartan lore.
Junior libero Kori Moster entered the Spartan record books last Friday. With 24 digs in the team’s 3-1 victory over Northwestern, Moster topped former MSU volleyball outside hitter Veronica Morales to become MSU’s all-time digs leader.
After MSU began Big Ten season with a stunning upset over then-No. 1 Penn State at home, it’s a safe assumption the Nittany Lions had their rematch against the Spartans circled on the calender.
A swift fall followed a historic season start for the MSU volleyball team, but they regained their footing against another sliding Big Ten team.
The second half of the volleyball season is approaching, and the No. 14 Spartans will hope to begin the second half how they began the first one — with wins over Penn State and Ohio State. The first half upsets over then-No. 1 Penn State and then-No. 13 Ohio State were the first of a strong Big Ten start for volleyball. However, MSU (17-5 overall, 6-4 Big Ten) finished the first half with a four-game losing streak after winning the first 10.
In the past couple weeks, a storybook season for the volleyball team steadily declined into anything but. After being ranked No. 5, winning six-straight matches at the start of Big Ten play and posting the best start to the season since 1996, the Spartans (17-5 overall, 6-4 Big Ten) lost the fire that enabled them to topple some of the top teams in the nation.
After a hot start to the season, the volleyball team is reeling. With a loss to Indiana (9-12 overall, 1-9 Big Ten) in five sets (17-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 12-15) on Saturday night, the volleyball team (17-5, 6-4) has now lost four straight Big Ten matches after a 6-0 start to conference play.
The No. 10 volleyball team (17-4 overall, 6-3 Big Ten) will look to snap a three-match losing streak Saturday when they face Indiana (8-12, 0-9) at Jenison Field House.
With a third-consecutive loss, head coach Cathy George said it’s time for the volleyball team to get back to basics — and back to work. “People are trying to do a little bit too much more than they have to,” George said. “You don’t have to press to get things done. You have to execute to get things done. There has to be patience in your game.”
After nearly a decade at MSU, Cathy George is in special territory. By building the MSU volleyball program into a serious Big Ten contender and starting the season off with the best record of any Spartan team since 1996, the volleyball head coach has the opportunity to place the program among the national elite – a path not unlike the one taken years ago by men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo.
Head coach Cathy George is dangerously close to having the program where she wants it to be. With a hot start that included wins over reigning national runner-up Oregon and perennial powerhouse Penn State, the volleyball team has been nothing short of stellar this fall. Here is what the team has accomplished on the hardwood:
One of the season’s most defining characteristics has been the mental toughness the volleyball team displayed in several hard-fought matches. So fittingly, it was mental mistakes that cost the team its previous two Big Ten games.
The volleyball team dropped its first Big Ten game Thursday night against Minnesota. Now they face something they have yet to see on their schedule — a two day break in-between games.
After a thrilling 14-4 comeback in the first set, it seemed as though the Spartans were on their way to another Big Ten victory. Perhaps the improbable first set comeback drained them. Or maybe it was simply an off-night.
The No. 5 MSU volleyball team will resume its Big Ten season tonight, taking on No. 10 Minnesota (16-3 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) on the road. The match will be televised on ESPN2 live at 8 p.m.
From the word “go,” it was immediately apparent why No. 7 Michigan State and No. 9 Nebraska were the last undefeated teams remaining in Big Ten play.
With pink accompanying the usual green and white uniforms, MSU topped Iowa for their fourteenth straight win. During “Dig Pink Night,” a game dedicated to breast cancer awareness, the No. 7 Spartans (16-1 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) remained undefeated in Big Ten play as they beat Iowa (9-8, 0-5) in straight sets (25-14, 25-13, 25-21).