Spartan Volleyball Welcomes Ohio State and No. 1 Penn State to Jenison Field House This Weekend

East Lansing, Mich. – The Michigan State University volleyball team (15-11, 6-8) return home to host a pair of critical Big Ten matches this weekend. On

East Lansing, Mich. – The Michigan State University volleyball team (15-11, 6-8) return home to host a pair of critical Big Ten matches this weekend. On Friday, the Spartans will welcome Ohio State (12-11, 6-8) for a 6:30 p.m. first serve, in what is an important game in the conference standings as both teams stand in a four-way tie for sixth place. In a nationally broadcasted game on Saturday, the Green and White host No. 1 Penn State (22-2, 14-0) at 5 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network. 

 

GAINING NATIONAL RECOGNITION 

The Spartans received 13 votes in the CSTV/AVCA National Top-25 poll this week. It is the first time they have seen their name among the vote getters since the preseason list.   

 

MSU’s climb in the rankings is due to their three wins against ranked teams in their last five contests. The Spartans swept No. 13 Minnesota at home on October 20 to begin the run, then followed it up with a 3-1 home win over No. 20 Michigan and a 3-1 road victory at No. 7 Wisconsin. The upset of the Badgers was Head Coach Cathy George’s first win over a top-10 team in her three years in Green and White. 

 

WEEKEND RECAP 

The Spartans knocked off No. 7 Wisconsin on Friday night, 3-1 (30-21, 25-30, 30-26, 30-28) in front of 5,092 fans at the University of Wisconsin Field House. This was MSU’s first win over Wisconsin since 2003 and only their fourth-ever in 26 meetings in Madison.  

 

Johnson tallied a season-best 26 kills on the night to lead the Spartan attack. Schatzle closed out the match strong in the final two games, posting her 12th double-double of the season with 14 kills and 16 digs, while freshman Jenilee Rathje had a career-high with 13 kills. O’Reilly dished out 59 assists, also adding seven digs and five kills, and Trogdon posted a career-best 19 digs on the night. The Spartans’ 72 team assists were a new season-high. 

 

MSU dropped a tight road contest at Illinois on Saturday, 3-1 (28-30, 30-23, 28-30, 25-30), at Huff Hall. The Spartans fell to 15-11 overall and 6-8 in the league, sitting in a four-way tie for sixth place with Northwestern, Minnesota and Ohio State. 

 

Senior Ashley Schatzle compiled her fourth straight double-double (12th of the season) with a team-high 24 kills and 14 digs. Classmate Katie Johnson also had a double-double, her fifth of the 2007 campaign, posting 18 kills and tying a season-high with 13 digs. Sophomore Vanessa King had a solid afternoon with 13 kills (.435 hitting percentage) and five block assists. Senior Miken Trogdon broke her career-high for the second-straight night with 21 digs, leading the Spartans, who set a season-best with 72 digs as a team. Freshman Lauren O’Reilly dished out 57 assists, while adding five block assists, tying a season-high. 

 

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES 

Ohio State had a four-match winning streak snapped on Sunday, as they fell to Purdue, 3-1. The Buckeyes (12-11 overall) are in a four-way tie with the Spartans (along with Minnesota and Northwestern) for sixth place in the league at 6-8.  

 

Danielle Meyer leads the team and is ninth in the Big Ten with 350 kills and also paces the Buckeyes with 119 blocks, good for fifth in the conference. As a team, OSU is eighth in both hitting percentage (.199) and opponent’s hitting percentage (.191). They are also fourth in service aces and fifth in total blocks.   

 

SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS 

Penn State, ranked No. 1 in the latest AVCA poll, has won 14-straight, dropping only four games during that span. The Nittany Lions are currently 22-2 overall and perfect in the Big Ten at 14-0. Dating back to last season, they have won 19 straight conference matches. 

 

PSU leads the conference in six of the major statistical categories (hitting percentage, opponent’s hitting percentage, kills, blocks, assists and service aces). Megan Hodge leads the way with 376 kills, followed closely by Nicole Fawcett (362). Christa Harmotto leads the Big Ten with a .474 hitting percentage and is second with 130 total blocks.