Michigan State gets a Big Ten opening night with real weight behind it Friday in East Lansing.
For the first time in 10 years, the Spartans will begin conference play at home, and the matchup comes against another unbeaten team: Washington. First serve is set for 6 p.m. inside the Breslin Center, with the match also kicking off MSU’s alumni weekend.
The Spartans arrive at 10-0 after wrapping up non-conference play with a four-set win over Oakland and a sweep of Drake last week. It’s the second straight season Michigan State has run the table in non-conference play, and the program has now done it five times overall, also in 2001, 2009, 2012 and 2025.
Even more notable, this is the first time in program history the Spartans have gone undefeated in non-conference play in back-to-back seasons. MSU is one of three Big Ten teams without a loss entering league play, alongside Nebraska and Washington, and one of seven teams nationally to finish non-conference action unbeaten in 2026.
The Spartans are also 10-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1975-76.
Michigan State is getting votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll for the second straight week and third time overall this season. Before landing in the preseason poll, MSU had not received votes in the national rankings since 2018.
The numbers have been loud, too. The Spartans hit .312 combined last week and went even higher against Drake, finishing at .442.
On the other side of the net, they held opponents to .094 hitting across the two matches, good for the second-best opponent hitting percentage in the Big Ten last week. So far this season, MSU leads the NCAA in hitting efficiency at .345 and ranks third nationally in opponent hitting efficiency at .118.
A big part of that has been the play of junior middle blocker Carmen Waye, who turned in a huge week. Against Oakland, she posted her first-career double-double with career highs in kills (16) and total blocks (10), while hitting .552 without an error.
She nearly added a triple-double, finishing with a career-best seven digs. Against Drake, she again led MSU in service aces with a career-best three for the second time this season.
Her 10 blocks were the most by an MSU player in a single match since Zuzanna Kulig had 12 against Illinois during the 2024 season. Waye is hitting .542 on the year, which ranks first in the country, and she was second in the conference last week in blocks per set at 2.00.
Senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston also made her return to the lineup against Drake and wasted no time making an impact. She put down a career-high 18 kills for the second time this season, hit .640, and recorded her seventh straight match and eighth overall with double-digit kills this year.
Redshirt sophomore setter Malayah Long continued to steer an offense that’s been humming at an NCAA-best level. She handed out 46 assists against Oakland, her second-best total of the season, and added eight digs.
Against Drake, she finished with a team-high 32 assists. For the week, she ranked ninth in the Big Ten in assists per set at 11.14.
Senior libero Lia Schneider did her part defensively, too. She posted a season-high 17 digs against Oakland, her fourth double-digit dig match of the season and third in MSU’s last five outings. She added six more against Drake and led the team with 23 digs on the week, averaging 3.29 per set.
Friday’s opener carries a little extra history with it for Michigan State. The Spartans last opened Big Ten play at home in 2016, when they beat Iowa 3-0 in East Lansing.
Since then, MSU is 3-7 in conference openers and last won one on the road at Michigan in 2023. If the Spartans can win both matches this weekend, it would be the first time since 2017 that they’ve started Big Ten play 2-0.
Washington comes in with its own spotless record at 9-0 after sweeps of South Dakota State and South Dakota last weekend. The Huskies lead the all-time series 3-1, though Michigan State grabbed its first win in the matchup last season in a four-set battle in Seattle: 15-25, 30-28, 33-31, 25-20. Washington is also 1-0 in East Lansing, with its last win in the series coming in a 3-1 result during the 2024 season, when the two programs met as conference foes for the first time.
Head coach Leslie Gabriel is in her fourth season leading Washington and her 26th year overall with the Huskies in 2026. Gabriel and MSU head coach Kristen Kelsay both worked as assistants under former Washington head coach and current Minnesota head coach Keegan Cook before taking over their current programs.
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