Michigan State volleyball is headed to Kentucky this weekend for a two-match stop at the Morehead State Invite, with the Spartans set to face Cincinnati on Friday, Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. and host Morehead State on Sept. 12 at 2 p.m. Both matches will stream on ESPN+.
The trip comes with Michigan State rolling. The Spartans are 6-0, riding a 17-set winning streak after a straight-set win over Western Michigan on Tuesday.
MSU was sharp in that one, hitting .345 while limiting the Broncos to .138. It was the Spartans’ fifth match of the season with a hitting percentage of .300 or better, and they now lead the country in hitting efficiency at .354 through six matches.
That 6-0 start also puts Michigan State in rare company. The Spartans have opened 6-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2011-12, and the current 17-set run is their longest since they won 23 straight sets during the 2018 season, a stretch that ran from Sept. 1 at UNC through Sept. 15 against Western Michigan.
MSU hasn’t dropped a set since the third set against Miami in its season opener on Aug. 28.
A few familiar names have fueled the surge. Senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston led the Spartans in kills for the third straight match against Western Michigan, finishing with 10.
It was her fourth double-digit kill performance of the season, and she’s been especially efficient lately, hitting .464 over MSU’s last three matches. Bankston also matched a career high with three total blocks.
Redshirt sophomore setter Malayah Long kept the offense humming with a team-high 34 assists against the Broncos. She’s averaging 10.11 assists per set, which ranks sixth among setters in the conference this season.
Michigan State also got strong work in the middle. Junior Carmen Waye led the team with four total blocks against Western Michigan, while senior Zora Hardison added two blocks and turned in a highly efficient night offensively, going for nine kills on 12 swings without an error for a .750 hitting percentage. On the season, Waye is averaging 1.13 blocks per set and Hardison is at 1.16, with Waye leading the team in hitting percentage at .519 and Hardison right behind at .492.
Defensively, senior libero Lia Schneider posted her best outing of the year so far with a team- and season-high 14 digs against Western Michigan. She leads MSU with 2.55 digs per set and reached the 1,000-career dig milestone in the Spartans’ win at Central Michigan on Sept. 5.
Cincinnati enters Friday at 4-2 after sweeping Valparaiso and Oakland before losing in straight sets to Michigan last weekend at the Valpo Popcorn Classic. The Bearcats will play Morehead State on Thursday before meeting the Spartans.
Michigan State owns the series 7-2-1 and has taken the last three meetings, including a 3-1 win in East Lansing on Sept. 6, 2019.
Cincinnati’s last win in the matchup came in a 3-1 neutral-site result on Oct. 19, 1990.
Danijela Tomic is in her second season as head coach of the Bearcats.
Morehead State is also 4-2, coming off losses to Tennessee and Colgate last week after beating Fairfield in Knoxville. The Eagles won the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title last season, and Saturday’s match will be just the second all-time meeting between the programs and the first since Morehead State’s 2-1 win on Sept. 16, 1978.
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Still, the Spartans did get a second-half response, with Luke Spadafora putting them on the board after Oscar Huerta picked up his second assist of the season. The fight was there, but the larger concern was how quickly Michigan State had to play from behind, and that leaves a familiar test ahead when Northwestern comes to East Lansing next. [Read more 🡒]