MOREHEAD, Ky. - Michigan State left the Morehead State Invitational with another clean sweep Saturday afternoon, taking down Morehead State 3-0 inside Johnson Arena and pushing its record to 8-0.
The Spartans won the match 25-22, 25-22, 25-19 and kept rolling in every part of the box score. MSU hit .352, limited Morehead State to .164, and finished ahead in kills, 49-37, service aces, 3-2, total blocks, 8-3.5, and digs, 49-39.
The win also stretched Michigan State’s set winning streak to 23 straight, matching the second-longest run in program history from the 2018 season. On top of that, the Spartans are 8-0 to start back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1975-76.
Junior middle blocker Carmen Waye led the way with 11 kills, tying her season high while hitting .733 with no errors. She also set a team and career high with six total blocks.
Senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston matched her with 11 kills of her own, her fifth straight match with double-digit kills, and added eight digs and three blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Bianca Mumcular and freshman outside hitter Madi Andrews each chipped in seven kills.
Redshirt sophomore setter Malayah Long ran the offense with 31 assists and added a service ace. Junior opposite Hayley Ogden posted a team-high two aces and four blocks, while senior libero Lia Schneider led the Spartans with 14 digs, tying her season high.
Michigan State had to work through some early swings in the first set. Morehead State grabbed a 6-5 lead before the Spartans answered with a 4-0 burst, fueled by two Ogden aces, a Mumcular kill and a pair of Eagle attack errors. The Eagles later tied it at 11-11, but MSU regained control with kills from Waye and Bankston, then closed the set with an Ogden and Hardison block after Morehead State had fought off the first set point.
The second set followed a similar script. Waye got MSU moving early, and after the Eagles briefly moved ahead 10-9, the Spartans reclaimed the lead with a Bankston kill and another Morehead State error.
Andrews helped widen the margin, and after the Eagles clawed back to 19-19, Ogden and Waye teamed up for a block that pushed MSU back in front. Andrews added another kill, Long dropped in a dump to reach set point, and a service error ended it at 25-22.
The Spartans came out sharper in the third, jumping to an 8-2 lead before Morehead State answered with four straight points. Michigan State settled back in, though, and Waye’s 11th kill of the match helped build a 15-10 advantage at the media timeout.
From there, Long served an ace, Bankston added a kill, and Ogden kept the pressure on with back-to-back kills and another block with Waye as MSU surged to 20-11. Morehead State trimmed the gap to 23-18, but Mumcular put the Spartans on match point, and Taylah Holdem finished it off at 25-19.
In Other News...
Michigan State Faces An Early Confidence Test Before Notre Dame
Michigan State gets a quick chance to steady things at home in its second game of the season, with Eastern Michigan coming to East Lansing on Saturday afternoon for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on the Big Ten Network. The Spartans opened with a 30-20 win over Toledo, a result that gave them a baseline to build on as they start stacking games before the schedule gets more demanding.
Eastern Michigan arrives at 1-1 after a loss to San Jose State, and the matchup gives Michigan State a useful early read on where it stands heading toward a bigger test against Notre Dame. Spartans Wires staff has already leaned toward a Michigan State win, but this one is less about outside picks than whether the Spartans can show the kind of consistency that makes an early-season confidence boost mean something. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Has One Chance To Silence A Familiar Letdown Fear
Michigan State heads into its matchup with Eastern Michigan carrying a very familiar kind of pressure, the sort that comes with being expected to handle business and looking for a cleaner night than some recent uneasy moments have offered. The conversation around the game has centered on Alessio Milivojevic settling in at quarterback, the staffs approach to keeping the offense steady, and how the Spartans can avoid letting a supposedly manageable opponent linger into the kind of game that creates noise.
Four Detroit News writers all see Michigan State winning, though with different ideas about how comfortable it might look by the final whistle. Eastern Michigan brings a familiar face in quarterback Noah Kim and enough coaching familiarity to make this more than a throwaway September stop, which is part of why the Spartans cannot afford the kind of flat start that fuels old doubts. A decisive performance would quiet some of that letdown fear, even if the larger questions around consistency remain waiting for another week. [Read more 🡒]
Spartans Showed Fight In First Loss But A Bigger Issue Emerged
Michigan States mens soccer team ran into its first setback of the season Friday night, dropping a 3-1 decision to Kansas City at Durwood Soccer Stadium. The Spartans never found the early footing theyd enjoyed in their unbeaten start, as Kansas City controlled the opening stretch and kept Michigan State chasing for much of the match.
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 🡒]