Michigan State wasted no time settling in at Morehead State’s Johnson Arena, rolling past Cincinnati in straight sets Friday afternoon to keep its unbeaten start intact and stretch its winning streak to seven.
The Spartans controlled the match from start to finish, taking the Bearcats 25-20, 25-17, 25-14 in the opening round of the Morehead State Invitational. With the win, MSU improved to 7-0 overall and 0-0 in Big Ten play, while Cincinnati fell to 5-3 and 0-0 in Big 12 action.
It’s the second straight season Michigan State has opened 7-0, something the program hadn’t done in back-to-back years since 1975-76. The Spartans also reached 20 consecutive set wins, their longest such run since a 23-set streak in 2018.
Michigan State’s numbers told the story. The Spartans hit .364 and held Cincinnati to .122, while outpacing the Bearcats in kills, 42-29, blocks, 9-2, service aces, 9-2, and digs, 37-31.
Senior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska led the way with 12 kills and matched teammate Alanna Bankston with a team-high three service aces. Bankston added 10 kills on .529 hitting, giving her a fourth straight match in double figures and a career-high in aces.
Senior middle blocker Zora Hardison chipped in six kills on .556 hitting and posted a team and season-high seven total blocks. Junior opposite Hayley Ogden and junior middle blocker Carmen Waye each finished with five kills.
Setter Malayah Long handled the offense with 25 assists and nearly landed a double-double, finishing with a team and season-high nine digs. Senior libero Lia Schneider added eight digs, and redshirt sophomore defensive specialist Sarah Vellucci had seven.
Michigan State had to work through some early back-and-forth in the first set, but once the Spartans found their rhythm, they took control. Cincinnati briefly grabbed a pair of one-point leads before a Bankston kill sparked a 4-1 run that pushed MSU ahead 15-13. From there, the Spartans kept applying pressure, stretching the margin to five and closing the set when Schneider served up the final ace for a 25-20 finish.
The second set opened with Cincinnati jumping ahead 3-0, but MSU answered quickly. A Staniszewska kill and a block from Ogden and Hardison helped erase the deficit, and a 5-0 surge soon after turned the set in the Spartans’ favor.
Long even got involved at the net, Vellucci added an ace, and Hardison kept the momentum rolling as MSU built an 8-4 edge. Cincinnati made a brief push to trim the gap, but Michigan State responded with enough clean finishing to stay in front and ended the frame on a Bankston ace for a 25-17 win.
The third set never really gave Cincinnati a chance. Michigan State opened with a 5-0 burst behind blocks, an Ogden kill and Cincinnati errors, then buried the Bearcats with a 6-0 run that included two Bankston kills, two Staniszewska aces and more Cincinnati mistakes.
The Spartans kept widening the gap, and after Waye and Long each put down kills, MSU reached its largest lead of the night at 15-5. Cincinnati managed to stop a pair of match points, but Kalea Norton finished it off with a dump to seal the sweep at 25-14.
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