Michigan State volleyball heads to Mount Pleasant on Saturday for its first true road test of the season, visiting Central Michigan at 6 p.m. inside McGuirk Arena.
The Spartans enter the matchup at 4-0 and riding an 11-set winning streak after back-to-back neutral-site sweeps of LSU on Sept. 1 and South Carolina on Sept. 2 in the inaugural Big Ten/SEC Challenge Week. MSU was sharp on both sides of the net in those wins, hitting .303 as a team and climbing all the way to .463 against South Carolina, its best single-match mark since a .475 outing against Oakland on Sept.
16, 2022. Defensively, the Spartans held LSU and South Carolina to a combined .047 hitting efficiency.
This start also lines up with a familiar early-season surge. After opening 10-0 in 2025, Michigan State is 4-0 again to begin the year, marking the first time the Spartans have started 4-0 in consecutive seasons since 2011-12.
Senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston powered the offense over the two-match stretch, finishing with a team-high 25 kills. Her biggest night came against South Carolina, where she posted a team- and career-best 18 kills while hitting .548.
Senior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska led the Spartans with 14 kills against LSU and then added a season- and team-high 14 digs in the win over the Gamecocks. She leads MSU this season with 49 kills and 3.77 kills per set.
Michigan State also got strong work in the middle. Senior Zora Hardison and junior Carmen Waye combined to anchor the block, with Hardison averaging 1.67 blocks per set and Waye at 1.33 across the two matches.
Hardison had five total blocks against LSU, while Waye matched that number against South Carolina. Waye also delivered an efficient all-around performance against the Gamecocks, finishing with a season-high 11 kills on .688 hitting, and she added a team- and career-best three service aces in the win over LSU.
Redshirt sophomore setter Malayah Long kept the offense moving in both matches, leading MSU in assists with 29 against LSU and 35 against South Carolina. She is averaging 10.15 assists per set so far this season.
Central Michigan comes into Saturday at 0-4 and will play two matches against Illinois State before hosting the Spartans. The Chippewas hold the all-time edge in the series, 29-22-2, including an 11-3-1 record in Mount Pleasant.
Michigan State has won seven straight in the matchup, with its last loss to Central Michigan coming on Sept. 6, 1994 on the road. The teams last met in a 3-1 Spartan win on Sept.
18, 2021.
Central Michigan is led by head coach Arielle Wilson, now in her second season. Wilson previously served as MSU’s volunteer assistant coach during the 2018 season alongside then-MSU assistant coach Kristen Kelsay.
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Michigan State Is Making A Sideline Change Fans Will Notice Fast
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The shift comes as the NCAA has removed the rule that had limited the number of coaches, opening the door for Michigan State to carry 31 coaches and use additional staff in the press box to help communicate information. For a program trying to sharpen operation and get everyone in the right place before the snap, the setup gives the Spartans a different kind of game-day structure, even if the bigger question is still how much smoother it will make everything once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]