Spartans Host Western Michigan Tuesday - Michigan State University Athletics

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State volleyball returns home this week for a matchup between two undefeated teams, taking on Western Michigan (6-0) on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. inside the Breslin Center. Tuesday's match will stream on B1G+. Fans can tune into Scott Moore's call of the action on MSUSpartans.com or via the Michigan State Athletics app. The Spartans are 5-0 and on a 14-set winning streak after neutral-site sweeps of LSU (Sept. 1) and South Carolina (Sept. 2) and a straight-set victory at Central Michigan (Sept. 5) last week. MSU hit at a conference-leading .347 clip across its three matches last week, including a .463 hitting percentage against the Gamecocks, its best single-match hitting percentage as a team since hitting .475 against Oakland on Sept. 16, 2022. MSU held its opponents to a combined .092 clip to rank second in the conference across last week's matches. MSU currently leads the country in hitting percentage with a .356 overall clip over its five matches. After a 10-0 start in 2025, MSU is 5-0 to start the season in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2011-12. The Spartans' 14-set winning streak is their longest since winning 23-straight sets during the 2018 season from Sept. 1 (at UNC, 3-1) to Sept. 15 (vs. Western Michigan, 3-1). Individually, senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston totaled a team-best 38 kills (4.22 k/s) over MSU's three matches, including a team and career-high 18 against South Carolina on .548 hitting. She followed that performance up with a team-best 13 kills at Central Michigan on a .542 clip. Bankston's 4.22 kills per set ranked fourth in the conference last week, while her 18 kills against South Carolina were the most in a three-set match in the B1G so far this season. Senior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska led MSU in kills against LSU with 14 and added a season and team-best 14 digs in MSU's win over the Gamecocks. Staniszewska currently leads MSU this season in kills (53) and is second behind Bankston (3.57) in kills per set with 3.53. MSU's middle blockers, senior Zora Hardison and junior Carmen Waye , put up a combined 1.38 and 1.29 blocks per set, respectively, over MSU's three matches. Hardison led MSU with five total blocks against LSU and Waye led with five against South Carolina. Waye also posted a season-high 11 kills against the Gamecocks on .688 hitting and recorded a team and career-best three service aces in MSU's win over LSU. Waye combined for 17 kills on a conference-leading .640 clip (17-1-25) in last week's matches. Making her first start of the season against Central Michigan, junior middle blocker Breccan Scheck posted a team-high three total blocks in MSU's win over the Chippewas. Redshirt sophomore setter Malayah Long led MSU in assists in both matches, providing 29 against LSU and 35 against South Carolina before adding 16 while splitting setting duties with Kalea Norton (15) at Central Michigan. She is averaging 9.87 assists per set so far this season. Long led the conference last week in service aces per set (1.00), matching a career-high five against South Carolina to tie the second-most in a single match by a player in the conference this season. Senior libero Lia Schneider ranked second on the team in total digs (22) and digs per set (2.88) behind Staniszewska (23 digs, 2.88 digs per set) last week, posting a team-high nine against LSU and eight at Central Michigan. Schneider reached the 1,000 career-dig milestone at Central Michigan and now has 1,004 for her career. About Western Michigan Western Michigan is a perfect 6-0 this season, earning wins at Omaha and over Chicago State and Louisiana Tech last week. MSU leads the all-time series, 24-10-1, including a 12-3-1 record in East Lansing. The two teams last met in a 3-1 MSU victory in Kalamazoo on Sept. 8, 2025. The Spartans last fell to the Broncos on Sept. 11, 2024 in East Lansing. Head coach Colleen Munson is in her 22nd season leading Western Michigan. Up Next MSU travels to Morehead, Kentucky, to take on Cincinnati (Sept. 11, 4 p.m.) and Morehead State (Sept. 12, 2 p.m.) in the Morehead State Invitational. Both matches will stream on ESPN+.