Volleyball to Celebrate Alumni Weekend Against #14 Purdue, #6 Ohio State

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State returns to the friendly confines of the Breslin Student Events Center for a pair of matches this weekend, hosting #14 Purdue on Friday, Nov. 4 and #6 Ohio State on Saturday, Nov. 5. The Spartans are set to welcome back over 60 program alumni and their families over the weekend as the team celebrates its 50-year history. Additionally, Michigan State volleyball will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX on Saturday. Head Coach Leah Johnson will sport a custom Nike shoe for the match in commemoration.

Friday night's match against the Boilermakers will be televised nationally on Big Ten Network. Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Liz Tortorello-Nelson (analyst) will have the call live courtside from inside the Breslin Center. John Kreger will handle the radio call for both matches on the Spartan Media Network.

Michigan State's returning alumni represent six different decades of Spartan volleyball, with student-athletes from the 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's, 10's, 20's all returning to campus. Former head coaches Chuck Erbe (1993-2004) and Cathy George (2005-2021), along with former Associate Head Coach Russ Carney (2005-14) will also be in attendance.

Former student-athletes back on campus this weekend include:

70's: Patty Oslovar (1972-73), Becky Dickieson (1972-74), Jodi Manore (1972-74), Lisa Levak (1973), Laura Peterson (1973-76), Cynthia Hardy (1974-76), Mary Jo Hardy (1974-75), Linda Russell (1975), Diane Spoelstra (1975-77), Angela Del Morone (1976-78), Andrea Hardy (1977), Laurie Kuna (1975, 76, 78), Karen Keener (1977-79), Heidi Musser (1977-78), Valerie Wrenbeck (1978-80), Sheryl Knispel (1978-80), Nona Richardson (1978-81), Mary Jane Williams (1978-81)

80's: Dhurat Ali (1981-84), Jane Zenner (1982-85), Cheryl Barea (1983-86), Kris Durst-Wahl (1982-83, 85, 86), Julie Schorfhaar (1985-86), Judy Doles (1985-88), Susan Coscarelly (1986-89), Dawn Andrews (1987-90), Corinne McNamara (1988-91)

90's: Connie Thomas (1990-92), Andrea DeLuca (1990-93), Amy Rauch (1991-92), Elisa Ballesteros (1991-92), Amy Schloss (1992-94), Courtney DeBolt (1992-95), Sarah Blakely (1992-95), Niki Pahl (1993), Dana Cooke (1993-96), Val Sterk (1993-96), Lindsey Clayton (1994-97), Jenna Wrobel (1995-98), Kelly Penney (1995-98), Kayleen Cook (1999), Erin Hartley (1998-01), Lisa Ashton (1998-01)

00's: Angela Morley (1999-2002), Stephanie Knopp (2000-03), Diana Steplyk (2001-04), Jessica Hohl (2004-07), Katie Johnson (2004-07), Miken Trogdon (2004-07), Nicole Colaluca (2005-06), Allison Ianni (2006), Heather McDaniel (2005-08)

10's: Alexis Mathews (2010-13), Chelsey Probst (2011-12), Lauren Wicinski (2012-13), Brooke Kranda (2014-17)

20's: Alyssa Chronowski (2017-21), Jamye Cox (2017-21), Meredith Norris (2017-21), Lauryn Gibbs (2018-21), Cecilee Max-Brown (2020-21), Lia Moore (2020-21)

ABOUT PURDUE
The No. 14-ranked Boilermakers are 16-6 overall and 7-5 in the Big Ten this season but have won just one match in their last five heading into Friday night. Dave Shondell is in his 20th season at Purdue boasting a career record of 430-212. The Boilermakers are ranked #24 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings.

As a team, Purdue ranks No. 26 nationally in blocks per set (2.59), No. 72 in hitting percentage (.241), No. 85 in kills per set (13.1) and No. 91 in opponent hitting percentage (.187).

Offensively the Boilermakers are led by freshman Eva Hudson's 4.52 kills per set on .268 hitting. Hudson has earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors three times this season, earning Freshman of the Week on five occasions. Hudson's kills per set rank No. 11 in Division I and her 5.04 points per set rank No. 12. Megan Renner leads Purdue with 7.00 assists per set but is closely followed by Grace Balensiefer's 6.43 as the pair have each drawn 10 or more starts for the Boilermakers this season.

On the defensive side, Raven Colin leads the team in blocks per set at 1.34, ranking No. 29 in Division I. Colvin has 110 total blocks to her name this season. Maddie Schermerhorn averages 4.46 digs per set to lead the Big Ten.

Purdue leads the all-time series against the Spartans, 55-33. The Spartans were victorious in the last meeting between the two teams as MSU stunned the No. 7-ranked Boilermakers in West Lafayette last season, 3-2 (25-16, 25-27, 25-23, 16-25, 15-10). Michigan State is 16-23 when playing Purdue in East Lansing.

ABOUT OHIO STATE
No. 6-ranked Ohio State is 15-5 this season with an 11-1 mark in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes are riding a 10-match winning streak heading into the final month of conference play, defeating Michigan (3-0) and Penn State (3-2) last week. Ohio State is coached by Jen Flynn Oldenburg in her third season. Flynn Oldenburg has posted a record of 58-15 since taking over in 2020. Ohio State ranks #3 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings.

As a team, Ohio State ranks No. 18 in assists per set (13.11), No. 19 in kills per set (14.05), No. 37 in hitting percentage (.256) and No. 80 in opponent hitting percentage (.185).

Offensively the Buckeyes are led by Emily Londot's 3.70 kills per set, along with the 3.41 kills per set of Gabby Gonzales and the 3.00 kills per set of Jenaisya Moore. A two-time Big Ten Player of the Week this season, Londot hits .218 for the Buckeyes while Gonzales hits .221 to Moore's .270. Setter Mac Podraza is among the best in the country averaging 10.89 assists per set which ranks No. 17 in Division I. Podraza has been named Big Ten Setter of the Week four times this season.

Kylie Murr leads Ohio State with 4.16 digs per set and has twice been named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week this season. Adria Powell leads the Buckeyes in blocks per set at .99 with 72 total blocks this season.

Ohio State leads the all-time series against Michigan State, 51-33. The Buckeyes have won each of the last four meetings between the two teams spanning the abbreviated 2020 season and 2021. Michigan State is 20-20 against the Buckeyes when playing in East Lansing.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State is 10-13 this season with a 1-11 mark in Big Ten play. MSU is coached by Leah Johnson in her first year with the program. Johnson arrived in East Lansing in February and is in her 12th year as a head coach overall. Through 12 seasons, Johnson has amassed a career record of 194-164.

Sophomore Aliyah Moore leads the Spartans with 2.99 points per set and 2.79 kills per set in her first season at MSU. Moore leads the team with 240 kills. Freshman Maradith O'Gorman is second on the team in kills per set at 2.45. A player on the rise for Michigan State is freshman Selin Aslayan who has drawn six consecutive starts on the outside. Graduate student Zoe Nunez handles the setting for Michigan State since returning to the lineup, averaging 7.92 assists per set with 523 assists this season.

Junior Nalani Iosia leads the team in digs at 3.83 per set. Nunez is second on the team in digs averaging 2.14 per set. Freshman Nil Okur leads the team with 68 total blocks this season on .88 blocks per set. Okur has been strong on the offensive side as well hitting .323 on 1.44 kills per set. Fifth year Rebecka Poljan leads the team with a .336 hitting percentage on 2.34 kills and .91 blocks per set.

Up Next: Michigan State remains at home next weekend, hosting Illinois and Northwestern. The Spartans first meet the Fighting Illini at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11 before hosting the Wildcats on Saturday, Nov. 12. First serve for Saturday's game against Northwestern is TBA.

Volleyball to Celebrate Alumni Weekend Against #14 Purdue, #6 Ohio State

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