Friday, November 15
East Lansing, Mich.
6 PM
Michigan State University
10-16,3-12Big Ten
3
vs
1
Michigan
16-10,6-9Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Michigan
25
17
18
18
1
Michigan St.
20
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Kelly Branigan
Volleyball Wins Battle at Breslin
11/15/2024 9:46:00 PM | Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State volleyball came away victorious in the third annual Battle at Breslin on Friday night, defeating arch-rival Michigan, 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-18), at the Breslin Student Events Center.
"Tonight was the best all-around team performance we've had to date," said Michigan State head coach Leah Johnson. "We worked all week on being a better team, being more fluid and connected in the match, and I was so proud of how they executed that tonight."
MSU improves to 10-16 (3-12 B1G) while Michigan falls to 16-10 (6-9 B1G). The Spartans travel to Iowa City, Iowa for a 3 PM ET match Sunday against Iowa (10-17, 4-11 B1G) to conclude the week of play.
Junior opposite hitter Akasha Anderson led MSU with 15 kills hitting .500 for the match on 24 swings (15-3-24). Anderson was joined in double figure kills by junior outside hitter Taylor Preston who tallied 13 along with eight digs. Senior opposite Aliyah Moore turned in a season-high nine kills on .348 hitting.
Sophomore middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig and junior middle blocker Evie Doezema posted a match-high five blocks apiece, with Doezema's matching a career high. Senior setter Rachel Muisenga posted a double-double with 16 assists and 10 digs. Fellow senior Julia Bishop matched her 16 assists. Senior libero Nalani Iosia led all players with 23 digs as she inches closer to 2,000 career digs.
The Spartans finished with eight service aces on just seven service errors led by two from each of Kulig and Muisenga. MSU hit .250 for the match which includes a hot-hitting .407 in set four. Michigan State held the Wolverines to .134 hitting on Friday with Michigan hitting .000 in set two. The Spartans out-blocked Michigan 10-2 with the Wolverines committing four blocking errors.
Michigan State used a 4-1 run mid-way through set one to pull within two of the Wolverines. Anderson had a pair of kills in the run to pace MSU offensively. Michigan pulled away with a 5-1 stretch that saw them lead 18-12, but a 3-1 Spartan swing kept MSU withing four after a Wolverine service error. A pair of Spartan points forced a Michigan timeout late when Anderson found her third kill of the set and Kulig teamed up with senior opposite Aliyah Moore for a block.
The Spartans found their form in set two, erasing an early deficit to tie the match at 1-1. Michigan led 9-7 early but a 12-3 MSU scoring stretch saw the Spartans build a 16-11 lead over the Wolverines, highlighted by three separate 4-0 runs. Anderson caught fire in set two with five kills, including the one that put Michigan State on set point before Bishop caught Michigan off guard with a setter dump to seal it.
MSU carried that momentum over to set three where it pulled away late to take a 2-1 match lead. Each side traded blows through the media timeout where the Spartans held a 15-13 advantage following a blow by Kulig and Anderson. MSU had four service aces in the set, and sophomore Karolina Staniszewska's put Michigan State ahead 18-14 to cap a 3-0 run. Bishop's ace finished a 3-0 run later in the frame to put MSU up 22-16 and forced a Wolverine timeout. A pair of Michigan errors put the Spartans on set point before Anderson finished off the stanza with a kill.
Michigan State continued to fire on all cylinders in set four, breaking away out of the media timeout. Moore and Anderson each posted four fourth set kills for MSU and it was Moore who put the Spartans ahead 15-12. Out of the break Michigan State went on a 7-1 run to go ahead 22-13 using a kill and an ace from Kulig. Michigan made a late charge pulling within four, 22-18 after a 5-0 scoring streak. A big block by Anderson and Doezema put the Spartans on match point before a Wolverine hitting error sealed the match and sent Breslin into a frenzy.
"Tonight was the best all-around team performance we've had to date," said Michigan State head coach Leah Johnson. "We worked all week on being a better team, being more fluid and connected in the match, and I was so proud of how they executed that tonight."
MSU improves to 10-16 (3-12 B1G) while Michigan falls to 16-10 (6-9 B1G). The Spartans travel to Iowa City, Iowa for a 3 PM ET match Sunday against Iowa (10-17, 4-11 B1G) to conclude the week of play.
The Will of a Spartan is pretty darn a(maize)ing!! #GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/ptZEKVgktX
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 16, 2024
Junior opposite hitter Akasha Anderson led MSU with 15 kills hitting .500 for the match on 24 swings (15-3-24). Anderson was joined in double figure kills by junior outside hitter Taylor Preston who tallied 13 along with eight digs. Senior opposite Aliyah Moore turned in a season-high nine kills on .348 hitting.
Sophomore middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig and junior middle blocker Evie Doezema posted a match-high five blocks apiece, with Doezema's matching a career high. Senior setter Rachel Muisenga posted a double-double with 16 assists and 10 digs. Fellow senior Julia Bishop matched her 16 assists. Senior libero Nalani Iosia led all players with 23 digs as she inches closer to 2,000 career digs.
The Spartans finished with eight service aces on just seven service errors led by two from each of Kulig and Muisenga. MSU hit .250 for the match which includes a hot-hitting .407 in set four. Michigan State held the Wolverines to .134 hitting on Friday with Michigan hitting .000 in set two. The Spartans out-blocked Michigan 10-2 with the Wolverines committing four blocking errors.
Michigan State used a 4-1 run mid-way through set one to pull within two of the Wolverines. Anderson had a pair of kills in the run to pace MSU offensively. Michigan pulled away with a 5-1 stretch that saw them lead 18-12, but a 3-1 Spartan swing kept MSU withing four after a Wolverine service error. A pair of Spartan points forced a Michigan timeout late when Anderson found her third kill of the set and Kulig teamed up with senior opposite Aliyah Moore for a block.
The Spartans found their form in set two, erasing an early deficit to tie the match at 1-1. Michigan led 9-7 early but a 12-3 MSU scoring stretch saw the Spartans build a 16-11 lead over the Wolverines, highlighted by three separate 4-0 runs. Anderson caught fire in set two with five kills, including the one that put Michigan State on set point before Bishop caught Michigan off guard with a setter dump to seal it.
Back-to-back kills for Kash gives us an 11-9 lead!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/xBthHPmrKe
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 15, 2024
MSU carried that momentum over to set three where it pulled away late to take a 2-1 match lead. Each side traded blows through the media timeout where the Spartans held a 15-13 advantage following a blow by Kulig and Anderson. MSU had four service aces in the set, and sophomore Karolina Staniszewska's put Michigan State ahead 18-14 to cap a 3-0 run. Bishop's ace finished a 3-0 run later in the frame to put MSU up 22-16 and forced a Wolverine timeout. A pair of Michigan errors put the Spartans on set point before Anderson finished off the stanza with a kill.
Karolina Staniszewska forces a Wolverine timeout with an ACE!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/8vezjf6O9E
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 16, 2024
Michigan State continued to fire on all cylinders in set four, breaking away out of the media timeout. Moore and Anderson each posted four fourth set kills for MSU and it was Moore who put the Spartans ahead 15-12. Out of the break Michigan State went on a 7-1 run to go ahead 22-13 using a kill and an ace from Kulig. Michigan made a late charge pulling within four, 22-18 after a 5-0 scoring streak. A big block by Anderson and Doezema put the Spartans on match point before a Wolverine hitting error sealed the match and sent Breslin into a frenzy.
Solo block for match point!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/Bc8ARyK6s5
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 16, 2024
Team Stats
Mich
MSU
Kills
48
48
Errors
28
15
Attempts
149
132
Hitting %
.134
.250
Points
56.0
66.0
Assists
45
45
Aces
6
8
Blocks
2
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballKristen Kelsay Postgame Comments | Chicago State
Sunday, August 31
Kristen Kelsay Postgame Comments | Merrimack
Saturday, August 30
The Next Set | Kristen Kelsay | Spartans All-Access
Monday, August 25
Volleyball B1G Media Day Press Conference | July 29, 2025
Tuesday, July 29