Michigan State University
Maryland
Volleyball Outlasts Maryland in Five Sets
10/19/2025 5:03:00 PM | Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. -Â Michigan State volleyball took down Maryland in a back-and-forth five-setter (25-18, 14-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13) Sunday afternoon inside the Breslin Center.Â
MSU moves to 15-3 overall with the win and 5-3 in the Big Ten, while Maryland drops to 8-10 (1-7 B1G).Â
The Terrapins narrowly out-hit the Spartans, .171 to .104, while MSU led in kills (58-to-49), service aces (9-1) and digs (54-49). Maryland posted a 21-12 edge in total blocks.Â
Junior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska tied a career-high 19 kills to lead the Spartans and added 12 digs for her third double-double of the season while also tallying three total blocks and one service ace. Freshman outside hitter Bianca Mumcular tallied 13 kills and eight digs, while senior opposite Evie Doezema totaled nine kills and a pair of blocks.Â
Junior middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig posted a team-high five total blocks alongside sophomore middle blocker Carmen Waye, who totaled a career-high with her five-block total. Junior libero Lia Schneider recorded a team-leading 13 digs.Â
Redshirt freshman setter Malayah Long led MSU in assists with 36. She was also one of seven Spartans to record at least one service ace on the afternoon, adding one alongside Schneider, Staniszewska, Kulig, sophomore defensive specialist Mya Bolton and junior setter Cam Berger, while Mumcular led with a match-high three.Â
After Maryland took a 4-2 lead to start the first set, the Spartans used kills from Mumcular, Staniszewska, Doezema and Kulig and a Terrapin error to spark a 5-0 run and take their first lead of the match at 7-4. Maryland used a pair of kills to close the gap to a point, but MSU responded with a pair of Staniszewska kills and a Kulig service ace to extend the lead back to four at 10-6. A Doezema kill and Maryland attack error pushed the Spartan lead to five to force a Maryland timeout at 12-7 before another Staniszewska kill out of the timeout increased the MSU advantage to six. The Terrapins followed with an 8-3 run, including five straight, to get within a point at 16-15, but the Spartans responded with two points from a Maryland service error and service ace from Long before firing off five-straight points of their own, featuring blocks from Kulig and Doezema and another from Kulig and Staniszewska, kills from Doezema and Staniszewska and a Mumcular service ace to take a 23-16 lead. A Maryland attack error got the Spartans to set point at 24-18 and another to follow sealed the first for MSU, 25-18.Â
Maryland got out to a 7-2 lead in the second and increased its lead to seven to force an MSU timeout at 12-5. The Spartans used kills from Staniszewska and Scheck, a Berger service ace and pair of Maryland errors to go on a 5-0 run and force the Terrapins into a timeout at 13-10. MSU got within two after a block from freshman opposite Caroline Formankova and sophomore middle blocker Breccan Scheck at 13-11 and again with a Formankova kill and Terrapin error at 15-13, but a 4-0 Maryland run forced another Spartan timeout at a 19-13 Maryland lead. The Terrapins closed the set on a 5-0 run to take the second, 25-14.Â
Neither team was able to take more than a two-point lead early in the third set until back-to-back Doezema kills and a Kulig solo block helped the Spartans to a 3-0 run and four-point lead at 14-10. The Terrapins got within two after a block and MSU attack error but called a timeout after MSU extended its advantage back to four with a Maryland service error and Staniszewska kill at 16-12. After a kill from Waye, Maryland error and Staniszewska service ace helped the Spartans to a 3-0 run to make it 22-14, the Terrapins used a 5-1 run to force an MSU timeout at 23-19 and added a kill out of the timeout to get within three at 23-20, but a Mumcular kill got the Spartans to set point before a Terrapin attack error gave the Spartans the third, 25-20.Â
KAROL SOLO BLOCK 🙌🙌🙌 pic.twitter.com/kKRhVNnmzj
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) October 19, 2025
The Terrapins were forced into a timeout early in the fourth after MSU got out to a 5-1 start with three kills from Mumcular, a kill from Doezema and a Kulig solo block. Maryland called another timeout after MSU extended its lead to seven at 8-1, using a Mya Bolton service ace, solo block from Waye and block from Staniszewska and Waye. The Terrapins responded with a 6-2 run to get within two points, forcing the Spartans to call a timeout of their own at 9-7. Maryland fired off three-straight points out of the timeout to take a one-point lead at 10-9 before MSU used a 3-0 run of its own to retake the lead at 12-10. Maryland retook the lead with a four-point swing at 16-15 and used another 4-0 run to take a one-point advantage at 20-19 after MSU used a 4-0 run of its own to take the lead back. A Staniszewska kill tied the set at 20-20, but Maryland finished the set on a 5-1 run to take the frame, 25-21, and force a fifth set.Â
After a back-and-forth start to the final set, MSU used a 3-0 run with two Terrapin errors and a Staniszewska kill to open up a three-point lead and force a Maryland timeout at 9-6. Another Staniszewska kill out of the timeout forced a second Terrapin timeout at 10-6. A 4-0 Maryland run got the Terrapins within one at 13-12, but a career-high tying 19th kill for Staniszewska got the Spartans to match point before another Maryland kill shrunk the MSU lead to one point again at 14-13. Mumcular used her third kill of the set out of an MSU timeout to put the set away ,15-13, and secure the match for the Spartans. MSU hit a match-best .300 in the final set.Â
BIANCA MUMCULAR.
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) October 19, 2025
Victory for MSU! pic.twitter.com/8LHwvKo9Ho
Up next, MSU travels to Coralville, Iowa, to face Iowa on Friday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. ET.Â
