Michigan State University
1-0,0-0Big Ten
Merrimack
1-1,0-0MAAC
Spartans Sweep Merrimack to Open 2025 Season
8/30/2025 9:44:00 PM | Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State volleyball got its first win of the Kristen Kelsay era to kick off the 2025 season, posting a 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-16) sweep of Merrimack Saturday night inside the Breslin Center.Â
MSU starts the year at 1-0, while Merrimack falls to 1-1 after a 3-0 victory over Chicago State earlier in the day at the Breslin Center.Â
Only the beginning for the Kristen Kelsay Era. pic.twitter.com/szWv0Y3hLB
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) August 31, 2025
The Spartans hit .253 in the match and held the Warriors to .085 hitting, including .097 hitting in the first set and –.095 hitting in the second. MSU outpaced Merrimack in digs (42-to-28), services aces (15-3), kills (46-16) and blocks (6-5).Â
Senior opposite Evie Doezema and junior outside hitter Taylah Holdem led the Spartans in kills with nine each. Doezema hit 0.333 for the match and .667 in the final set. Junior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska added seven kills, a pair of blocks and team-highs in digs (9) and service aces (4). Sophomore middle blockers Mia Hood and Breccan Scheck and freshman outside hitter Bianca Mumcular tallied five kills, while Scheck also led the Spartans in total blocks with five.Â
In her collegiate debut, redshirt freshman setter Malayah Long just missed a double-double with a team-leading 31 assists and eight digs. Long also provided a trio of service aces and blocks. Â
Redshirt sophomore transfer libero Sarah Vellucci added seven digs.Â
Merrimack got off to a quick 3-0 start after a pair of attacking errors from the Spartans in in the early going, but a kill from junior middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig got the scoring started for the Spartans in the first set. The Warriors continued to put the pressure on MSU, taking their biggest lead of the night with a 9-5 advantage. Kulig registered another kill and Long got the Spartans within three before back-to-back kills from Holdem, an attacking error from the Warriors and a block from Scheck and Staniszewska evened the set at 11-11. Â
Staniszewska followed with a kill to give their Spartans their first lead of the night. Merrimack got within a point twice to follow, but a 7-2 run for MSU staved off any chances for the Warriors to retake the lead with Doezema providing her fourth kill of the set to put the first set away for the Spartans, 25-20.Â
MSU led for the entirety of the second set, opening the frame with a pair of kills from Hood and Long to take a 2-0 lead. A 2-1 lead by the Spartans was the closest the Warriors got in the second, with MSU posting its largest lead of the night of 13 points after a 10-3 run to end the set. Hood and Staniszewska each provided three kills in the frame. Mumcular made her collegiate debut at the end of the set and provided two kills in the final four points for the Spartans, including the set-winning kill at 25-12.Â
A pair of services aces from Long helped the Spartans get out to a 4-0 lead in the final set. MSU went on a 6-4 run before the Warriors put together a run of their own, getting within 10-8 to force an MSU timeout, but three kills from Mumcular and a service ace from junior libero Lia Schneider helped extend the Spartans' lead to five. Kills from Doezema and freshman opposite Caroline Formankova got the Spartans to a 20-13 lead before Holdem added a kill and Formankova tallied a pair of kills to make it match point for the Spartans. Doezema ended the set for the second time in the match with her team-leading ninth kill, 25-16.Â
Up next, the Spartans host Chicago State inside the Breslin Center on Sunday, August 31 at 2 p.m. on B1G+. MSUÂ will honor Hometown Heroes throughout Sunday's match, offering complementary admission to first responders, educators, active military and veterans with ID.Â
