Wednesday, September 3
Evansville, Ind.
7 PM ET/6 PM CT
Michigan State University
at
Evansville
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell
Spartans Take on Evansville, Southern Indiana in First Road Tests
9/1/2025 9:56:00 PM | Volleyball
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -Â Michigan State volleyball (2-0, 0-0 B1G) heads to Evansville, Indiana, to make its first road trip of the season, facing Evansville (1-2, 0-0 Missouri Valley) on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. ET before traveling to Southern Indiana (1-2, 0-0 Ohio Valley) on Thursday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. ET.
Both matches will stream on ESPN+.
The Spartans are coming off a 2-0 opening weekend in East Lansing, kicking off the Kristen Kelsay era with sweeps over Merrimack and Chicago State. MSU hit .310 over the weekend and held its opponents to just .080 hitting.
Individually, outside hitter Taylah Holdem combined for 26 kills on .400 hitting over MSU's two matches, including 17 kills on .560 hitting against Chicago State. Her 17 kills against the Cougars were the most for the junior in a match since Nov. 18, 2023. Holdem also provided a team-high nine digs against Chicago State.
Redshirt freshman Malayah Long totaled 65 assists over the weekend and is averaging 10.83 assists per set, which is currently ranks third in the Big Ten. Long also added five aces and five digs against Chicago State, while tallying three aces, eight digs and three total blocks against Merrimack.
ABOUT EVANSVILLEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â
MSU is 2-0 all-time against Evansville, having last met on Sept. 17, 2022 in an MSU sweep in East Lansing. The Spartans have never faced the Purple Aces in Evansville, with the only other meeting between the two teams, a 3-0 win for MSU on Aug. 28, 2010, taking place in Jenison Field House. Evansville is 1-2 overall this season, dropping its first two matches (at Butler, 3-1, vs. Middle Tennessee State, 3-2) at the Butler Big Dawg Kickoff before wrapping the tournament with a 3-2 win over Purdue Fort Wayne last weekend.
Head coach Zach Weinberg is in his first season leading the Purple Aces.
ABOUT SOUTHERN INDIANA
Thursday will be the first all-time meeting between the Spartans and Screaming Eagles. Southern Indiana is 1-2 after falling to Valparaiso (3-0) and Saint Louis (3-0) before sweeping Northern Kentucky at the USI Invitational last weekend.
Third-year head coach Jeffrey Aucoin is 20-40 overall at USI.
UP NEXT
MSU travels to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to face in-state foe Western Michigan on Monday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. in University Arena. The match will stream on ESPN+.
Both matches will stream on ESPN+.
The Spartans are coming off a 2-0 opening weekend in East Lansing, kicking off the Kristen Kelsay era with sweeps over Merrimack and Chicago State. MSU hit .310 over the weekend and held its opponents to just .080 hitting.
Individually, outside hitter Taylah Holdem combined for 26 kills on .400 hitting over MSU's two matches, including 17 kills on .560 hitting against Chicago State. Her 17 kills against the Cougars were the most for the junior in a match since Nov. 18, 2023. Holdem also provided a team-high nine digs against Chicago State.
Redshirt freshman Malayah Long totaled 65 assists over the weekend and is averaging 10.83 assists per set, which is currently ranks third in the Big Ten. Long also added five aces and five digs against Chicago State, while tallying three aces, eight digs and three total blocks against Merrimack.
ABOUT EVANSVILLEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â
MSU is 2-0 all-time against Evansville, having last met on Sept. 17, 2022 in an MSU sweep in East Lansing. The Spartans have never faced the Purple Aces in Evansville, with the only other meeting between the two teams, a 3-0 win for MSU on Aug. 28, 2010, taking place in Jenison Field House. Evansville is 1-2 overall this season, dropping its first two matches (at Butler, 3-1, vs. Middle Tennessee State, 3-2) at the Butler Big Dawg Kickoff before wrapping the tournament with a 3-2 win over Purdue Fort Wayne last weekend.
Head coach Zach Weinberg is in his first season leading the Purple Aces.
ABOUT SOUTHERN INDIANA
Thursday will be the first all-time meeting between the Spartans and Screaming Eagles. Southern Indiana is 1-2 after falling to Valparaiso (3-0) and Saint Louis (3-0) before sweeping Northern Kentucky at the USI Invitational last weekend.
Third-year head coach Jeffrey Aucoin is 20-40 overall at USI.
UP NEXT
MSU travels to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to face in-state foe Western Michigan on Monday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. in University Arena. The match will stream on ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
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/ VolleyballKristen Kelsay Postgame Comments | Chicago State
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Kristen Kelsay Postgame Comments | Merrimack
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The Next Set | Kristen Kelsay | Spartans All-Access
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Volleyball B1G Media Day Press Conference | July 29, 2025
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