Michigan State University
10-0,0-0Big Ten
SIUE
5-6,0-0OVC
Volleyball Defeats SIUE, Finishes Non-Conference Action Undefeated
9/20/2025 10:17:00 PM | Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State volleyball earned a 3-1 win over SIUE Saturday night inside historic Jenison Field House on the final day of the Kathy DeBoer Invitational, closing out the non-conference portion of its 2025 schedule undefeated.Â
MSU moves to 10-0 with the win, the Spartans' first 10-0 start since the 2012 season, while SIUE drops to 5-6 overall. The Spartans complete non-conference action unbeaten for the first time since 2012 and fourth time overall (2001, 2009, 2012).Â
MSU hit .310 for the match and held the Cougars to .144 hitting, including just .034 hitting in the first set and .118 and .103 in the second and fourth sets, respectively. MSU led the Cougars in kills (55-to-42), digs (55-48), service aces (12-5) and tied a season-high 13 total blocks.Â
Senior opposite Evie Doezema was just short of a career high in kills with a team-leading 15 and hit a season-best .481 while tallying four total blocks. Freshman outside hitter Bianca Mumcular added three blocks and posted her second-straight double-double with a career-high tying 12 kills and career and team-high 14 digs. Junior middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig tallied a season-high nine kills on .529 hitting and led MSU in total blocks with seven while also providing a team-high three service aces. Junior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska finished with double-digit digs for the second-consecutive match with 10 and recorded eight kills, while sophomore middle blocker Breccan Scheck and freshman opposite Caroline Formankova each had five kills and four total blocks.Â
Junior libero Lia Schneider also had a double-digit dig night with 13 and provided a pair of service aces. Junior defensive specialist Ky Clayton tied Kulig with a team-high three service aces, while redshirt freshman Malayah Long led MSU in assists with 37 and added two aces.Â
A pair of SIUE errors and three service aces from Kulig got the Spartans out to a 5-1 start in the first set before another 5-1 run capped off by a Clayton ace forced an SIUE timeout at 10-2. The Cougars went on a four-point swing to make it 19-13 in favor of the Spartans but could not get any closer than six as a Long ace got the Spartans to set point and a Kulig kill put the first set away, 25-17.Â
Neither team was able to take more than a one-point lead in the second set until the Cougars took a two-point advantage at 11-9 and extended their lead to three at 13-10. MSU responded with three-straight points from a pair of Cougar errors and a Staniszewska ace to tie the set at 13-13, but a pair of Spartan errors gave SIUE a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. A Kulig kill and a block from Scheck and Formankova tied the set again at 15-15 before MSU went on a 5-1 run with a kill from Scheck, two kills from Mumcular and two service aces from Clayton to take a 19-16 lead and force an SIUE timeout. Clayton's third ace of the set out of the timeout gave the Spartans a four-point advantage at 20-16 and a block from Kulig and Long closed out a 5-2 MSU run to secure the second set, 25-19.Â
SIUE forced an MSU timeout after getting out to a 13-6 lead in the third set. A Kulig kill and three Cougar errors got the Spartans within three at 13-10 before SIUE was forced to take a timeout of its own after kills from Mumcular and Kulig and a Schneider ace followed by a Cougar error shrunk the SIUE advantage to two at 17-15. MSU tied the set for the first time in the frame at 22-22 with a Kulig kill and again at 23-23 after an SIUE attacking error, but back-to-back Cougar kills helped SIUE take the third, 26-24, and force a fourth set.Â
MSU hit a match-best .429 in the final set and came out firing in the fourth with a 6-0 start. The Cougars got as close as four at 12-8, but the Spartans responded with 4-1 run ended by a Mumcular kill to make it 16-9. The two teams then traded the following five points back-and-forth until a 4-1 run capped off by a Mya Bolton ace forced an SIUE timeout at 22-13. The Spartans scored the last two points with a Scheck kill and Mumcular's 12th kill of the night to take the set and match, 25-14.Â
Up next, MSU begins Big Ten play on the road at Minnesota on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 8:30 p.m. ET inside Maturi Pavilion. The match will air nationally on Big Ten Network. Â
