Michigan State University
11-1,1-1Big Ten
Michigan
10-3,0-2Big Ten
Spartans Sweep Wolverines in Battle at Breslin
9/27/2025 11:47:00 PM | Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. - In front of a buzzing crowd of 5,072 fans, Michigan State volleyball earned a 3-0 sweep (25-14, 25-22, 25-21) over rival Michigan Saturday night inside the Breslin Center.
MSU moves to 11-1 overall and earns its first conference victory of the season to move to 1-1 in the B1G. Michigan drops to 10-3 overall and 0-2 in B1G action. MSU has won four of its last five contests against the Wolverines dating back to the 2023 season.
The Spartans hit .316 for the match, their second-best single-match hitting percentage of the season, and held the Wolverines to a .143 clip. MSU led Michigan in total kills (44-to-34), service aces (5-3) and digs (36-32), while the Wolverines held a 6.5 to 2 advantage in total blocks.
Freshman outside hitter Bianca Mumcular had a standout performance Saturday night, posting a career and team-high 15 kills on .481 hitting while also adding team highs in digs (12) and total (blocks). Mumcular's kills-digs double-double was her third of the season and third in MSU's last four matches. Junior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska added 13 kills for her seventh match of the season with double-digit kills and recorded eight digs, while sophomore middle blocker Carmen Waye posted nine kills.
Redshirt freshman setter Malayah Long led MSU in assists with 36. Junior defensive specialist Ky Clayton posted a team-high two service aces, while Long, junior libero Lia Schneider and junior setter Cam Berger each added one.
After a back-and-forth start to the first set that saw neither team take more than a two-point lead, MSU used a 4-0 run from a pair of Michigan errors, Staniszewska kill and Schneider ace to take a three-point lead at 13-10 and force a Michigan timeout. A kill out of the timeout from senior opposite Evie Doezema then gave the Spartans a four-point lead at 14-10 before MSU broke the set open with an 8-3 run that was ended by an ace from Berger to make it 22-13. Michigan followed with a kill, but a Michigan service error and an ace from Long got the Spartans to set point before Doezema sealed the set with a kill, 25-14.
Breslin is BUZZING ⚡⚡ pic.twitter.com/Eg4edkw3mQ
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) September 28, 2025
MSU carried the momentum into the second set, starting the frame out on a 6-0 run that featured kills from Mumcular and Scheck and two kills from Staniszewska. A Clayton ace got the Spartans to a 10-2 advantage before Michigan rattled off four-straight points to get within four at 10-6 and force an MSU timeout. The Wolverines got within one at 11-10 after a 4-1 run out of the timeout, but the Spartans responded with a 5-2 run capped off by a Mumcular kill to extend their lead back to five. Michigan then scored eight-straight points to take their first lead of the set at 18-16, but four-straight MSU points from two Wolverine errors and back-to-back kills from Staniszewska helped the Spartans retake the lead at 20-18. MSU once again showed resilience after Michigan tied the match at 20-20 and again at 21-21, with Waye recording back-to-back kills to give the Spartans the lead again at 23-21. Michigan got within one after an MSU service error, but a kill from Staniszewska earned set point for the Spartans and a Wolverine error ended the set 25-22 in favor of MSU. The Spartans held the Wolverines to just .054 hitting in the second set.
MSU and Michigan battled in the early going of the final set with neither team taking more than a two-point advantage until kills from Mumcular and Doezema and a Michigan error gave the Spartans a four-point lead at the media timeout, 15-11. The Wolverines scored three-straight points out of the timeout get within one and force an MSU timeout at 15-14. After a Michigan service error to extend the MSU lead to two, the Wolverines recorded three-consecutive kills to retake the lead at 17-16. A kill from Waye and a Wolverine error to help the Spartans back to a one-point lead then forced a Michigan timeout at 18-17. Michigan tied the set again at 18-18 with a kill, but kills from Waye and Mumcular and a Wolverine error gave the Spartans the lead once again at 21-18. Mumcular tallied back-to-back kills to get the Spartans to a 23-19 lead and added her eighth kill of the set to get the Spartans to set point at 24-20. She then hammered home her 15th kill of the night and ninth of the set to secure the set and match for the Spartans, 25-21.
Kill No. 1️⃣5️⃣ on the night for Bianca Mumcular secured the @MSU_Volleyball sweep over Michigan 🔥 pic.twitter.com/k1x9oF2lNe
— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) September 28, 2025
Up next, MSU travels to Evanston, Illinois, to take on Northwestern on Friday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. ET on B1G+.
