Michigan State University Athletics
Friday, October 9
East Lansing, Mich.
7:30 PM
Michigan State University
vs
Oregon
Photo by: Ynhi Le
No. 22 Michigan State Hosts No. 13 Oregon, Iowa This Weekend
10/8/2026 12:30:00 PM | Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. -Â No. 22 Michigan State volleyball returns to the Breslin Center this weekend for a pair of conference matches, hosting No. 13 Oregon on Friday, Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. before welcoming Iowa on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m.Â
MSU's match against the Hawkeyes on Sunday will be its first home match in the 2026 Big Ten | Discover Volleyball Challenge.
Both matches will stream on B1G+. Fans can tune into Zach Surdenik's call of the action on MSUSpartans.com or via the Michigan State Athletics app for Friday's match and John Kreger's call on Sunday.
PROMOTIONS
Friday vs. Oregon -Â Spartans Supporting Spartans: In collaboration with MSU Center for Survivors, Student Athlete Wellness, and campus partners, stop by the Breslin Center Hall of History to learn more about mental health resources on campus.
Sunday vs. Iowa -Â Breast Cancer Awareness Match: Donate water bottles, lemon hard candy, fuzzy socks, lip balm, ginger tea, or unscented lotion in support of our Spartan Strength Kit Donation Drive. Spartan fans are encouraged to wear pink./Post-Match Autographs: Stick around after the match to meet the team and get autographs! Team posters will be provided, while supplies last.
MSU is 13-1 (3-1 B1G) after a 2-0 Big Ten weekend in Los Angeles last week, sweeping UCLA on Oct. 2 before securing a five-set win at USC on Oct. 4. The Spartans earned their first national ranking since 2018 in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll, coming in at No. 22, while its 13-1 start is its best start since going 17-1 in the 2013 season. MSU is also 3-1 through its first four conference contests for the first time since 2023.
For the first time since the 2017 NCAA Tournament, MSU will take part in a matchup with both teams ranked inside the top 25 with its contest against the 13th-ranked Ducks on Friday. Friday's match will also mark the first top-25 volleyball match in the Breslin Center since No. 5 MSU hosted No. 23 Illinois in a 3-2 win on Nov. 4, 1995.Â
The Spartans ranked second in both hitting efficiency and opponent efficiency in the conference  last week across its two matches, posting a combined .316 clip while holding their opponents to .154 hitting.Â
Senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston led MSU in kills last week with 29, posting a team-best 15 at UCLA before adding 14 against USC with 10 digs for her second double-double of the season. She has posted a team-best 10 matches this season with double-digit kills and ranked 10th in the conference in last week's matches with 3.63 kills per set. Senior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska posted a team-high 17 kills in just three sets of action at USC.
MSU's middle blockers, Carmen Waye and Zora Hardison, totaled eight and six total blocks, respectively, across last weekend's matches, with each posting a team-high five against UCLA before Waye recorded a team-best three against the Trojans. The pair also ranked second (Waye, 21 k, 2.63 kps) and third (Hardison, 20 k, 2.50 kps) in total kills last week among al MSU players. In MSU's win at USC, Hardison put down a career-high 16 kills on .481 hitting.
Redshirt sophomore setter Malayah Long made national headlines this week, earning both Big Ten Setter of the Week and AVCA Division I Player of the Week honors after a standout performance against USC on Sunday. Long posted a career-high 65 assists  in MSU's win over USC, the most in a match by a Spartan since 2009, and just missed a double-double with nine digs while adding three kills and a service ace. She tallied 32 assists, five digs and a pair of blocks and kills in MSU's sweep at UCLA. Overall, she averaged 12.13 assists per set across last week's matches to rank second in the conference.Â
Long's 65 assists at USC are the most in a single match by a player in the B1G this season and tie for the sixth-best in the NCAA. She is the first MSU player to earn Big Ten Setter of the Week honors since Rachel Minarick in 2017 and the first Spartan to be named the AVCA National Player of the Week since Lauren Wicinski in 2013.
Senior libero Lia Schneider led MSU in digs last week with a combined 25 digs for 3.13 digs per set. She posted a team-high 13 digs at UCLA and 12 at USC and has recorded a team-high eight matches with double-digit digs this season, with six of those performances coming in MSU's last seven matches.
About Oregon
Oregon is 12-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference this season with its only losses coming to No. 7 Arizona State and No. 6 Wisconsin. The Ducks are the highest-ranked opponent for the Spartans so far in 2026, coming in at No. 13 in this week's AVCA Poll after taking down No. 10 Purdue and now-No. 24 Illinois last week in Eugene.
The Spartans and Ducks are tied at 2-2 in the all-time series, with MSU winning the last meeting in 2025 in a five-set thriller in Eugene. Â Oregon earned a straight-set victory in the last meeting in East Lansing on Nov. 21, 2024.
Head coach Trent Kersten is in his second season with the Ducks.
About Iowa
Iowa dropped both of its contests last week, falling to Maryland in five sets on the road before a four-set loss at No. 16 Penn State. The Hawkeyes are 12-6 this season and 1-3 in the Big Ten.
The Spartans lead the all-time series, 56-30, including a 27-15 record in East Lansing. The teams split the series last year, with MSU winning at home on Oct. 10, 2025 before falling in Iowa City on Oct. 24. MSU has not dropped a home contest in the series since the 2022 season.
Head coach Jim Barnes is in his fifth season at Iowa.
Up Next
MSU travels to Champaign to take on Illinois on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. ET in Huff Hall. The match will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
MSU's match against the Hawkeyes on Sunday will be its first home match in the 2026 Big Ten | Discover Volleyball Challenge.
Both matches will stream on B1G+. Fans can tune into Zach Surdenik's call of the action on MSUSpartans.com or via the Michigan State Athletics app for Friday's match and John Kreger's call on Sunday.
PROMOTIONS
Friday vs. Oregon -Â Spartans Supporting Spartans: In collaboration with MSU Center for Survivors, Student Athlete Wellness, and campus partners, stop by the Breslin Center Hall of History to learn more about mental health resources on campus.
Sunday vs. Iowa -Â Breast Cancer Awareness Match: Donate water bottles, lemon hard candy, fuzzy socks, lip balm, ginger tea, or unscented lotion in support of our Spartan Strength Kit Donation Drive. Spartan fans are encouraged to wear pink./Post-Match Autographs: Stick around after the match to meet the team and get autographs! Team posters will be provided, while supplies last.
MSU is 13-1 (3-1 B1G) after a 2-0 Big Ten weekend in Los Angeles last week, sweeping UCLA on Oct. 2 before securing a five-set win at USC on Oct. 4. The Spartans earned their first national ranking since 2018 in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll, coming in at No. 22, while its 13-1 start is its best start since going 17-1 in the 2013 season. MSU is also 3-1 through its first four conference contests for the first time since 2023.
For the first time since the 2017 NCAA Tournament, MSU will take part in a matchup with both teams ranked inside the top 25 with its contest against the 13th-ranked Ducks on Friday. Friday's match will also mark the first top-25 volleyball match in the Breslin Center since No. 5 MSU hosted No. 23 Illinois in a 3-2 win on Nov. 4, 1995.Â
The Spartans ranked second in both hitting efficiency and opponent efficiency in the conference  last week across its two matches, posting a combined .316 clip while holding their opponents to .154 hitting.Â
Senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston led MSU in kills last week with 29, posting a team-best 15 at UCLA before adding 14 against USC with 10 digs for her second double-double of the season. She has posted a team-best 10 matches this season with double-digit kills and ranked 10th in the conference in last week's matches with 3.63 kills per set. Senior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska posted a team-high 17 kills in just three sets of action at USC.
MSU's middle blockers, Carmen Waye and Zora Hardison, totaled eight and six total blocks, respectively, across last weekend's matches, with each posting a team-high five against UCLA before Waye recorded a team-best three against the Trojans. The pair also ranked second (Waye, 21 k, 2.63 kps) and third (Hardison, 20 k, 2.50 kps) in total kills last week among al MSU players. In MSU's win at USC, Hardison put down a career-high 16 kills on .481 hitting.
Redshirt sophomore setter Malayah Long made national headlines this week, earning both Big Ten Setter of the Week and AVCA Division I Player of the Week honors after a standout performance against USC on Sunday. Long posted a career-high 65 assists  in MSU's win over USC, the most in a match by a Spartan since 2009, and just missed a double-double with nine digs while adding three kills and a service ace. She tallied 32 assists, five digs and a pair of blocks and kills in MSU's sweep at UCLA. Overall, she averaged 12.13 assists per set across last week's matches to rank second in the conference.Â
Long's 65 assists at USC are the most in a single match by a player in the B1G this season and tie for the sixth-best in the NCAA. She is the first MSU player to earn Big Ten Setter of the Week honors since Rachel Minarick in 2017 and the first Spartan to be named the AVCA National Player of the Week since Lauren Wicinski in 2013.
Senior libero Lia Schneider led MSU in digs last week with a combined 25 digs for 3.13 digs per set. She posted a team-high 13 digs at UCLA and 12 at USC and has recorded a team-high eight matches with double-digit digs this season, with six of those performances coming in MSU's last seven matches.
About Oregon
Oregon is 12-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference this season with its only losses coming to No. 7 Arizona State and No. 6 Wisconsin. The Ducks are the highest-ranked opponent for the Spartans so far in 2026, coming in at No. 13 in this week's AVCA Poll after taking down No. 10 Purdue and now-No. 24 Illinois last week in Eugene.
The Spartans and Ducks are tied at 2-2 in the all-time series, with MSU winning the last meeting in 2025 in a five-set thriller in Eugene. Â Oregon earned a straight-set victory in the last meeting in East Lansing on Nov. 21, 2024.
Head coach Trent Kersten is in his second season with the Ducks.
About Iowa
Iowa dropped both of its contests last week, falling to Maryland in five sets on the road before a four-set loss at No. 16 Penn State. The Hawkeyes are 12-6 this season and 1-3 in the Big Ten.
The Spartans lead the all-time series, 56-30, including a 27-15 record in East Lansing. The teams split the series last year, with MSU winning at home on Oct. 10, 2025 before falling in Iowa City on Oct. 24. MSU has not dropped a home contest in the series since the 2022 season.
Head coach Jim Barnes is in his fifth season at Iowa.
Up Next
MSU travels to Champaign to take on Illinois on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. ET in Huff Hall. The match will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
Players Mentioned
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