Volleyball Hosts Western Michigan for Spring Match at Jenison Field House

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State volleyball welcomes Western Michigan to Jenison Field House for its final match of the spring season on Saturday, April 18 at 3 p.m.

Admission to Saturday's match is free and doors will open at 2 p.m. Complementary parking is available in lots 63 and 67 and Ramp 7 with pay-by-plate parking also available in the Kellogg Center parking ramp.

Autographs with the team will take place following the conclusion of the match.

SPRINGING INTO ACTION
Fans will have the chance to see MSU's quartet of spring newcomers - early enrollee pin hitters Madi Andrews and Colbie McKenna and rising senior transfers Zora Hardison (MB, Rutgers) and Alanna Bankston (OH, Louisville) - for the first time in East Lansing this year on Saturday.

Andrews, who hails from Happy Valley, Oregon, was named the 2025-26 Gatorade Oregon Volleyball Player of the Year, while McKenna, a York, Pennsylvania, Native, was a three-time York-Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association Division II Player of the Year during her prep career.

Hardison tallied 104 total blocks and 217 kills on .312 hitting last season with the Scarlet Knights. In three seasons at Rutgers, she set the program record for career solo blocks in the rally-scoring era with 47. Bankston played in 32 sets across 25 matches in three seasons at Louisville and was named to PrepVolleyball's Top 150 in 2023.

The Spartans also return 11 letterwinners from last season, including All-Big Ten and AVCA All-Region honoree Karolina Staniszewska (OH, senior) and two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week Malayah Long (S, redshirt sophomore).

2025 IN REVIEW
MSU earned its most wins since 2017 in 2025 with an 18-12 overall record under first-year head coach Kristen Kelsay. The Spartans opened the season with a 10-0 mark in non-conference play, the program's first time going undefeated in non-conference action since 2012 and fourth time overall. MSU was one of eight Division I schools and one of two Big Ten programs to go unbeaten in non-conference play in 2025, while the 10-0 record marked the best start for a head coach in their first season at MSU.

MSU earned its first sweep against a ranked opponent since 2017 in 2025 with a 3-0 win against No. 20 Indiana and swept Michigan in East Lansing for the first time since 2015. The Spartans also posted their best team hitting efficiency (.222), kills per set (12.83), assists per set (11.99) and service aces per set (1.71) since 2017.

Kelsay received a one-year contract extension in December to extend her contract through 2031.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
Western Michigan posted a 17-16 overall record and 13-5 mark in Mid-American Conference play last season. The Broncos concluded their season with a four-set loss to Toledo in the MAC Championship match.

The Spartans and Broncos met in Kalamazoo last season in a 3-1 MSU victory. Junior outside hitter Taylah Holdem put down a career-best 26 kills in the match, while redshirt sophomore libero Sarah Vellucci tallied 31 digs, the sixth-best single-match total in program history.

MSU is 24-10-1 all-time against Western Michigan.

BIG TEN ANNOUNCES 2026 BIG TEN VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
The Big Ten announced the launch of its inaugural conference volleyball tournament on April 16. The tournament, scheduled for Nov. 20-25, 2026, will be held at Fishers Event Center in Fishers, Indiana.

The top 15 teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament. Three matches will be played in the opening round of the tournament, followed by four second-round matches. The competition will then progress through the quarterfinals and semifinals, culminating with the championship match slated for November 25. One off day will be built into the tournament schedule.

With the addition of the conference tournament, the Big Ten regular-season schedule will decrease from 20 to 17 matches, in a single, round-robin format. Television designations and ticket information will be distributed at a later date.

The conference also announced the date for the fifth-annual Big Ten Volleyball Media Day, taking place in a single-day format on Monday, August 3 in Chicago.

B1G-SEC CHALLENGE
The Big Ten and Southeastern conferences announced the innaguaral Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge last month, which is set for Sept. 1-6, 2026 and features all 18 Big Ten schools and all 16 SEC institutions.

The Spartans will take on LSU on Wednesday, Sept. 1, and South Carolina on Thursday, Sept. 2 in a pair of midweek matchups. Michigan will serve as the host site, with both matches taking place inside the Crisler Center.

Times and television designations for both matches will be announced at a later date.

MSU's complete 2026 schedule will be announced in the coming months.