Volleyball Earns 3-0 Win Over Cincinnati to Open Action at Morehead State Invitational

Friday, September 11

Morehead, Ky.

4 PM

Michigan State University

7-0,0-0Big Ten

Cincinnati

5-3,0-0Big 12

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Michigan St.	25	25	25	3
Cincinnati	20	17	14	0

Volleyball celebration vs. Cincinnati 2026

Photo by: Ynhi Le

Volleyball Earns 3-0 Win Over Cincinnati to Open Action at Morehead State Invitational

9/11/2026 6:31:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score MSU 3, Cincinnati 0

MOREHEAD, Ky. - Michigan State volleyball defeated Cincinnati in straight sets (25-20, 25-17, 25-14) Friday afternoon at Morehead State's Johnson Arena for its seventh-straight win.

MSU moves to 7-0 (0-0 B1G) with the win, while Cincinnati dropped to 5-3 (0-0 Big 12). After a 10-0 start in 2025, the Spartans are 7-0 to start the season in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1975-76. The Spartans also won their 20th-straight set, the most since winning 23-consecutive sets during the 2018 season.

The Spartans hit .364 for the match and held the Bearcats to .122 hitting. MSU led in total kills (42-29), blocks (9-2), service aces (9-2) and digs (37-31).

Senior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska posted a team-best 12 kills, while senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston put up her fourth-consecutive match in double figures with 10 kills on a .529 clip. Staniszewska and Bankston each added a team-high three service aces, with Bankston totaling a career high. Senior middle blocker Zora Hardison put up six kills on .556 hitting and tallied a team and season-high seven total blocks, while junior opposite Hayley Ogden and junior middle blocker Carmen Waye both added five kills each.

Redshirt sophomore setter Malayah Long provided a team-leading 25 assists and just missed a double-double with a team and season-high nine digs. Senior libero Lia Schneider added eight digs and redshirt sophomore defensive specialist Sarah Vellucci had seven.

MSU took a two-point lead in the first set after a back-and-forth start with an Ogden kill and Bankston service ace at 8-6. The Bearcats responded with back-to-back points of their own to tie the set again at 8-8 and took one-point leads at 11-10 and 12-11. A Bankston kill tied the set at 12-12 to spark a 4-1 run for the Spartans, who used a block from Waye and Long, Cincinnati service error and Waye kill to take a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. The Spartans extended their lead to three with a Waye and Bankston block out of the timeout to take a 16-13 advantage. The Bearcats fired off two-straight points to cut the lead to one, but a 3-0 MSU run with kills from Waye and Ogden and a second Bankston service ace forced the Bearcats to call timeout at 19-15. An attack error from Cincinnati out of the timeout then gave the Spartans a five-point, 20-15 lead, their largest of the set. The Bearcats got as close as three at 23-20, but a Hardison kill got MSU to set point before a service ace from Schneider sealed the first set for the Spartans, 25-20.

After Cincinnati opened the second set at 3-0, a Staniszewska kill, Ogden and Hardison block and Bearcat error helped MSU to a 3-0 run to tie the set at 3-3. Cincinnati used a block to take a one-point lead before a 5-0 Spartan run with a Long kill, Vellucci service ace, Long and Hardison block and pair of Bearcat errors forced Cincinnati into a timeout at 8-4. MSU extended its run to 6-0 with a Hardison kill out of the timeout. The Bearcats responded with a 5-2 run of their own to get within a pair at 11-9 and again at 13-11 before a Staniszewska kill and Waye service ace helped MSU extend its lead to four at 15-11 at the media timeout. Back-to-back Ogden and Staniszewska kills made it 17-12 in favor of the Spartans before Cincinnati responded with back-to-back points of their own, but a Bankston kill, Staniszewska service ace and Bankston and Hardison block helped the Spartans to a 3-0 run to force a Bearcat timeout at 20-14. MSU ended the set on a 5-2 run and used a Bankston service ace, her third of the match, to take the second set, 25-17.

Cincinnati called a timeout after MSU took a 5-0 lead to start the third set with back-to-back blocks from Hardison and Ogden, an Ogden kill and two Bearcat attack errors. The Bearcats used a 4-1 run to close the gap to two points before a 6-0 MSU run with a pair of Bankston kills, a Hardison kill, two Staniszewska aces and two Cincinnati errors gave MSU a 12-4 lead. Cincinnati called timeout after back-to-back kills from Waye and Long gave the Spartans a nine-point, 14-5 lead. MSU then opened its biggest lead of the night after a Cincinnati attack error at 15-5 to take the teams to the media timeout. Cincinnati stopped a pair of MSU match points after Bankston's 10th kill of the match got the Spartans to a 24-12 lead, but a dump from Kalea Norton ended the set and match, 25-14.

Up next, MSU takes on host Morehead State to wrap up action at the Morehead State Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 2 p.m. The match will stream on ESPN+.