Spartans Move to 5-0 with Straight-Set Win at Central Michigan

Saturday, September 5

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

6 PM

Michigan State University

5-0,0-0Big Ten

Central Michigan

0-7,0-0MAC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Michigan St.	25	25	25	3
Central Mich.	18	10	19	0

Photo by: Ynhi Le

Spartans Move to 5-0 with Straight-Set Win at Central Michigan

9/5/2026 8:31:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score MSU 3, CMU 0

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Michigan State volleyball ended a busy week with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-10, 25-19) road win over Central Michigan Saturday evening inside McGuirk Arena.

MSU moves to 5-0 (0-0 B1G) with the win, while CMU dropped to 0-7 (0-0 MAC). The Spartans have now won 14-straight sets in 2026 dating back to their season opener against Miami on Aug. 28.

For the third time this season, MSU hit over .400 in a match, hitting an impressive .437 while holding CMU to .176 hitting. MSU led in kills (43-31), service aces (5-1), digs (38-34) and total blocks (6-1).

Senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston led MSU in kills with 13 on a .542 clip, while senior middle blocker Zora Hardison had six kills on six swings and juniors Breccan Scheck and Hayley Ogden each added five. Scheck also posted a team-best three total blocks in her first start of the season.

Splitting setting duties on Saturday night, redshirt sophomore Malayah Long and redshirt freshman Kalea Norton provided 16 and 15 assists, respectively. Long also had a team-high three service aces.

Senior libero Lia Schneider led MSU with eight digs and surpassed the 1,000 career digs mark in the match.

In a back-and-forth start to the first set, neither team was able to take more than a one-point lead until a block and kill from Waye gave MSU a two-point, 15-13 lead at the media timeout. MSU extended its lead to four with a 4-1 run with kills from Carmen Waye and Bankston, a Chippewa attack error and solo block from Scheck at 19-15. CMU stopped the first MSU set point after an Ogden kill got MSU to a 24-17 lead, but a CMU service error to follow gave the Spartans set one, 25-18.

MSU opened up an 11-4 lead after a 4-4 start with back-to-back Bankston kills, two service aces from Long, and a trio of errors from the Chippewas. The Spartans took a 15-5 lead at the media break with a 4-1 run, using two kills from Scheck, a dump from Long and a block from Scheck and Ogden. MSU continued to dominate the set, getting to set point with back-to-back kills from Taylah Holdem at 24-10 with a 9-5 run. A kill from Ogden ended the set, 25-10, to help MSU take a 2-0 lead while holding the Chippewas to just 10 points in the second frame.

The Spartans called timeout after CMU got out to an 8-3 lead in the third set. The Chippewas extended their lead to 9-3 with a kill out of the timeout before a pair of CMU service errors and three-straight kills from Bankston helped MSU to a 5-1 run to cut the deficit to two at 10-8. After a Chippewa timeout, a kill from Scheck got the Spartans within one at 10-9 before back-to-back kills and a block from CMU extended the lead back to four at 13-9. Kills from Scheck, Bianca Mumcular and Bankston and a CMU error helped MSU even the set at 14-14, but an MSU attack error gave the Chippewas a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. CMU took a two-point lead after an MSU error out of the timeout before MSU used a Chippewa error and service ace from Ky Clayton to take its first lead of the set at 17-16. MSU used a successful challenge and block from Hardison and Mumcular to extend its lead to two at 19-17. The Chippewas got back within one at 19-18 with a kill before MSU used kills from Mumcular and Hardison, a Sarah Vellucci service ace and Chippewa error for a four-point unanswered run at 23-18. Back-to-back Hardison kills helped MSU to set point and ended the set, 25-19.

Up next, MSU hosts Western Michigan on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. inside the Breslin Center on B1G+.