CHICAGO – At day one of Big Ten Volleyball Media Days, featuring head coach Leah Johnson joined by junior outside hitters Evie Doezema and Taylor Preston for the Spartans, MSU was clear about their focus and intensity going into the 2024 season.
In her opening statement, Johnson spoke on the impressive actions taken by her team during the offseason.
“This summer they’ve been putting in the work … Every day I pass by the gym and there’s a new practice plan on the board,” said Johnson. “As I go into my office and they’re on the court, the amount of work and intensity that they’re investing in one another without anyone else there is phenomenal.”
Along with highlighting the team’s effort and energy around the upcoming season, MSU spoke on their overall goals for the season, where they need to improve to get there, and their plan for navigating a difficult schedule ahead.
A big point for the team that was emphasized throughout had to do with the mindset going into a match all year, no matter the opponent.
“ There’s a cadence to how you do things, and you don’t want any match to be bigger and more important than the next because they all matter,” said Johnson.
“ If your goal is postseason and then to make a run every single match matters. It doesn’t matter what name is on that jersey because we are the only name that matters to us. It’s Michigan State.”
Taylor Preston, a transfer portal addition from Oklahoma, mentioned how this attitude and the culture of the program led her to East Lansing.
“ Just the person she is [Johnson] and the coach she is, I could just tell how much this team meant to her, the goals she had, the competing — like the mindset, everything,” said Preston.
“ It was something that I was so eager to be a part of… I absolutely loved it. I loved every second of being here and being coached under her.”
Preston recorded 354 kills for the Sooners in 2023, resulting in a career high. It’s a hot streak she is looking to keep alive, as she mentioned one of her personal goals is to be, “one of the biggest point scorers on our team and in the Big Ten as a whole.”
As for team goals and strategies as a whole, MSU is determined to cut down on miscues and flip matches in their direction.
“A big emphasis for the spring for us was in point management. When you watch Big Ten volleyball you see very few mistakes,” said Johnson.
“There are no friendly whoops, here’s yours, enjoy. Everybody is sharp. The volleyball is clean. We spent a lot of time in the off-season focused on our point management.”
The Spartans are also continuing to stay creative with their strategies. A pillar in the program that was best exemplified last season by Evie Doezema.
“It wasn’t until I got here that I opened my mindset to being more versatile,” said Doezema. “ switching to play right side and now middle, that is probably the thing I give advice the most about for young volleyball players, is the more versatile you are, the more you can offer a coach and the more you stand out against other players.”
Johnson also spoke on how versatility and the ability to move around on the court is a big sticking point:
“Great people and great athletes allows me the flexibility then to put a lineup together that may not be as prototypical as you might assume,” said Johnson. “And right now that creativity has been an advantage for us.”
Even when major changes arose this offseason for the conference with the addition of Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and USC, Michigan State is maintaining a similar attitude towards the newcomers as do any of their unfamiliar opponents.
“They’re just further away. They’re not that different. They all have a unique style of play, just as any school, just like non-conference,” said Johnson.
“When we prepare for non-conference, this is a team we haven’t seen very often or at all, and so you’re preparing for them in a different — through a different lens.”
With the end goal of making the postseason, the Spartans are not only using their mindset of establishing a cadence, hard work from the off season, and strategy to push them there. MSU is also drawing inspiration from a stand out performance against Penn State from last season.
“To come out on top against a ranked team like that as we’re building our program back up, it was surreal,” said Doezema.
“It just showed the amount of effort and work we’ve really put into this team and how much more we can accomplish this year. We’re hoping to do it a million times over again.”
Michigan State will start their campaign off on the road against Northern Colorado on August 30, with gametime set for 8 p.m. E.T.
