EAST LANSING– Coming off a hard-fought defeat at the hands of No. 4 Penn State and dropping to 7-6 overall, Michigan State volleyball continues their road stint in search of a win over 7-5 Indiana.
While the Spartans have the record advantage against IU at 53-35 all-time, MSU has not defeated the Hoosiers in Bloomington since Nov. 25, 2017. The Spartans are also yet to defeat IU in any setting since Nov. 30, 2019.
Both squads are also eyeing their first B1G wins of the season, as IU suffered two conference road losses as well. This time to conference newcomers from the west, Washington and Oregon.
To right the ship for the Spartans, the offensive output of junior outside hitters Akasha Anderson and Taylor Preston has to stay hot.
Preston is coming off of an 18-kill performance against PSU, good for a season-high. Preston currently has 105 kills on the year at an average of 2.56 kills per set.
Anderson also remains the kill leader for MSU on the season, with a total of 151 and an average of 3.21 per set. She also ranks first in attacking errors for the Spartans at 70, so minimizing mistakes could also be key.
The Hoosiers also bring a fair amount of fire power in the form of junior opposite hitter Avry Tatum, whose 158 kills on the campaign ranks 11th in that category in the B1G.
Defensively, senior libero Nalani Iosia remains the cornerstone for MSU. As 4.26 digs per set is good for second in the B1G, and has reached the 200 mark for digs on the season. This overall also ranks third in the conference.
Her counterpart for the Hoosiers, sophomore libero Ramsey Gary, is up to 185 digs on the season and is hoping to give the MSU offensive effort some issues as well.
One distinct advantage MSU holds over IU is the middle game. The presence of sophomore middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig brings 60 total blocks, nine solo and 51 assisted, and lands in the top five in the conference.
She is assisted by junior middle blocker Evie Doezema, with a .381 hitting percentage and 37 total blocks.
Doezema matches up with IU’s junior middle blocker Madi Sell, who has posted similar total blocks at 37, but is behind in the hitting percentage line at .259.
MSU attempts to break their losing streak in Bloomington against IU on Oct. 4, with game-time set for 7 p.m.
