2019 Final Results

Big Ten finish: 6-14, 9th place

Overall record: 15-15, not ranked

Upcoming Home Events

To be announced

[list of events]

News Links

12/19 Livingston Daily
Livingston County volleyball Player of the Year gets early start at MSU

10/31 MSU State News
Jamye Cox takes after her role model on road to history

10/28 MSU State News
Spartans drop a hard fought match against No. 6 Wisconsin

10/21 MSU State News
Volleyball splits first 2 to begin 4-game home stand

9/28 MSU State News
Volleyball opens Big Ten play at home on Saturday

9/28 MSU State News
Volleyball opens Big Ten play at home on Saturday

9/28 MSU State News
Volleyball opens Big Ten play at home on Saturday

9/28 MSU State News
Volleyball opens Big Ten play at home on Saturday

9/21 MSU State News
Volleyball heads into weekend tournament to conclude non-conference play

9/13 MSU State News
Michigan State volleyball defeats Oakland in clean sweep

9/13 MSU State News
MSU volleyball attracts nationally recognized attendance

9/7 MSU State News
Michigan State volleyball continues undefeated season

1/9 MSU State News
Volleyball adds Oklahoma grad transfer for 2019

2019 News Archive

Note: Because many of the news items on this page link to current-news sites that are updated frequently, some links in the archive may no longer work.

2019 Annual Awards Presented

The following awards were presented at the annual volleyball banquet on January 19, 2020 at the Kellogg Center:

SideOut Club Service Award: John Faust
Academic All-Conference Selections: Alyssa Chronowski, Jamye Cox, Julia Hatcher, Sam McLean, Maggie Midgette, Meredith Norris, Lauren Swartz, Talia Edmonds, Rebecka Poljan, Elena Shklyar
Kirkby Scholar-Athlete Award: Sam McLean, Lauren Swartz
Most Improved Award: Biamba Kabengele
Most Inspirational Award: Bella Legarza
Extra Mile Award: Maggie Midgette
Spartan Award:
Sam McLean

Eileen Ellis, president of the SideOut Club, announced the Club's donation of $10,000 for use by the volleyball program.

McLean, Swartz Earn Academic All-America Honors

Both Samantha McLean and Lauren Swartz have been named to the 2019 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Team, as announced on December 9. Sam earned a spot on the seven-member first team and Lauren was selected for the third team.

The dual awards combined with Sam's third-team pick in 2018 and Rachel Minarick's first-team honor in 2017 mean MSU volleyball has earned four Academic All-American awards in the last three years, a number matched only by Creighton University. Stanford University volleyball is the only other program to have at least one Academic All-American award each of the last three years.

The Spartans have had four prior Academic All-Americans—Dana Cooke (1995, 1996), Val Sterk (1996), Jenilee Rathje, (2011), and Kristen Kelsay (2013)—with Dana being a first team selection in 1996. [full story]

Two Spartans Lead Academic All-District Team

With perfect 4.0 GPAs, Sam McLean and Lauren Swarz have been named to the 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-District Volleyball first team for District 5 (including IL, IN, MI, and OH). They are now eligible for the Academic All-America awards, to be announced in December. One other Big Ten player, Sydney Hilley of Wisconsin, was chosen for the first team honor in District 6. [full story]

Kabengele Wins Weekly Honor Again

On October 28, 2019, Biamba Kabengele was chosen as the Big Ten Freshman Player of the Week, her second such honor this year. Against two of the top teams in the country—Wisconsin and Minnesota—Biamba averaged 2.6 kills per set and a .263 hitting percentage for the Spartans. This was an unusual award because it's rare for a Player of the Week to be selected from a team that lost both of its matches. [full story]

Kabengele Named Freshman of the Week

Biamba Kabengele is the Big Ten Freshman Player of the Week for September 23, 2019 after helping lead Michigan State to the championship of the Western Michigan tournament. She averaged 3.6 kills per set and topped out at 18 kills in a match versus IUPUI. [full story]

Cox Chosen as Defensive Player of the Week

Spartan junior libero Jamye Cox won her first Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Award on September 3, 2019. In Spartan victories over Duke and College of Charleston, she averaged 6.6 digs per set, went 38-for-38 in serve receptions, and was named to the College of Charleston All-Tournament team. [full story]

Spartans Picked to Move Up in 2019

The Wisconsin Badgers topped the 2019 Preseason Big Ten Coaches' Poll, released on August 26. They were followed by Minnesota, Nebraska, and Penn State. The MSU Spartans climbed to No. 9, after finishing twelfth in 2018 and graduating only a single senior. The coaches also selected a 14-member preseason All-Big-Ten team. [full story]

 


Previous 2019 News

 

Spring Tournament at Jenison

The Spartans will host a six-team spring tournament in Jenison Field House starting at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 30, 2019. Teams will include Bowling Green, Ferris State, Notre Dame, Oakland, and Toledo. MSU's first match is scheduled for 10 a.m. See the tentative schedule below.

The Spartans will follow that up with tournaments on April 6 and April 13 at KIVA in Louisville, KY and Ball Sports Academy in Angola, IN. The Ball Sports Academy is a brand-new facility created by U.S. Olympian Lloy Ball for his Team Pineapple Volleyball Club. An exhibition match against University of Michigan in Grand Rapids at Aquinas College will complete the spring schedule on Saturday, April 20th. [tentative spring schedule]

Annual Meeting in Jenison March 30

The SideOut Club’s Annual Meeting will be held on March 30, 2019 in room 300 of Jenison Field House, during the spring tournament. It will start at about noon, during a break in the schedule just after the 11 a.m. match. All members are encouraged to attend. The Club’s annual financial statement will be presented and there will be an election for the Board of Directors. The Annual Meeting also serves as a forum for members to voice any suggestions or concerns.  Hope to see you all on the 30th.

Kimi Olson Arrives as Associate Head Coach

Kimi Olson has been tapped as the new Associate Head Coach for the Michigan State volleyball program starting with the 2019 season. She comes to us after four years as the head coach at Eastern Michigan University, where in 2018 she guided the Eagles to their first-ever Mid-American Conference tournament championship and first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. She began her coaching career at the University of Albany, followed by the College of Charleston. The former Kimi Freeburg played as a setter at the University of Southern California from 2003 to 2006, helping her team to the 2003 NCAA National Championship with an undefeated season. [full story]

For news from previous years, click on "Archive" in the top menu.

 

Big Ten and Other News

USA Women Win VNL With an All-Big Ten Lineup

The U.S. women's national volleyball team took home the gold at the 2019 Volleyball Nations League on July 7 with a win over Brazil in the championship match in Nanjing, China. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this win was that for a large part of the match, every player on the court for the U.S. was a former Big Ten athlete!

Annie Drews of Purdue was named MVP of the six-week-long tournament, while Haleigh Washington and Megan Courtney of Penn State were also selected to the tournament "Dream Team". Others who started or subbed in the final match were Lauren Carlini of Wisconsin, Jordan Larson and Kelsey Robinson of Nebraska, Tori Dixon of Minnesota, and Michelle Bartsch and Jordyn Poulter of Illinois.
[full story]