Aug. 26, 2010

EAST LANSING, Mich. - After concluding two-a-day practices last week, the Michigan State volleyball team opens its 2010 schedule on Friday, Aug. 27 against Bowling Green at 7 p.m., in Jenison Field House. This will mark the opening match for the Spartans at the 2010 MSU Showcase. Joining MSU and BGSU will be Evansville and IUPUI.

"We are very excited to open up the 2010 season this weekend," said head coach Cathy George. "We always strive to play teams early on which will help prepare us for the Big Ten season, and this coming weekend is no different. Bowling Green, IUPUI and Evansville are all challenging opponents and we are excited to see what they have been working on all summer in preparation for the year."

The Spartans will follow Friday's action the next day when they face IUPUI at 12 p.m., and Evansville at 7 p.m. to conclude the annual tournament.

Complete MSU Showcase Schedule
Friday, Aug. 27
4:30 p.m. IUPUI vs. Evansville - Live Stats
7 p.m. Michigan State vs. Bowling Green - Live Stats

Saturday Aug. 29
10 a.m. Evansville vs. Bowling Green - Live Stats
12 p.m. Michigan State vs. IUPUI - Live Stats

4:30 p.m. Bowling Green vs. IUPUI - Live Stats
7 p.m. Michigan State vs. Evansville - Live Stats

Approaching 450
Entering the 2010 season, head coach Cathy George has a career record of 449-300 and in her five previous seasons at MSU, has compiled an 84-76 record. George currently ranks 36th among active coaches in career victories with 449.

Scouting the Falcons
Bowling Green ended the 2009 season with a record of 13-20. Junior Emily Kauth is the top returning offensive player for the Falcons this season. Kauth posted a .247 clip while recording 289 kills last year. Senior Sam Fish looks to quarterback the offense as she served as the back-up setter in 2009. Sophomore Ashley Herzberg looks to anchor the last line of defense as the top returning defensive specialist. Herzberg ended the year with 112 digs. Bowling Green is led by head coach Denise Van De Walle who is in her 28th season at the helm of the Falcons. Van De Walle has a career record of 500-342

Scouting the Jaguars
IUPUI compiled a record of 20-10 in 2009. Junior Kalyse Reimbold led the team last year with 386 kills. Reimbold is also the top returner at the net as she tallied 50 blocks, 13 of which were solo blocks. The Jaguars return their top defensive player from a year ago in Shari Bernhardt. Bernhardt compiled 543 in her 30 matches played in 2009. IUPUI is coached by Steve Payne who entering his 14th season. Payne has compiled an overall and school record of 186-220.

Scouting the Purple Aces
Evansville enters the 2010 season after posting a record of 14-16 last year. Senior Emily Wandersee looks to lead the attack for the Purple Aces this season after she led the team in hitting percentage .265, while tallying 312 kills. Junior Ellen Sawin returns as the starting setter. Sawin recorded 1,242 assists for an average of 10.44 assists per set. Junior April Lubrecht is one of the top defensive players returning from last season. Lubrecht posted 323 digs in 2009. Head coach Mike Swan is currently in his ninth season with the Purple Aces. Swan currently boasts a school record of 84-130, and is 471-360 overall.

Non-Conference Streak
Dating back to the 2008 season, MSU has won 22 consecutive non-conference matches. The streak started in 2008 when the Spartans won their last 10 matches against their opponents. It continued into 2009 when the Green and White won all 12 pre-conference matches.

A Challenging Schedule
MSU is one of two teams in the nation this season to be playing three of the four NCAA National Finalists from 2009. The Spartans battle Hawaii, Penn State and Minnesota, all of which appeared as one of the four remaining teams in the NCAA Championship. The Green and White are joined by Illinois as the other team to face such a challenging schedule. Illinois will face Penn State, Minnesota and Texas on its 2010 schedule.

Preseason Recognition
Prior to the 2010 season, several Spartans were recognized for their work both on and off the court. Junior Kyndra Abron was tabbed as one of 16-members of the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Abron found herself on the conference coaches' radars after earning First-Team All-Big Ten and AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors her sophomore campaign.

Red-shirt junior Jenilee Rathje was recognized by the conference in July for her dedication to her class work. Rathje was one of 484 student-athletes to receive Big Ten Distinguished Scholar distinction. In order to be recognized, each student-athlete must achieve at least a 3.7 or higher for the corresponding academic year.

As a team, the Spartans were tabbed as the sixth-best team in the Big Ten preseason coaches poll. Nationally, MSU was ranked tied for 44th in the AVCA Preseason Poll.

15th Anniversary
The 2010 season marks the 15th anniversary of Michigan State's historic 1995 NCAA National Semi-Final run. In only the program's second NCAA Tournament appearance, the Spartans advanced to the NCAA Semi-Finals after stunning Hawaii on its home court in the regional final, 3-2. After receiving a first-round bye, the Green and White took care of business against Brigham Young in the sound round and San Diego State in the Regional Semifinal with 3-0 wins over each opponent. After dispatching Hawaii in five sets, the Spartans' magical journey came to an end with a 3-2 loss against Nebraska. MSU got out against the Huskers in the first set, winning it 15-10. However, Nebraska took sets two (15-8) and three (15-8), before MSU squared the match in set four with a 15-9 win. The Huskers closed out the match with a 15-8 win over the Spartans en route to the 1995 NCAA Championship.

Fandemonium
Annually, the Spartans have found themselves as one of the national leaders in attendance figures among NCAA Division I teams. Michigan State has been ranked in the top-25 in average attendance in 14 of the last 15 seasons. MSU posted a program best sixth during the 1996 campaign. The 2008 season saw the Spartans welcome the most total fans in a given season with 36,419. That season also saw Michigan State rank seventh nationally in attendance.

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