Nov. 12, 2009

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Spartans return home on Nov. 13-14 for matches against Indiana and Purdue. MSU will host the Hoosiers on Friday and the Boilermakers on Saturday. Both matches will be streamed live at BigTenNetwork.com. Friday's match will begin at 6 p.m. while Saturday's is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. MSU looks to split the season series with both schools, after falling to both earlier this season.

This Week for the Spartans
Michigan State (16-10, 4-10) vs. Indiana (14-14, 3-11)
Friday, Nov. 13, 2009 • 6 p.m.
East Lansing, Mich. • Jenison Field House
TV: BigTenNetwork.com (live streaming)
Live stats: www.msuspartans.com

Series Information
• MSU leads 40-26
Last meetings:
Sept. 25, 2009 • Bloomington, Ind.
IU def. MSU, 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 23-25, 18-25)
Nov. 8, 2008 • East Lansing, Mich.
MSU def. IU, 3-1 (25-18,25-23,24-26,25-15)

Michigan State (16-10, 4-10) vs. Purdue (12-13, 4-10)
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009 • 6:30 p.m.
East Lansing, Mich. • Jenison Field House
TV: BigTenNetwork.com (live streaming)
Live stats: www.msuspartans.com

Series Information
• Purdue leads 42-27
Last meetings:
Sept. 25, 2009 • West Lafayette, Ind.
PU def. MSU, 3-1 (14-25, 21-25, 25-19, 21-25)
Nov. 21, 2008 • West Lafayette, Ind.
PU def. MSU, 3-0 (25-19,25-22,25-17)

Last time out
The Spartans returned to the road for matches against Northwestern on Friday and Illinois on Sunday. MSU fell 3-1 to the Wildcats and 3-0 to the Fighting Illini. Even though Michigan State dropped both matches, MSU saw valiant efforts each night from different members on the roster. Junior Megan Schatzle led the Spartan attack against Northwestern tallying 15 kills. Against Illinois, senior Vanessa King tallied six kills.

Scouting the Hoosiers
The Hoosiers enter the weekend with a 14-14 overall record, while also posting a 3-11 conference record. Mary Chaudoin is leading the team with 687 assists this season, while Whitney Granado leads the team with 305 conference assists. Pacing the attack is Jordan Haverly who has tallied 357 kills overall. Ashley Benson leads the team in conference kills (170) and blocks - 107 overall and 52 conference. Caitlin Cox anchors the last line of defense for the Hoosiers with her 401 overall digs, and 197 within the conference. At the helm of the Hoosiers is third-year head coach Sherry Dunbar, who boasts an overall record of 46-46 with IU.

Scouting the Boilermakers
The Boilermakers have posted a overall record of 12-13, with a 4-10 Big Ten record. Purdue is led up front by Carrie Gurnell who currently leads the team with 310 kills, 147 of those have occurred in Big Ten play. Jaclyn Hart quarterbacks the Boilermaker offense, tallying 531 assists in conference play, and 989 overall. The backcourt is led by Blair Bashen who currently averages 3.47 digs per set overall and 3.25 in conferences matches. Kristen Arthurs has tallied 85 total blocks this season, while seeing 49 of those in Big Ten play. Head coach Dave Shondell is currently in his seventh season with the Boilermakers. Shondell enters the weekend with a career record of 136-88.

Minnesota Match Time
With the Michigan State vs. Penn State football game slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 21, the Spartan volleyball match against Minnesota on has been tabbed as an 8 p.m. start time. This will help to allow those fans who wish to attend the volleyball match more time to arrive on campus following the conclusion of the football game.

Sister-Sister
Redshirt-freshman Mandi Karaba and junior Allyson Karaba are the third set of sisters to play under coach Cathy George during her Spartan tenure. The first pair of sisters occurred in 2005 when Marley Bellwood and Tracy Bellwood played with one another for 76 matches in Coach George's first season. The other pairing was of All-American Ashley Schatzle and current junior Megan Schatzle. Together, the Schatzle's have played in four sets together whereas the Karaba's have participated in 20 matches this season with one another. Allyson and Mandi know what it takes to be successful on the court, having led their North Muskegon high school team to a Class C state championship during the 2006 season.

On Deck
The Spartans will hit the road for a 6 p.m. match in Ann Arbor against the Michigan Wolverines on Wednesday, Nov. 18. This marks the second of three matches the Green and White will have aired on the Big Ten Network. Three nights later, MSU will host its last home match of the season as it entertains Minnesota. First serve is slated to be at 8 p.m. ET. This match will conclude the matches the Spartans will have aired on the Big Ten Network.

Follow the Leader
Junior Megan Schatzle has followed in the foot-steps of older sister Ashley Schatzle. Ashley, a third-team AVCA All-American in 2007, led the team with 553 kills during the year. Megan, like her older sister, is currently leading the 2009 squad with 276 kills on the season. MSU hopes Megan follows the path her older sister paved for her, as the last time MSU made it to the NCAA Tournament was Ashley's senior season.

Sophomore Sensations
With the 2008 No. 7 PrepVolleyball.com recruiting class able to see ample amount of court time last season, the sophomore class seems to really be finding their element this season. Collectively, the class has amounted for 726 of the 1,294 team kills. Also, the sophomores have also accounted for 192 total blocks. Having added redshirt-sophomore Jenilee Rathje to their class, the Spartans are bound for success in the years to come. The class has collectively earned three of the four MVP honors this season for the Spartans.

Movin' On Up
Sophomore Natalie Emro currently ranks sixth all-time in career assists with 2,241. Senior Vanessa King recently moved into fourth place all-time with 436 total blocks in a career. King also ranks fourth all-time with 398 block assists.

Big Ten Rankings
The Spartans currently boast four members ranking in the Big Ten individually. Sophomore Natalie Emro currently is fourth in the conference with 10.47 assists per set, while ranking seventh in aces per set with 0.28. Junior Allyson Karaba is third in the conference with 4.20 digs per set. Senior Vanessa King ranks seventh in blocks per set with 1.09. Senior Mischelle Nelson is ninth in the conference with a .337 hitting percentage.

Lucky No. 12
Both of the Spartans' upset wins over AVCA ranked opponents have been ranked 12th at the time of the match. The first meeting occurred on Aug. 28 in MSU's first match of the season against Southern California. This past weekend against Illinois on Oct. 2, Michigan State once against posted a win over a 12th-ranked team. Both matches have been 3-2 wins in favor of the Spartans.

Fandemonium
MSU is currently listed as 16th in the recent DI Volleyball Attendance Rankings. To date, the Spartans have seen 20,180 fans pass through the turnstyles for their 10 matches, which averages out to be 2,180 fans per match. The Spartans are one of six Big Ten schools to be ranked in the top-25 and have been in the top-25 since 1995.

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