Sports

MSU volleyball falls to Illinois in five-set match

EAST LANSING — Michigan State volleyball lost a hard-fought match against Illinois in its second Big Ten matchup of the weekend at the Breslin Center. 

This was the Spartans first game to go to five sets at home this season, with their last being a victory against Duke in North Carolina on September 20.  

Outside hitter Taylor Preston spearheaded the team’s offense leading with 15 kills out of the Spartans 41 overall. Setter Julia Bishop led the team with 30 assists. 

“I think [Bishop’s] leadership is elite, she’s consistent in her fight and game management, I think she’s locating the ball really well,” coach Leah Johnson said. “We just continue to lean on her, obviously at the end of the game I could have put someone in to block or to defend but it’s hard when I feel Julia has earned the moment.”

MSU came firing out of the gate, going up 5-0 early and forcing the Fighting Illini to take both of their timeouts early. Taylor Preston led the offense with three kills in Michigan State’s 25-15 set one win. Illinois didn’t help its case with 11 attacking errors and six service errors.  

The Spartans failed to carry its momentum into the second set, dropping it 19-25 and evening the match thus far.  

In the third and fourth set, the two teams continued to play neck-and-neck.

Sports

MSU women’s soccer sets new attendance record, prevails over Michigan 1-0

Erin Grady

EAST LANSING – The Michigan State women’s soccer team faced off against its fierce rival Michigan in East Lansing on Saturday night. MSU came into the contest ranked No. 5 in the United Coaches poll, dropping from the top spot after a 1-1 draw against Rutgers. MSU also went into the match with back-to-back victories against its in-state foe. The Michigan State faithful showed out in record numbers in support of their Spartans.

Sports

MSU offense struggles, falls to 3-3 at the hands of No. 6 Oregon

Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletics

EAST LANSING – Michigan State football clashed with a top-10 opponent for the second time in as many weeks. After a 38-7 loss against No. 3 Ohio State, MSU traveled to Eugene, Oregon, to face the undefeated No. 6 Ducks.   

Similar to its matchup against Ohio State, MSU started the game with promising defensive play that led to an opening drive punt from Oregon, later negated by an all-too-familiar offensive turnover after working its way down the field. Oregons high-powered offense – led by star quarterback Dillon Gabriel – was held at bay for most of the first half with the Spartans securing two red zone interceptions.   

Coming into this contest, Gabriel had only thrown one interception all season.   

On its first offensive drive, MSU drove the ball into scoring position, but a fumble at the goal line from quarterback Aidan Chiles ended a pivotal drive with no points.

Sports

MSU men’s soccer picks up third conference win, blanks Northwestern 1-0

Peyton Skiver

EAST LANSING — After two games on the road, Michigan State returned home to DeMartin Stadium to host the Northwestern Wildcats. Following a game of continuous exchanging of possessions and shots, the Spartans walked away with another 1-0 win. 

The Wildcats fell to 5-5 on the season, extending their losing streak to four in conference play. Michigan State moved to 4-4-2 with efforts from goal scorer Jack Guggemos, as well as goalkeeper Zac Kelly who had four saves. The MSU defense also helped the Spartans to a win, with crucial stops in the penalty box. 

The Spartans have struggled to get on the scoreboard all season, scoring no more than one goal in a game. The plague continued tonight, as the Spartans failed to capitalize on the net with off-target shots and missed opportunities. 

“We are creating a ton of chances,” head coach Damon Rensing said.

Sports

Self-inflicted wounds plague MSU, fall to No. 3 OSU 38-7

Matthew Mitchell

EAST LANSING – It was never going to be easy for Michigan State – taking on Ohio State is the furthest thing from easy. 

Early on, the Spartans looked like they might flip the script on the Buckeyes’ recent domination against MSU. For a quarter and a half, Michigan State played promising football. In the end, encouraging offensive drives and momentous defensive stops turned into self-inflicted wounds that halted its chances of keeping up with the high-powered OSU offense.   

“In the first half we (MSU) did not help ourselves,” coach Jonathan Smith said. “We turned the ball over twice in the red zone going in. That was painful.” 

Somehow though – albeit a 38-7 loss at home – Michigan State showed that with Jonathan Smith and this coaching staff, the ceiling is higher than it was without them. 

“There will be plenty of snaps that we’ll watch from this game that we’re right there,” Smith said.

Sports

MSU volleyball falls to Michigan in Ann Arbor

Lucas Gentilia

Michigan volleyball defeated Michigan State in three consecutive sets Friday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan took the first set 25-20. The set included several lead changes but ultimately the Wolverines prevailed. Michigan took an 18-17 lead on a kill by Allison Jacobs and never looked back, outscoring MSU 7-3 after that. During the set, Jacobs led Michigan with five kills while Serena Nyambio had four.

Sports

With high expectations, MSU hockey looks to build on its success from last years campaign

Aleesa Luecker

The Michigan State hockey team is heading into year three of the Adam Nightingale era after another historic season. The team has trained in Munn Ice Arena since July 1, and this seasons players are eager to hit the ice. 

The Spartans won the Big Ten regular season and postseason titles last year, however their season ended in the NCAA tournament regional finals against none other than the Michigan Wolverines. This year, the team is ranked first in the conference and fourth in the USCHO preseason polls. Expectations are high for MSU after last season, but this squad keeps their heads down and continues to focus on their game. “Our approach has always been to worry about the things we can control,” Nightingale said.

Sports

Michigan State falls to Boston College 23-19 for first loss of the season

Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletic Communications

The undefeated Michigan State football team traveled to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College for one final tune-up before playing in-conference games the rest of the way. The Spartans were extremely short-handed at receiver, as Alante Brown, Nick Marsh, Antonio Gates Jr, and Jaron Glover were all ruled out. 

MSU won the toss and elected to defer, and after forcing a three-and-out on BC’s first drive, the Spartans drew first blood on a 41-yard field goal by Jonathan Kim. Boston College moved the ball on their next drive, but Cal Haladay forced a fumble recovered by Wayne Matthews to keep the score 3-0, as Michigan State’s defense stepped up again. However, after an MSU three-and-out, the Eagles scored the first touchdown of the contest on an 11-yard touchdown run by Turbo Richard. The Spartans responded immediately with a few big plays, including an Aidan Chiles rush for 11 on third and long and a 40-yard dart to Montorie Foster Jr. to set MSU up in the red zone.

Sports

MSU women’s soccer opens up conference play with dominating 4-1 victory

Erin Grady

EAST LANSING — Michigan State women’s soccer opened up Big Ten play at home, hosting its Big Ten regular season co-champions, the Nebraska Cornhuskers from a year ago. The Spartans fought for 90 minutes, remaining undefeated with a 4-1 victory.  

The Cornhuskers fell to 3-5, while the Spartans reached 7-0-2 with efforts from four different scorers. Graduate students Meg Hughes and Emily Mathews netted first-half goals, while senior Jordyn Wickes and sophomore Ella Janz closed out the second half with a goal each. 

Hughes kicked off the scoring for the Spartans, netting her fifth goal of the season, courtesy of an assist from Gabby Mueller. MSU dominated the remainder of the half, maintaining most of the possession. https://twitter.com/MSU_wsoccer/status/1836896629128856053

Head coach Jeff Hosler commented on the defense, specifically Mueller.  

“The most impressive thing about Gabby’s performance today was the defensive work,” Hosler said.