EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State volleyball concludes a four-game home stand this weekend when it welcomes Illinois and Northwestern to the Breslin Student Events Center. The Spartans open the weekend against Illinois at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, November 11 before turning around to play the (RV) Northwestern Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 12. It’s the second straight week of Friday/Saturday back-to-back’s for MSU. Both matches will be streamed live on B1G+, with John Kreger calling the match on the Spartan Radio Network.
National Signing Day was Wednesday across the Division I volleyball landscape and the Spartans were active participants, adding five student-athletes to the roster in advance of the 2023 season. Joining the team as freshmen next season will be Cameron Berger (Setter/Eden Prairie, Minn.), Makya Clayton (DS/Lee’s Summit, Mo.), Zuzanna Kulig (Middle Blocker/Chrzanów, Poland), Karolina Staniszewska (Outside Hitter/Marki, Poland) and Taylah Holdem (Outside Hitter/Christchurch, New Zealand).
Berger was recently named an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Second Team High School All-American this week in addition to earning AVCA All-Region honors. Clayton was named to the AVCA All-America Watch List for 2022 and was named to the AVCA Phenom list in 2020 and 2021. Kulig and Staniszewska are teammates in Poland playing for Stal Mielec in the Polish 1 Liga. Staniszewska was named the best outside hitter at the 2022 U19 European Championships and was the best scorer and receiver at the 2022 U19 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival. Holdem is skilled in the sand and on the court, having played at the U19 Beach World Championships in 2022 and was selected to play in New Zealand’s National Volleyball League of which the top 12 players nationally were selected.
ABOUT ILLINOIS
Illinois is 11-13 this season with a 6-8 record in the Big Ten and a 5-6 record when playing on the road. The Fighting Illini dropped both of its matches last weekend but own a ranked win over then No. 11-ranked Penn State this season. Illinois is coached by Chris Tamas in his sixth season as head coach, bringing a 111-65 career record into the weekend. The Illini are No. 72 in the latest NCAA RPI.
As a team Illinois ranks No. 112 in hitting percentage (.223) and No. 206 in opponents hitting…
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