EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State volleyball sets sail on its first road trip of the season this weekend as the team looks to remain unbeaten at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational hosted by the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
The Spartans will meet UAlbany, Navy and VCU over the weekend, with matches being played at the Wesley A. Brown Field House. MSU plays twice on Friday, Sep. 2, with an 11:00 a.m. match against UAlbany to kick of the invitational and a 7:00 p.m. match against host Navy. The Spartans conclude the weekend with a 12:00 p.m. match against VCU on Saturday, Sep. 3.
Only matches played against Navy will be streamed at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational. Michigan State’s 7:00 p.m. Friday night match will be streamed on ESPN+ ($). Live stats will be available through StatBroadcast on NavySports.com
THE OPPONENTS
UAlbany is 0-3 this season after losses to Kent State (3-1), James Madison (3-1) and Robert Morris (3-1) at the JMU Invitational. The Great Danes were 14-15 last season, falling to UMBC in the America East championship game. Alexa Harris leads UAlbany in kills averaging 4.00 per set, hitting .238 in the team’s first three matches. Zosia Szczotkiewicz started the final two matches of the weekend at setter, averaging a team-best 8.80 assists per set. Anissia Wong led the Great Danes with 10 total blocks over opening weekend.
The Great Danes are coached by Michigan State graduate Josh Pickard ’02 in his fourth season. UAlbany assistant coach Adam Rollman coached alongside Michigan State assistant coach Jake Barreau for one season at Missouri State (2017) under head coach Leah Johnson‘s collegiate head coach Melissa Stokes.
Navy opened the season 1-2 after playing in the Maryland Invite last weekend. The Mids fell to Florida Gulf Coast (3-1) and Maryland (3-0) before defeating Rhode Island (3-1) to round out the weekend. Navy was 13-14 last season and 8-8 in the Patriot League. Navy is coached by Paco Labrador in his fifth season.
Twins Jamie and Jordan Llewellyn lead the Mids on the outside, with 3.55 and 3.36 kills per set respectively. Setter Averi Miller led the team with 8.09 assists per set over the weekend. Maggie Bodman averages 1.27 blocks per set for Navy through three matches.
VCU hosted the VCU Invitational last weekend, going 1-2…
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