The Big Ten, which has two teams — Nebraska and Penn State — in the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship, made its news off the court Monday.
In a surprise move, Michigan State and coach Leah Johnson “have mutually agreed that Johnson will step down as the program’s head coach, effective immediately.”
And more surprising is that Purdue, which finished fourth in the conference this seasson and advanced to the NCAA Tournament round of 16, is going to need some new players: Its two outsides, Big Ten first-teamer Eva Hudson and second-teamer Chloe Chicoine, are in the transfer portal along with middle Lourdes Myers.
There were other player moves, too: NCAA kills leader Caylen Alexander of Hawai’i is transferring to Missouri and Ohio State’s Emmi Sellman is going to Penn State.
These are strange times.
And this is a potpourri edition of Volleyball Today that includes news from USA Volleyball and our report on American women playing internationally:
Michigan State needs a volleyball coach
Michigan State, which finished 13-18 this season, 6-14 in the Big Ten, put out a fairly complimentary news release about third-year Johnson’s exit, including that, “This past season, Michigan State posted a 13-18 mark, including 6-14 in the Big Ten, including a win over No. 16 USC. MSU twice played in front of home crowds of more than 6,900 fans, as 6,930 witnessed a four-set win over Michigan, and 8,291 were in attendance vs. Nebraska, marking the second-largest crowd in program history.
“Johnson led the Spartans to 17 victories in 2023, the most by the MSU volleyball program since 2019. MSU’s nine conference wins were the most since 2017. On Oct. 28, 2023, Johnson and the Spartans defeated No. 13-ranked Penn State (3-2) which marked MSU’s first home win over a nationally ranked opponent since 2017.”
Read the entire news release here.
This is the fifth Power 4 opening after Wake Forest UCF and Cincinnati fired their coaches and Luka Slabe resigned from NC State.
Louisiana Tech of Conference USA hired Scott Mattera, coach of Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas, Read the LA Tech news release here.
Arizona-BGSU in NIVC championship match
Arizona (23-9) of the Big 12, which has won 10 matches in a row, three in the NIVC, plays host Tuesday to the MAC’s Bowling Green (25-9). The last time these teams met was in 1988.
The 8 p.m. Eastern start will be streamed on ESPN+.
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