The Support Group of
Michigan State University Women's Volleyball

Note: Because many of the news items on this page link to current-news sites that are updated frequently, some links in the archive may no longer work.

2016 Annual Awards Presented

The following awards were presented at the annual volleyball banquet on January 8, 2017 at the Kellogg Center:

SideOut Club Service Award: Carole Brogan
Academic All-Conference Selections: Autumn Christenson, Allyssah Fitterer, Alyssa Garvelink, Rachel Minarick, Chloe Reinig, and Megan Tompkins
Kirkby Scholar-Athlete Award:Rachel Minarick
Most Improved Award: Lauren Swartz
Most Inspirational Award: Autumn Christenson
Extra Mile Award: Allyssah Fitterer
Playmaker Award: Alyssa Garvelink
MVP Award: Alyssa Garvelink

The SideOut Club presented Coach George with a check for $10,000 for use by the volleyball program.

Garvelink and Bailey Earn All-America Honors

On December 16, 2016, MSU junior middle blocker Alyssa Garvelink was named to the 2016 Division I All-America second team, and junior outside hitter Autumn Bailey earned honorable mention recognition.

Alyssa is now the fourth Spartan to earn second-team honors, the first since Lauren Wicinski in 2013. Autumn now has her third consecutive honorable mention, following two such awards while playing at Marquette University. [full story]

Garvelink, Bailey, and Fitterer Named as All-Region Selections

A trio of Spartan volleyball players won honors in the AVCA North Region for 2016. Juniors Alyssa Garvelink and Autumn Bailey were selected for the All-Region team, while Senior Allyssah Fitterer was an Honorable Mention pick. [full story]

Big Ten Season Honors for Four Spartans

Alyssa Garvelink has earned First Team All-Big Ten honors for 2016, with Rachel Minarick and Autumn Bailey garnering Honorable Mention selections. Allyssah Fitterer was the team's recipient of the Sportsmanship Award. [full story]

MSU Seeded No. 9 in NCAA Tournament

Michigan State volleyball will host the first two rounds of the 2016 NCAA Division1 volleyball tournament as the number 9 seed in the country. This is the highest seed for the Spartans since 1995 when they were seeded number 6. This will be the fifth time MSU has hosted the opening rounds of the tournament, following 1995, 1996, 1998, and 2003.

The Spartans will face Fairfield at 7:30 p.m. in Jenison Field House on Friday, December 2. At 5:00 p.m. Arizona will take on Cleveland State. The two Friday winners will play Saturday at 7:00 p.m. for the right to advance to the regional the following weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Tickets for Friday's and Saturday's matches go on sale Monday, November 28 at 10:00 a.m. [full story]

Win Over Iowa Caps a Great Season!

The Spartan volleyball team defeated Iowa 3-1 on Saturday to complete an outstanding 2016 regular season. It's now expected that the Spartans will be selected as one of the top 16 teams who will host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament starting December 2. This would be the first time MSU has hosted since 2003.

The team's 2016 overall record of 24-8 is the best in two decades, since the Big Ten championship team of 1996. Their Big Ten record of 13-7 was last matched in 2001, and this year's 5th-place finish in the conference is the best since 2007.

Future Spartan Meredith Norris named Michigan's Miss Volleyball

When Meredith Norris enrolls at MSU in the spring, she will do so as the top volleyball player in the state. On November 14, 2016, the 6' 3" outside hitter was named Michigan's Miss Volleyball. Meredith is the daughter of MSU volleyball team physician Dr. Robert Norris.

The last Miss Volleyball to become a Spartan was Kyndra Abron, the winner in 2007.

[full story]

Awards to Two Spartans for the Second Week in a Row

For the week of November 14, 2016, two Spartans were again chosen for Big Ten Player-of-the-week honors. Junior middle blocker Alyssa Garvelink repeated her performance of last week as Co-Defensive Player of the Week. She was joined by junior setter Rachel Minarick who was named Setter of the Week. Congratulations to both Rachel and Alyssa! [full story]

Three Recruits Announced for 2017

For the 2017 season, MSU volleyball will be joined by three athletes who rank among the top 40 Volleyball Senior Aces:
- Alyssa Chronowski, a 6-2 outside hitter from Munster, Indiana,
- Jamye Cox, a 5-3 libero from Oregon, Ohio, and
- Meredith Norris, a 6-3 outside hitter from Corunna, Michigan.

All three players will enroll at MSU for spring semester 2017.
[MSU press release]
[Chronowski story]
[Cox story]
[Norris story]

Bailey, Garvelink Win Conference Honors

Spartans copped two of the Big Ten weekly awards for November 7, 2016, with outside hitter Autumn Bailey named Player of the Week and middle blocker Alyssa Garvelink sharing the Defensive Player of the Week honor.

The two juniors helped the Spartans to authoritative wins over Illinois and Northwestern, moving into fourth place in the conference standings. Bailey averaged 3.8 kills per set while hitting .391. Garvelink averaged 2.3 blocks per set. [full story]

MSU Moves Up in the Rankings

After a very good pre-conference run of victories, the AVCA Coaches Poll for September 19 shows MSU on the rise, with a national ranking of #20. This is the highest ranking for the Spartans at this point in the season since 2013. In addition, the Pablo computer rankings put the Spartans at number 14.

Spartans Ranked Just Below Top 25 in Preseason Poll

The 2016 AVCA Division I Coaches Preseason poll shows the MSU volleyball program getting quite a few votes, but not quite enough to crack the top 25. This is about the same spot they finished in the final poll for 2015. Indications are that the team should be stronger this year, so we're expecting the Spartans to climb in the poll. [full poll]

Florida Game Highlights 2016 Pre-Conference Season

MSU's 2016 opening home tournament will feature an appearance by the Florida Gators. Florida has one of the top volleyball programs in the country, ranked number 10 in the 2016 AVCA pre-season poll, and this will be their first appearance in Jenison Field House. The game is set for Sunday September 4 at 3:30 p.m. [full 2016 schedule]

MSU Volleyball Welcomes New Assistant Coach

On February 17, 2016, head coach Cathy George announced the selection of JT Wenger as an assistant coach for Michigan State volleyball. JT has most recently been associate head coach at University of Colorado for the last two years. He played volleyball at UCLA in 2001 through 2004 and has had a wide variety of other coaching experience prior to Colorado. [full story]

Mike Gawlik Leaving Spartans to Join Chippewas

Associate Head Coach Mike Gawlik has accepted the head coaching position for Central Michigan University's women's volleyball team. Mike had been with the Spartan volleyball program since 2005, first as volunteer assistant coach, then as assistant coach, and finally associate head coach. We're thrilled to have had Mike here for these many years and we wish him the very best in the rest of his career! [full story]

Annual Meeting in Jenison April 16

The SideOut Club’s Annual Meeting will be held Saturday, April 16, 2016 in Jenison Field House, between games during the spring tournament (see below). The meeting is scheduled for noon in classroom 209 in Jenison.

All members are encouraged to attend. The Club’s annual financial statement will be presented and there will be an election for the Board of Directors. The Annual Meeting also serves as a forum for members to voice any suggestions or concerns. Hope to see you on the 16th!

Spring Tournament April 16

The Spartans will host a nine-team spring tournament in Jenison Field House on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Teams will include MSU volleyball alumni, Wright State, Toledo, Bowling Green, Findlay, Ferris State, Grand Valley State, and Central Michigan. Games will start at 9 a.m. and admission is free. [full schedule]

The tournament will be the first chance for fans to see the team's two new freshman middle blockers, Olivia Bishop and Sarah Shafiq, who just arrived at MSU for spring semester.

The spring schedule will open four weeks earlier on March 19 with the Grand Rapids Hall of Fame Volleyball Showcase at Aquinas College. MSU will play Michigan at 6:30 p.m.

March 25 brings a 7:30 p.m. game against Ohio State at the Premier Academy in Maumee, Ohio. On April 9, the Spartans will be at the KIVA Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky.

(Note: because of the nature of spring scheduling, all times are subject to change, but will be more firm as the events get closer.)

Big Ten and Other News

Coaching Change at Illinois

On February 10, 2017, Chris Tamas was named head volleyball coach at the University of Illinois. He was an All-American and four-year starter at the Univeristy of the Pacific and his eight years as an assistant coach include stints at Nebraska, Minnesota, and others. [full story]

Tamas is replacing eight-year head coach Kevin Hambly, who was just hired into one of the premier programs in the country, Stanford University, replacing John Dunning who retired this year. [full story]

Big Ten On Top of the Preseason Poll

Defending national champion Nebraska is ranked number 1 in the 2016 AVCA Division I Coaches Preseason poll, with a total of 7 Big Ten teams in the top 25, more than any other conference. [full poll]

Video Challenge Approved; Pursuit Rule Eliminated for 2016

The NCAA has approved a video review system to challenge referee calls starting in the 2016 season. In 2015 there was a similar experimental system used at a few schools.

The Playing Rules committee also voted to eliminate the little-used pursuit rule due to safety concerns. [full story]

Coaching Change at Northwestern

Keylor Chan is out as head volleyball coach at Northwestern University after 16 seasons. 2015 was a losing season for the Wildcats, their first since 2008. Their overall record during Chan's tenure was 228-247.

Taking over in Evanston is Shane Davis, moving from just a few miles away after 12 years leading the Loyola University men's volleyball program, a stint that included two national championships. [full story]

Chan, who is married to former Spartan volleyball player Maren Witzel, has accepted the position of head coach at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. [full story]

Big Ten Sets Record for Tournament Teams

The Big Ten has a record number of nine teams in the 2015 NCAA tournament, more than any other conference, including five of the 16 seeded teams as well as four of the top seven seeds.

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