Lansing Sun

Michigan State volleyball faced a challenging match against Washington on Sunday, concluding their Homecoming Weekend with a 3-1 loss at the Breslin Student Events Center. Senior libero Nalani Iosia was a standout player, matching her career-high with 27 digs, tying for the third most in a match by a Big Ten player this season.

The Spartans now hold a record of 7-12 overall and 0-8 in the Big Ten Conference, while Washington improved to 14-4 overall and 4-4 in conference play. Michigan State will hit the road next weekend for matches against USC on Thursday, October 24, and UCLA on Saturday, October 26. The game against USC will be broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network.

Junior outside hitter Akasha Anderson delivered her best performance of the season with 18 kills on .316 hitting along with one block. Junior outside hitter Taylor Preston also contributed significantly with 12 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig was efficient with six kills and six blocks, hitting .545.

Senior setter Julia Bishop equaled her career-high with four blocks and achieved her fifth double-double of the year by recording 35 assists and 13 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Taylah Holdem recorded double-digit digs for the second time this season, finishing with 12.

Iosia's impressive defensive display over the weekend moved her into seventh place all-time for career digs at Michigan State, accumulating a total of 1,261 digs. This season she is averaging 4.51 digs per set, which would rank sixth all-time for a single season at MSU.

In set one, Michigan State showcased strong defense holding Washington to -.0023 hitting and securing five blocks. Despite an early tie at 14-14, MSU went on an 8-1 run to gain control of the set before winning it 25-17.

Set two saw Michigan State start strong but ultimately fall behind as Washington outscored them 22-10 after an initial lead of 8-3. An Anderson kill helped keep MSU competitive late in the frame before losing it.

The third set began well for MSU as they led early but could not maintain momentum as Washington closed out the set with an impressive run to win it again by a score of 25-18.

In set four, despite some promising plays from Michigan State including a block by Kulig and Holdem and an ace from Holdem bringing them within three points late in the game (19-16), Washington secured victory with another strong finish closing out both set four and match at scores of 25-18 respectively.