Friday, September 25
East Lansing, Mich.
3:00 PM
University of Washington
at
Michigan State
Huskies Open Big Ten With Battle Of Unbeatens
September 24, 2026 | Volleyball
THIS WEEK IN HUSKY VOLLEYBALL
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
Washington at Michigan State, 3:00 pm PT
East Lansing, Mich. • Breslin Center
Live stream on Big Ten Plus | Live Stats
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
Washington at Michigan, 9:00 am PT
Ann Arbor, Mich. • Crisler Center
Live broadcast on Big Ten Network | Live Stats
SEATTLE -- Husky Volleyball has started strong through the nine non-conference matches, but the real work starts now. Washington (9-0) opens up Big Ten Conference play this week with two big road tests right off the bat. It will be a battle of the unbeatens in the conference opener, as UW visits Michigan State (10-0) in East Lansing, Mich. on Friday, Sept. 25. From there the Dawgs will be off to Ann Arbor on Sunday to take on Michigan, another B1G team that was strong in non-con at 9-2.
Friday's match will start at 3 p.m. Pacific time and be live streamed on Big Ten Plus, and Sunday will have an early west coast start of 9 a.m. and will be UW's first appearance on the Big Ten Network this year.
Washington went undefeated in non-conference play for the second time in the past three seasons, also doing so in 2024, the last time UW made the NCAA tournament. UW, Michigan State, and No. 1-ranked Nebraska are the three B1G teams to go into conference play unbeaten.
Through the first month of the season, UW has shown improvement in areas that will continue to be crucial in Big Ten play. The Dawgs have been winning the serve-and-pass battle, with 61 aces and only 30 surrendered. Last season UW was out-aced by their opponents, 176 to 168. UW gave up 1.54 aces per set last year, this season they are only allowing 0.88 per set. Washington's defense has limited opponents to just .138 attacking for the season, down from .214 a year ago, though many big tests against high-powered offenses are still to come.Â
Michigan State's defense has been even stingier than UW's so far, allowing just .118 for the season. The Spartans are also hitting .345 to lead the conference. MSU also leads with 2.36 aces per set. Alanna Bankston leads the squad with 3.81 kills per set, and both MSU middles are in the top-10 in attack percentage, as Carmen Waye leads the league at .542 and Zora Hardison is ninth at .430, and both also average better than 1.30 blocks per set. Setter Malayah Long is third in aces with 0.55 per set. The Huskies and Spartans have split two meetings since UW joined the conference, each winning on the other's home court.
Michigan will host 14th-ranked Penn State on Friday before facing the Huskies. Michigan's only losses are to 11th-ranked TCU in four sets and in five sets to South Carolina. The squad is led by Elle Demetrician who is second among B1G players with 4.23 kills per set. The Wolverines are hitting .301 as a team and holding opponents to a .172 mark. Morgan Burke is a tough server with 0.51 aces per set. MB Jenna Hanes is hitting .436 with 59 kills and just 8 errors. Libero Meredith Martin leads the conference with 4.21 digs per set. UW has yet to earn a win in two prior conference meetings with Michigan.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
Washington at Michigan State, 3:00 pm PT
East Lansing, Mich. • Breslin Center
Live stream on Big Ten Plus | Live Stats
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
Washington at Michigan, 9:00 am PT
Ann Arbor, Mich. • Crisler Center
Live broadcast on Big Ten Network | Live Stats
SEATTLE -- Husky Volleyball has started strong through the nine non-conference matches, but the real work starts now. Washington (9-0) opens up Big Ten Conference play this week with two big road tests right off the bat. It will be a battle of the unbeatens in the conference opener, as UW visits Michigan State (10-0) in East Lansing, Mich. on Friday, Sept. 25. From there the Dawgs will be off to Ann Arbor on Sunday to take on Michigan, another B1G team that was strong in non-con at 9-2.
Friday's match will start at 3 p.m. Pacific time and be live streamed on Big Ten Plus, and Sunday will have an early west coast start of 9 a.m. and will be UW's first appearance on the Big Ten Network this year.
Washington went undefeated in non-conference play for the second time in the past three seasons, also doing so in 2024, the last time UW made the NCAA tournament. UW, Michigan State, and No. 1-ranked Nebraska are the three B1G teams to go into conference play unbeaten.
Through the first month of the season, UW has shown improvement in areas that will continue to be crucial in Big Ten play. The Dawgs have been winning the serve-and-pass battle, with 61 aces and only 30 surrendered. Last season UW was out-aced by their opponents, 176 to 168. UW gave up 1.54 aces per set last year, this season they are only allowing 0.88 per set. Washington's defense has limited opponents to just .138 attacking for the season, down from .214 a year ago, though many big tests against high-powered offenses are still to come.Â
Michigan State's defense has been even stingier than UW's so far, allowing just .118 for the season. The Spartans are also hitting .345 to lead the conference. MSU also leads with 2.36 aces per set. Alanna Bankston leads the squad with 3.81 kills per set, and both MSU middles are in the top-10 in attack percentage, as Carmen Waye leads the league at .542 and Zora Hardison is ninth at .430, and both also average better than 1.30 blocks per set. Setter Malayah Long is third in aces with 0.55 per set. The Huskies and Spartans have split two meetings since UW joined the conference, each winning on the other's home court.
Michigan will host 14th-ranked Penn State on Friday before facing the Huskies. Michigan's only losses are to 11th-ranked TCU in four sets and in five sets to South Carolina. The squad is led by Elle Demetrician who is second among B1G players with 4.23 kills per set. The Wolverines are hitting .301 as a team and holding opponents to a .172 mark. Morgan Burke is a tough server with 0.51 aces per set. MB Jenna Hanes is hitting .436 with 59 kills and just 8 errors. Libero Meredith Martin leads the conference with 4.21 digs per set. UW has yet to earn a win in two prior conference meetings with Michigan.
Sunday, September 27
Sunday, September 27
Sunday, September 27
Sunday, September 27
