Michigan State Spartans women's volleyball

Last updated
Michigan State Spartans
Women's Volleyball
Michigan State Spartans wordmark.svg
University Michigan State University
Head coach Leah Johnson (2nd season)
Conference Big Ten
Location East Lansing, Michigan
Home arena Breslin Center (capacity: 14,759)
Nickname Spartans
ColorsGreen and white [1]
   
AIAW/NCAA Tournament semifinal
1995
AIAW/NCAA Regional Final
1995, 1996, 2017
AIAW/NCAA regional semifinal
1995, 1996, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2017
AIAW/NCAA Tournament appearance
1975, 1976, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Conference regular season champion
1975, 1976, 1995, 1996

The Michigan State Spartans women's volleyball team was founded in 1972. They play home matches at the Breslin Center, which they moved to in 2022 after playing at Jenison Fieldhouse.

Contents

History

Carol Davis era

Carol Davis was the first Michigan State indoor volleyball coach in 1972 before being named the first women’s athletic director in the history of the Big Ten. [2]

Karen Peterson era

Karen Peterson was the second Michigan State indoor volleyball coach in 1973. She coached the team to a 6–11 record. [2]

Annelies Knoppers era

Annelies Knoppers took over the head coaching position in 1974. [2]

In her second year of coaching, Michigan State qualified for the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) championships, one of 24 teams to be invited to the tournament. [3] In the 1976 season, Knoppers' Spartans finished the season 35–6. They improved on their 1975 finish in the Midwest Regionals, this time securing a win. They were seeded eighth in the 24 team AIAW tournament. [3]

Knoppers coached for 11 seasons, compiling a 250-197-18 record. She was the coach when the Big Ten Conference started sponsoring volleyball in 1983. [2] She retired to pursue a teaching career. [4]

Ginger Mayson era

Ginger Mayson started coaching the Spartans in 1985. She finished her career with an overall record of 67-181 and a Big Ten Conference record of 22–126 over eight seasons. [2]

Chuck Erbe era

Chuck Erbe was the first male head coach of the Michigan State women's volleyball team, coaching for 12 seasons. His teams participated in the NCAA tournament in ten of those seasons. Their overall record under Erbe was 244-140, with a Big Ten record of 140-100. Erbe was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame. [2]

Cathy George era

Cathy George began coaching the team in 2005. She led the Spartans to 10 NCAA Tournament Appearances. She retired at the end of the 2021 season as the winningest coach in program history, leading the Spartans to a 302–233 record. [5]

Leah Johnson era

Leah Johnson is the current head coach, having been hired in 2022. Before coaching the Spartans, she was the head volleyball coach for the Illinois State Redbirds. [6]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011–12 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2011–12 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans' head coach was Tom Izzo, who was in his 17th year at Michigan State. The team played its home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan, and were members of the Big Ten Conference. MSU finished with a record of 29–8, 13–5 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for first place. The Spartans also won the Big Ten tournament. The Spartans received a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, their 15th consecutive trip to the Tournament, and reached the Sweet Sixteen, losing to Louisville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997–98 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1997–98 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by third-year head coach, Tom Izzo. The Spartans finished the season 22–8, 13–3 in Big Ten play to win a share the regular season Big Ten regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the inaugural Big Ten tournament, they were upset by Minnesota in the quarterfinals. MSU received a bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed in the East region, marking the school's first appearance in the Tournament since 1995 and first under Izzo. They defeated Eastern Michigan in the First Round which marked their first Tournament win since 1994. They then defeated Princeton to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1990. There they lost to No. 1-ranked North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1996–97 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan. They were coached by second-year head coach, Tom Izzo, and were members of the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans finished the season with a record of 17–12, 9–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. MSU received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament for the second consecutive year where they defeated George Washington in the first round before losing to Florida State in the second round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994–95 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1994–95 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1994–95 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by Jud Heathcote in his 19th and final season at Michigan State. The Spartans finished the season with a record of 22–6, 14–4 in Big Ten play to finish in second place, one game behind Purdue. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Southeast region, where they were upset by 14th-seeded Weber State in the First Round. The game marked the final game Heathcote's coaching tenure at MSU. Longtime assistant coach Tom Izzo would take over the following year.

The 2016–17 Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team represented Michigan State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Spartans, led by tenth-year head coach Suzy Merchant, played their home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 21–12, 9–7 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for sixth place. In the Big Ten tournament, they beat Wisconsin and Michigan before losing in the semifinals to Maryland. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 8 seed where the lost in the First Round to Arizona State. Head Coach Suzy Merchant took a medical leave of absence of January 17, 2017 after fainting on the sidelines during a game against Illinois. She also missed the following game against Purdue days after fainting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017–18 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2017–18 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by 23rd-year head coach Tom Izzo, played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference.

Annelies Knoppers is a former college volleyball coach. She coached the Michigan State women's volleyball team for 11 seasons, compiling an overall record of 250-197-18. She was Michigan State's head coach when the Big Ten Conference began sponsoring women's volleyball.

Cathy George is a college women's volleyball coach. She began her coaching career at North Dakota State, coaching there for two years. She moved on to coach Texas-Arlington and made the NCAA tournament twice with the team. She coached Western Michigan next, appearing in the NCAA tournament in 2000 and receiving MAC Coach of the Year. George was most recently the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans and retired at the end of the 2021 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leah Johnson (volleyball)</span> American volleyball player and coach

Leah Michele Johnson is an American former volleyball player and current head coach for the Michigan State Spartans women's volleyball team.

References

  1. "Brand Reference Guide" (PDF). May 18, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2022 Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "MSU volleyballers Texas bound". Lansing State Journal. December 8, 1976. p. 29. Retrieved November 3, 2017 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "MSU Names New Volleyball Coach". Lansing State Journal. March 7, 1985. p. 26. Retrieved November 5, 2017 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "MSU Volleyball Coach Cathy George announces retirement". The State News. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  6. "Leah Johnson Named Head Volleyball Coach at Michigan State". Michigan State Athletic Department. Retrieved February 23, 2022.