#1 Penn State at #9 Michigan State - 11/01/17 - 7:00 pm ET

Stat Joust: Let the numbers fight it out until the players take the floor

We've added some additional stats to supplement Millenium's excellent tables:  Click Here for Stat Joust: Penn State vs. Michigan State (Conference-Only Stats as of 10-31-17).  Below is a table on Team and Opponent Hitting Percentage from that post (click on it to enlarge):

Twelve wins in a row? www.collegian.psu.edu/sports/women_volleyball/article_ea49cd76-be9e-11e7-94ab-87c81b98e126.html

Since we don't need Abby to have high offensive numbers for us to succeed, I think it can be enough that she's there as a threat, tying up their blockers, keeping Kranda occupied. With our passing so improved (if we can keep that up w/MSt's tough serving), we just have lots of options. So if we can use Abby only as a decoy, fine by me. Or they'll try to control out on the left, in which case we'll load Abby up. Setters A and B seem to be better about sensing and neutralizing the opponents' blocks, so I'm not sure it will be a coaching decision as much as a play-by-play setter option.

The good thing about tonight is that we can expect, like the WI and IL games, to play against a high-level opponent where the teams are relatively balanced...i think these matches are really effective if you want to battle-harden the team.

Yes, this is huge. 

However, since yesterday I cannot get this ugly notion out of my head that the 5 teams we play  after tonight, but before Wisky and Minny, are not going to help the team stay sharp for that  final weekend. 

For example, just go back to the first game of conference play and see the opponents we had leading into that first weekend. 

I just don't see the team overly affected by the quality of our opponents.  The team has steadily improved and with all of these Seniors, is not likely to come into matches against conference rivals like Wisconsin or Minnesota unprepared.  NYline was trying to explain why Coach did not put Nia Reed in at the end of the Illinois match.  Perhaps the concern you express was one of the reasons Coach chose to keep the starters in.  We may still lose because those two teams are really good, but I don't feel it will be due to over confidence or sloppiness resulting from matches leading up to these tilts.  If anything, we may enter those matches with too much energy.  

Here's some good news: even though this is an away match, and even though one shouldn't look to past performances as an indicator of future success (or something), if one ignores those two things, it's worth noting that from 2010 to date, Penn State has played Michigan State 11 times, winning 10 of those matches. Of the six matches at Rec Hall, Penn State won five and lost one (2-3 in 2013). Of the remaining five matches, one was on a neutral court (Lexington KY in 2013, PSU 3-1) and four were in East Lansing. Penn State went 4-0, winning two by 3-1 and two with sweeps.

Go Lions!