Michigan State volleyball players celebrate after scoring a point against UCLA in the final game of the regular season on Friday, November 28, 2025, at the Breslin Center. MSU lost the match, 3-2Nathaniel Bott, Lansing State JournalSat, November 29, 2025 at 12:29 AM UTC·2 min readThe Michigan State volleyball program rallied back to force a fifth set against UCLA on Senior Day at the Breslin Center, but dropped the final set 15-9 and fell to the Bruins in the final game of the regular season.
MSU entered the week firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble, but losses to USC and now UCLA have put the Spartans' postseason hopes in jeopardy. MSU finishes the season with an 18-12 record, going 8-12 in the Big Ten, and ended the regular season on a six-game losing streak.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"There is a lot that I want to work on tomorrow, but we got everything out of these athletes that we asked for," MSU coach Kristen Kelsay said. "There are moments in these last three weeks that I want back, but it was never without them giving us everything they had.
"I have a lot of respect, a lot of pride, and a lot of gratitude to the young women on this team and a lot of excitement about where we can go from here."
MSU will now hope that conference wins over Indiana, Michigan, and fellow bubble team Oregon will be enough to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Against UCLA, MSU was led by outside hitters Bianca Mumcular with 17 kills and Karolina Staniszewska with 15 kills. Malayah Long had 44 assists for the Spartans, and libero Lia Schneider led the team with 16 digs.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMSU won the first set 25-17 before dropping the second and third sets. The Spartans rallied with a 25-18 fourth set victory and trailed 11-9 in the fifth set before the Bruins scored the final four points of the match.
MSU only graduates two seniors in Danyle Courtley and Evie Doezema, both of whom went through a special senior day ceremony after the game.
"I'm so proud of this group, and it's not the finish that we wanted, but it doesn't take away from everything that we did this year," MSU coach Kristen Kelsay. "We established the culture and foundation that we will build upon in this program for the years to come."
Contact Nathaniel Bott at [email protected] and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State volleyball drops season finale to UCLA
AdvertisementAdvertisement
