Volleyball announces 2010 schedule

The MSU volleyball team, which returns 11 letterwinners from its 2009 squad, announced its schedule for the 2010 season Tuesday.

Playing a tough schedule, the Spartans will face nine of the 21 teams in last season’s NCAA Tournament and three of the four NCAA Semifinal teams.

Following the MSU vs. MSU alum exhibition Aug. 21, MSU begins its regular season at the MSU Showcase Aug. 27-28 in East Lansing.

After a difficult nonconference slate, which includes a match against 2009 NCAA Semifinalist Hawaii at the Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic in Honolulu, MSU begins Big Ten play Sept. 24 by hosting another semifinal team in Minnesota. For their first conference road trip, the Spartans will travel to Penn State on Oct. 1 to take on the Nittany Lions, the two-time defending national champions.

MSU’s final home match will be against rival Michigan on senior night Nov. 24. The Spartans then will conclude the regular season two days later at Northwestern.

Last season, the Spartans had a 17-16 overall record and lost to Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.