Column: Tough Big Ten prepared volleyball for NCAA Tournament

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Going into the NCAA Tournament, the MSU volleyball team will have to prepare for facing some of the best teams in the nation.

If the Spartans are able to fight past Arizona in the first round, they likely will face the best team in the tournament in No. 1 seeded Texas less than 24 hours later.

And if they manage to knock off the No. 1 seed, they still have three more rounds to go until the ultimate prize — an NCAA championship.

So how does head coach Cathy George prepare her team for such a grueling draw?

Well, playing nine weeks in the nation’s toughest volleyball conference certainly helps.

During the course of Michigan State’s 21-11 regular season, the Spartans played 11 matches against teams that finished the season in the top 25, including three teams that were ranked No. 1 overall at some point in the season. Eight of the tournament’s 64 teams came from the Big Ten, and five earned seeded spots, more than any other conference in the country.

And MSU has fared pretty well against those teams.

Early on in the conference season, MSU put then-No. 2 Nebraska on the ropes, taking the Cornhuskers to five sets before falling 3-2. Just two weeks later, MSU almost knocked off then-No. 1 Illinois in Champaign, Ill., one of the most difficult college volleyball environments in the nation.

In their next meeting, the Spartans shocked the No. 7 Fighting Illini, 3-1, in what might be the defining win of the season.

And while MSU is being overlooked in favor of perennial powerhouses, such as Penn State and Nebraska, maybe that’s a good thing.

The Spartans have thrived on perceived disrespect all season.

Despite several quality wins over ranked opponents, and its first 21-win season in four years, the Spartans did not crack the AVCA Coaches Top 25 poll once.

When the Big Ten handed out postseason awards Tuesday, freshman libero Kori Moster was left off the list, despite leading the Big Ten in conference-only digs, with 365 — one for every play of Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” at Jenison Field House this season.

But when it comes down to it, whether the Spartans get respect or not is irrelevant.

All they need to do this weekend is win. And if respect won games, Tim Tebow would have been out of a job six weeks ago.

So going into Friday’s game against Arizona, it’s unlikely rankings or postseason awards will even be lingering thoughts for the Spartans.

Instead, George will have her players fully focused on the task at hand.

And if the Spartans take care of business against the Wildcats, there is no reason they can’t shock the volleyball world once again by playing Texas with the same quiet intensity they’ve given all season.

But don’t tell George that. Something tells me she won’t want to hear it until Saturday morning.

Jesse O’Brien is a State News volleyball reporter. He can be reached at obrie151@msu.edu.

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