Electric atmosphere leads No. 10 Michigan State volleyball to 3-1 win over rival Michigan

EAST LANSING — The finale of it all still hasn’t sunk in for Rachel Minarick.

Michigan State’s senior setter wanted to keep it light-hearted Wednesday night. She praised the sellout crowd inside Jenison Field House. She talked with the media about the dominance of her teammates.

And of course, the Spartans’ dominating 3-1 win that concluded just moments earlier.

What she tried to avoid discussing was this being the last time she would ever line up on the opposite side of the net from Michigan, the team’s bitter in-state rival.

It’s an emotional topic.

“It was sad,” Minarick said after assisting on a career-best 58 points. “I am trying not to think about all of that. We still have a game ahead of us, but after the fact, it was like, that was our last set.”

Each year, the Michigan game is a must-see event. The school dubs it “Jam Jenison.”

Wednesday night, Spartans fans did just that.

Two hours before game time, hundreds of fans lined the sidewalk and steps outside of the old field house. What was once Magic Johnson, Jud Heathcote and Jay Vincent’s stomping grounds, is now home to the No. 10 volleyball team in the country. The 95th edition of this game was nationally televised, but that didn’t stop more than 4,900 fans, young and old, from making their way through the old wooden doors and turnstiles.

MSU leads the all-time series 54-40-1, by the way.

For 12 seasons, Cathy George has roamed the sidelines as head coach of the volleyball team at MSU. She has a lot of memorable moments and wins in this building, but admitted that when Michigan is in town, it’s just different.

“The crowd is great,” she said. “It’s always so much fun and a great match. It’s an in-state rivalry and you love all the passion that comes in from the crowd. The people get behind us and give us that extra support.”

MORE MICHIGAN STATE VOLLEYBALL:

• No. 16 Michigan State volleyball avoids 'trap game' vs. Maryland, await Ohio State
• Michigan State volleyball player Holly Toliver seeing rewards of hard work
• Unusually emotional MSU volleyball coach Cathy George on win No. 600: 'It's awesome'

The north side of the arena is home to “George’s Jungle,” a rowdy student section, which is situated next to the band. Students were at full throat from the opening serve, cheering, singing and waving large cardboard cutouts of MSU’s seven seniors above their heads. Beach balls bounced row to row. The smell of free pizza hung in the air.

Senior outside hitter Autumn Bailey called the atmosphere electric.

Her career night aided the festivities. Bailey finished with her sixth double-double — a career-best 16 kills and 10 digs — in just nine Big Ten games. With each punishing spike, the capacity crowd roared and the band blared.

Those are just a few of the things she will miss about playing U-M at home.

“It’s the biggest crowd we get every year,” she said. “It’s probably our last time playing in front of a crowd this big. So it’s definitely a bit emotional. We look forward to this and love the atmosphere.”

MSU (14-4, 7-2) is currently tied for third in the conference standings with Minnesota and Illinois.

To put that in perspective, the Big Ten has six teams in the Top 25. Five of those are in the top 10, including top-ranked Penn State.

There are no off-nights in this league.

The Wolverines are not one of the top teams, sitting at 13-8 overall with a 3-6 mark in league play. They won the second set Wednesday, 27-25.

The records don’t matter.

Alyssa Garvalink is another senior who tried to curtail the reality of the situation.

She didn’t want to admit that this is the last time, but she played like it. The Holland native finished the night with 14 kills, including a team-high five in a 25-19 opening-set win, and zero hitting errors. That’s a rare feat for a powerful net presence.

“I think you try not to, but it’s kind of hard not to think about it,” she said of facing U-M one last time in East Lansing. “I mean, this is a really emotional game with all the fans and the atmosphere. It just really affects the way we play — in a good way.

“It means a lot that so many people came out to watch us. It’s just fun to perform for them.”

Four MSU seniors — Holly Toliver, Garvelink, Brooke Kranda and Bailey — finished with double-digit kills. Kranda added three service aces, and Jamye Cox landed a team-best 20 digs. The Spartans won the final two sets, 25-21 and 25-16, respectively, to claim the first match of the season with U-M.

MSU will travel to Ann Arbor Nov. 15.

Minarick said she is already looking forward to that trip. She knows that there, the roles will be reversed. Their fans will have the upper hand. They will pack the stands.

Even though she had just finished the best statistical night of her four-year career, Minarick dished out one last assist — to the home crowd.

“I think, at times, we let (the fans) do the work for us and we aren’t allowed on the court ourselves,” she laughed. “It’s definitely helpful for us.”

Contact Cody Tucker at (517) 377-1070 or cjtucker@lsj.com and follow him on Twitter @CodyTucker_LSJ.