WHITE DOWNS GREEN IN INTRASQUAD EXHIBITION

East Lansing, Mich. -- - Michigan State’s White team defeated Green 2-1 this afternoon in the annual Green & White Exhibition game.

Nearly 1,000 people attended the annual intrasquad scrimmage, giving fans their first look at the 2018 Spartans. With the graduation of seven seniors from the 2017 edition that advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, there’s plenty of players – both returning and new – stepping into new roles for the coming season.

“This is a great event for our fans,” said head coach Cathy George. “We have such a loyal, passionate fan base and we love being able to have this pre-season showcase. Our schedule has us on the road for the first three weekends of the season, so it’s mid-September before we could have played in front of a home crowd. Our fans are enthusiastic and want to learn about our team, and this is always a fun event for us to play for them as well. I want to thank everyone for coming out to support us today.”

In addition to the advantage for the fans, the Spartans also had a high-energy intrasquad scrimmage, with the White Team taking the victory, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17).

“The level of play today is indicative of what we’ve seen at practice,” added George. “This is a competitive group that challenges one another. We love their chemistry off the court, but also love that they push one another and there’s a high level of competition every single day. Putting on the uniform maybe even brought it to another level today.”

Senior Maddie Haggerty, who missed 2017 with injury, had 13 kills, hit .346, and added four digs and two blocks. Alyssa Chronowski had 11 kills and four digs, Naya Gros had five blocks, an ace, and hit .556 with six kills, and Elena Shklyar had 32 assists. For the Green squad, Meredith Norrishad 14 kills, three digs, and three blocks, and Julia Hatcher had a match-best four blocks and added five kills.

The Spartans open the 2018 season next Saturday at the Tennessee Classic, taking on Chattanooga and Belmont in addition to the host Volunteers. Michigan State’s home opener is Sept. 14-15 when it hosts the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitaitonal.

White team: Jamye Cox, Elena Shklyar, Naya Gros, Rebecka Poljan, Lauryn Gibbs, Alyssa Chronowski, and Maddie Haggerty. Coach: Kristen Kelsay.

Green team: Julia Hatcher, Maggie Midgette, Meredith Norris, Samantha McLane, Talia Edmonds, Volunteer Assistant Coach Arielle Wilson.

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