EAST LANSING, Mich. – The 2008 Michigan State volleyball squad (10-3, 2-0) will hit the road this weekend as it continues Big Ten Conference play. The Spartans first stop will be in Bloomington, Ind. to take on Indiana (8-7, 0-3) on Friday night at 7 p.m. Next up will be a clash with No. 1 and defending national champion Penn State (15-0, 3-0) in State College, Pa. on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The match against Penn State will be featured live on the Big Ten Network.

The Spartans enter the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the nation as they are currently riding a 10-match winning streak, dating back to Sept. 5 against Syracuse. Only one team in the Big Ten, Penn State, has a longer current streak and the 10 consecutive wins is the sixth-best active streak in the nation. During that span, the Spartans have won two Big Ten contests, giving them a 2-0 Big Ten record for the first time since 1996. The Spartans 10-match win streak is also the longest since 1996.

Through the winning streak, MSU has climbed up the national ranks in many statistical categories, ranking fourth in kills and sixth in assists per set. MSU is hitting .314 as a team, highlighted by a season-best .440 against Connecticut during the winning streak, which has moved its season total to .263, ranking them 27th overall. The primary reason for the Spartans efficient attack has been junior middle blocker Vanessa King (Spring Lake, Mich.), who was rewarded for her play last weekend as the Big Ten Player of the Week. Over the last nine matches, King has hit .475 with 108 kills. She has not hit lower than .364 in that span. King had one of her best performances against No. 21 Michigan on Saturday after tallying a career-best 18 kills on 31 attacks. Her .548 hitting percentage was her third-best total of the season. Over the weekend, King tallied 31 kills with just six errors on 53 swings. She also posted two aces, 14 blocks and six digs.

Indiana is led by one of the top offensive weapons in the nation, Erica Short. Short joins Yarimar Rosa of Florida International as the only two players in the nation that average more than 5.00 kills per set as she comes in at 5.08. She is also the only player in the Big Ten to have more than 600 attacks and is hitting .260 on the season.

Although much of the Hoosier attack runs through Short, sophomore middle blocker Ashley Benson has been a bright spot for IU. Benson joins Short as the only two players on the IU roster with more than 100 kills as she enters play in with 176. Benson also leads the Hoosiers with a .337 hitting percentage and 85 blocks.

Penn State comes into Saturday’s contest at 15-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation. Despite playing four top-25 teams and two top-10 programs, PSU has not dropped a set en route to its perfect record. The Nittany Lions are hitting a nation-best .399 and have received every first-place vote in the AVCA/CBS Top-25 poll in each of the last three weeks. Dating back to last season, Penn State has won 41 consecutive matches, losing just eight sets in that span. The Nittany Lions defeated Indiana on Wednesday, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-19).

Live audio, featuring the voice of the Spartans, John Kreger, and live stats for both matches can be found at www.msuspartans.com.