KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team visits Michigan State on Tuesday night in an early-season battle of unbeatens.

WMU (6-0) at Michigan State (5-0)
Tuesday, Sept. 8 | 6 pm | WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUVolleyball

BATTLE OF THE UNBEATENS
Following a 3-0 weekend at the Omaha Tournament, Western Michigan heads right back out on the road on Tuesday night as it visits Michigan State. The Broncos and Spartans are two of the 22 remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division I volleyball, with WMU one of just eight programs sitting at 6-0 or better. The Brown and Gold are 6-0 for the first time since starting their historic 2023 campaign with seven straight wins.

SERIES HISTORY
Michigan State comes into Tuesday with a 21-8-1 lead in the all-time series between the two programs, which are meeting for the third straight year. The road team has won the prior two matchups, with the Spartans coming into Kalamazoo and winning in four last year, while the Broncos swept MSU in their last trip to East Lansing back in 2024. 

BRONCOS VS THE BIG TEN
Tuesday night's contest against Michigan State will be Western Michigan's ninth matchup against a Big Ten foe since the start of the 2021 season. During that stretch, the Brown and Gold have picked up wins over Indiana, Michigan and MSU. 

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan continued its hot start to the season by picking up three more victories to win the Omaha Tournament. After outlasting tournament hosts Omaha in five on Thursday night, the Brown and Gold swept Chicago State on Friday and beat Louisiana Tech in four on Saturday. Leah Richmond and Annalise Patchett each picked up a pair of double-doubles, while Gabby Weihe led the WMU attack with 3.75 kills per set on a blistering .542 hitting percentage.

DEFENSE GETTING IT DONE
After leading the nation in total digs, ranking fourth nationally in digs per set and 35th nationally in opposing hitting percentage last year, the WMU defense has picked up right where it left off. Through two weeks, the Brown and Gold are 31st in NCAA DI in digs per set (15.64) and 63rd in blocks per set (2.50), which has helped them post the 15th-lowest opposing hitting percentage in the country at .129. Three Broncos rank in the top-10 of the MAC in total digs, while Gabby Weihe and Cassidy Pratley are both among the league's top-10 in both total blocks and blocks per set.

SETTING THE TABLE
Leah Richmond totaled 133 assists (11.08 per set) and picked up a pair of double-doubles in WMU's 3-0 weekend at the Omaha Tournament. Through the first two weeks of the season, Richmond sits atop the conference and 23rd nationally with 10.64 assists per set, and has Western Michigan 33rd in the nation with a .278 hitting percentage.