Miami Falls in Five-Set Season Opener at Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Miami volleyball opened the 2026 season on Friday, facing the Michigan State Spartans on the road for only the third time in program history. The Hurricanes bounced back to win sets two and three, but the Spartans rallied to force a fifth set, going on to defeat Miami, 3-2.

Asia Harvey led Miami offensively in her debut in a Hurricanes jersey, tallying 17 kills for a .263 hitting percentage and a .447 kill percentage. Sonja Danilovic hit .400, also recording double digit kills with 11. Billie Reiter added 38 assists for the Hurricanes.

Reiter also led the team defensively, recording 11 blocks, followed closely by Danilovic (nine) and Olivia Durst and Ruth Martinez (eight). Denitsa Angelova recorded five blocks, including one solo block, in her collegiate debut.

Set 1: Michigan State 25, Miami 19
The Spartans and Hurricanes traded points early in the first set, before Michigan State went on a 13-4 run into the 15-point timeout. Miami scored consecutive points out of the timeout, making it a 15-8 game. The Hurricanes later made it a six-point deficit, capitalizing on a Spartans service error before Martinez recorded her first collegiate ace. Logan Wiley led Miami in scoring in the first set, recording three kills, while Angelova led the way with two blocks.

Set 2: Miami 26, Michigan State 24
Michigan State picked up where it left off in the first set before Miami rallied to score three straight points and tie the game. The Spartans went ahead 4-3 and held onto their lead into late in the set. Leading 18-14, Miami went on a 6-3 run to pull within one point. MSU rallied again, making it a 24-21 game before the Hurricanes went on a 5-0 run to win the set. Danilovic recorded two service aces and Harvey added two kills in the final five points to tie the match at 1 set each. Harvey’s five total kills in the second set led the Hurricanes.

Set 3: Miami 25, Michigan State 23
Miami scored two straight points to open the third set, scoring seven straight on the Spartans going back to the second set. The two teams continued to trade points and swap lead changes until the Hurricanes posted the longest scoring run of the set, 4-0, to win the set 25-23 and take the lead in the match. Harvey once again led with six kills, while Martinez had five.

Set 4: Michigan State 25, Miami 19
Michigan State and Miami posted another close matchup in the fourth, recording five lead changes early in the set. The Spartans tied the match at six amid four consecutive points and held the lead for the remainder of the set. Miami pulled within one point twice shortly after Michigan State took the lead and made it a two-point game at 21-19, but the Spartans forced a fifth set.

Set 5: Michigan State 15, Miami 6
The Spartans scored three straight points to open the final set before the Hurricanes capitalized on miscommunication to make it 3-1. Michigan State went on a 9-0 run to open a 12-1 lead before Harvey recorded a kill and Reiter placed the ball perfectly on a serve to make it 12-3. Each team tallied three more points as the Spartans took the set 15-6 and the match 3-2.

Up Next: Sitting at 0-1 in the young 2026 campaign, the Miami Hurricanes will face off against the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday, August 29. First serve is set for 2 p.m.