Spartan Swap: Michigan State’s Brooke Kranda Joins Big Ten Foreign Tour

Michigan State redshirt senior Brooke Kranda will join 13 of her Big Ten colleagues this summer on the Big Ten Foreign Volleyball Tour, which takes place from June 17th-28th. The squad, represented by one player from each of the conference’s 14 member institutions, will play 4 matches in Europe. Off the court, the tour will include participation in community service initiatives, the opportunity to study foreign languages with local students, and cultural visits to cities like Vienna, Austria; Maribor, Slovenia; and Venice and Milan, Italy.

Maryland’s Steve Aird will serve as the head coach for the tour.

Kranda will replace her teammate and fellow senior Autumn Bailey, who was originally scheduled to make the trip. Bailey was forced to withdraw with an undisclosed injury that was deemed minor in nature.

“I’m really excited to have this opportunity,” said Kranda. “I get to return to Europe and play against highly competitive teams for the second time. Our team’s trip to Italy was amazing, and I cannot wait to represent Michigan State and our program and play with the other talented players from the Big Ten Conference. This league is so competitive and talented, and I have no doubt that this experience will be amazing.

“It’s another opportunity to improve my game and another chance to learn about some of the places we’ll be traveling,” continued Kranda. “We toured Venice and visited Milan on our trip with MSU, and also visited Portoroz and Piran in Slovenia. I really enjoyed getting to learn more about those cities, and it will be a nice mix of revisiting some of the sites I got to see on our MSU tour as well as experiencing some new things as well. It’s a fantastic opportunity for which I am really grateful.”

Kranda appeared in 30 of Michigan State’s 34 matches as a junior last season, including 24 starts. She ledhe team with 49 aces on the season. Her average of .56 aces/set led the Big Ten and ranked 6th nationally. Kranda, who can play outside hitter or opposite, has a versatile skill-set that can be useful on these all-star teams. Last year, in 88 sets, she had 187 kills and 55 blocks in addition to the 49 aces.

During Michigan State’s team foreign tour from May 25th-June 3rd, she averaged double-digit kills across 4 matches against the Italian Junior National Team, Slovenian Junior National Team, and professional side Pala VolleyRoma.