St. Francis grad Kelsay focuses on ‘family’ as first-year head coach at Michigan State

The Kelsay family — Nikki, from left, Bruce, Kristen, Mary, and McKenna — were all at Michigan State’s Breslin Center on Aug. 30 to see Kristen Kelsay earn her first victory as the Spartans head women’s volleyball coach, in three sets over Merrimack in East Lansing. Courtesy of Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletic Communications

In her first season as head women’s volleyball coach at Michigan State University, Kristen Kelsay is focused on creating the sense of a “Spartan family.”

“How being a Spartan is about being something bigger than yourself,” said Kelsay, of Wheaton.

She’s well-versed in all things Spartan — a 2010 graduate of St. Francis High School, the Spartans, and a setter on the Michigan State women’s team from 2010-13.

A fine example of family came in Kelsay’s first match, when h