Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Pepperdine
Volleyball Falls To Pepperdine In Second Round of NCAA Tournament
12/4/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Dec. 4, 1999
MALIBU, Calif. - Michigan State accomplished its two major goals for the 1999 season: getting to the NCAA Tournament for a sixth straight year and making it further into the tournament than last season. No. 10 Pepperdine denied the Spartans any further list checking with a 15-5, 15-9, 12-15, 15-5 win on its home court, Firestone Fieldhouse, in Malibu, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 4 in NCAA second round action.
The Spartans again struggled at the service line, matching their first round blunders with 12 service errors. In its first round win over Cal Poly, MSU hit a season-high 10 service errors but also recorded 12 service errors.
Sarah Gustin led MSU with 19 kills, 13 digs and six blocks, completing a solid NCAA Tournament. Jessica Sanborn added 16 kills, six digs and four blocks. Angela Morley was big at the net with nine blocks. Pepperdine outhit MSU for the match, .218-.138, and had more kills, 72-54, but the Spartans won the blocking battle, 15-11.
?We got beat by a better team tonight,? said Michigan State head coach Chuck Erbe. ?That happens in the NCAA Tournament. Pepperdine will do well as they move through the tournament.
?I?m pleased that in our first three games we got better in each game,? continued Erbe. ?In the fourth game we got down but hung tough and rallied a little at the end.?
Michigan State got off to another slow start in game one as both teams struggled with its serves. Pepperdine opened up a 9-2 lead. After a Spartan timeout the team showed signs of life, scoring three straight points to get to within four at 5-9. Morley tagged her first serve of the year to mix things up for MSU but the Waves answered with six consecutive points to end the game with a 15-5 win. Gustin led the Spartans with three kills as MSU was outhit .429-.200. Kyla Smith subbed in for Maren Witzel late in the game, recording one kill in her first tournament action.
In game two the Spartans and Waves were tied at 1-1 early before Pepperdine opened a 5-2 lead. MSU fought back to tie the score at 7-7 before the Waves began another run which culminated in a 15-9 win. Smith started the game for MSU and notched two more kills. Morley continued serving duties, showing an accurate and powerful stroke. Sanborn and Gustin led the Spartans in game two with five kills each. MSU could muster just a .111 hitting percentage compared with .263 for Pepperdine.
The intermission between the second and third games provided an epiphany for Michigan State as the team came out with its confidence and proceeded to build a 9-3 lead in game three. A Pepperdine timeout triggered three quick points for the Waves, leading to MSU?s first timeout of the game. The Spartans looked stunned as the Pepperdine attack continued and suddenly the Waves were back into the game, down just one at 12-11, causing the Spartans to call their second timeout of the match. Angela Morley knocked down a kill in the middle for an MSU sideout and a Pepperdine hitting error got the Spartans to within two of game point. The Waves called their second timeout of the game to halt the Spartan mini run but MSU held on to crawl to a 15-12 win.
Sanborn scored six kills in the third game for MSU while Gustin added five. MSU outhit the Waves .200-.066 and outblocked them 7-4. Morley added four blocks in the game and moved into second place on the MSU single-season blocking chart.
Nothing went right for the Spartans in game four as Pepperdine stormed to a 12-0 lead. MSU rallied with four consecutive points, three of which came from Spartan block assists, before the Waves closed out the game and match at 15-5.
Lisa Ashton saw her first action since September in the back row for MSU, subbing in for a hobbled Tammy Vonderheide, who started the match playing on a sprained foot. Smith played in all four games with three kills, eight digs and two blocks.
Borom hit a match-high 19 kills for Pepperdine and Jamie Hill added 17 kills and five blocks.
Michigan State ends its 1999 season with a 21-13 record overall and was 10-10 in the Big Ten. Pepperdine improves to 26-3 overall and advances to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.
