Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Penn State
Volleyball Falls In Five To No. 2 Penn State
9/24/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 24, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Unranked Michigan State defeated No. 2 Penn State in game one, 15-10, to set the tone of the match in Jenison Field House on Friday, Sept. 24 in both teams' Big Ten opener. Junior middle Jessica Sanborn had eight kills in the first game to pace the Spartans, while junior outside hitter Sarah Gustin and sophomore outside hitter Erin Hartley added seven and five, respectively. The Lions ended up winning in five games, 10-15, 15-3, 15-5, 11-15, 15-8.
The Nittany Lions evened the score in game two by taking advantage of a Spartan letdown, winning 15-3. MSU hit -.100 to Penn State's .206 in the game. PSU opened a 5-0 lead and then at 6-3 scored the final nine points of the match.
Penn State's All-America middle Lauren Cacciamani savaged the Spartans in game three with four kills, four block assists and six digs, as MSU tried to find an answer to the Lions' attacks. Michigan State hit .000 in game three to PSU's .290 and Penn State outblocked MSU 8-0 as the Lions won 15-5.
Game four saw another turnaround in the match. The Spartans jumped out to a 5-1 lead behind the hot hitting of Gustin, Hartley and Sanborn, who had nine, six, and six kills. PSU pulled to within 9-8 before MSU again turned up the heat and notched a 15-11 victory. Five of Gustin's seven total blocks for the match came in game four.
The teams battled back and forth in game five. After they switched sides, ahead 8-7 in the rally score game, Penn State went on a tear, scoring seven points to MSU's one to take the game, 15-8, and the match, 3-2.
"We were that close," said Michigan State head coach Chuck Erbe said as he held his finger and thumb close together. "Penn State has a great team, a great program and great athletes. We were right there with them. We didn't show up in two of those games and they were a better team than us in the fifth game. The team came out of this match believing in itself."
"It was a great win against a fine team," said Penn State head coach Russ Rose. "I'm not surprised by Michigan State. I knew they'd be a very good team. Some people have said they weren't too strong, but I never believed in it. We were steady throughout the match. However, in games one and four they made us look very small out there."
Cacciamani scored a triple double for Penn State with a match-high 26 kills, 14 digs and 10 blocks. Setter Bonnie Bremner added 65 assists, seven kills, seven blocks and six digs. Three other Nittany Lions hit in double figures.
Michigan State was led by Sarah Gustin with a career-high 23 kills on 58 attempts. She also had 11 kills and seven blocks. Erin Hartley hit a season-high 22 kills to go with 18 digs and three blocks, while Jessica Sanborn tallied 17 kills, eight digs and six blocks. Redshirt freshman middle Angela Morley came up with some big blocks for the Spartans, totaling seven on the night.
Penn State outhit, (.242-.149), outblocked (23-16) and outdug the Spartans, 93-79.
Michigan State falls to 10-3 on the season while Penn State raises its record to 11-1. The Spartans host No. 18 Ohio State on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. in Jenison Field House.
