Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
San Diego
Volleyball Captures San Diego Invitational Title
9/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2000
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The Michigan State volleyball team won the San Diego Invitational on Sept. 16, defeating San Diego 3-0 in its final match. The Spartans are now 7-2 on the season. Sarah Gustin was named MVP of the tournament and Jessica Sanborn joined her on the all-tournament team.
MSU found itself down 3-6 in the first game before fighting back and tying the score at seven. The Toreros took another lead and again the Spartans came back. Tied at 10, MSU took the final five points to win the game.
The Green and White jumped out to a solid 7-1 lead in game two before seeing it melt away as San Diego came back to tie the score at seven. An Amy Sibbernsen kill put the Spartans ahead for good and the team cruised to a 15-8 win.
Game three was another battle as Michigan State jumped out to the early lead but then allowed USD back in. With the score tied at six, Angela Morley and Gustin came up with timely block assists to vault the Spartans into a permanent lead, leading to a 15-10 win.
Gustin hit a match-high 22 kills on .425 hitting, seven digs and three blocks. Erin Hartley added three kills, eight digs and a career-high tying seven blocks.
MSU defeated Georgetown 15-10, 15-1, 15-11 in its opener on Saturday. The Spartans hit a season-high .460 led by Gustin's 16 kills hit at a .560 clip. Sanborn added 10 kills, nine digs and six blocks in the win. Morley hit eight kills on .700 hitting to go with five blocks.
Georgetown got off to a fast 5-0 start in the first game before MSU rallied back to tie the game at five. The Hoyas surged ahead again, leading by a 7-10 margin. Again the Spartans rallied to tie the score, this time at 10, before winning the final five points and the game.
The second game MSU found its best offensive groove of the season, pounding the Hoyas 15-1. The third game was another struggle with four tie scores before Sanborn put the Spartans ahead for good with a kill up the middle.
Michigan State opens its Big Ten slate on Wednesday, Sept. 20 in Jenison Field House against the University of Michigan at 7 p.m.
