Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Penn State
Spartan Volleyball Scores Second Straight Stunning Upset
11/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 17, 2001
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Maybe it's the television cameras. Maybe it's the challenge of playing on the road against two of the nation's best teams. Whatever the motivation, the Michigan State volleyball team (18-7, 11-7 Big Ten) capped one of its finest weekends ever by knocking off No. 14 Penn State (19-7, 12-6), 30-21, 32-30, 28-30, 30-28, in front of 4,032 fans on a match televised by FOX Sports Chicago. The victory came one night after the Spartans upset No. 9 Ohio State in Columbus in a match televised by espn2.
Junior Angela Morley (Holland, Mich.) had a career-high 21 kills while hitting .576, and added seven blocks to lead MSU. Four other Spartans also had double-digit kills, including senior Erin Hartley (Midland, Mich.) with 18, freshman Kim Schram (London, Ont.) with 16, junior Kyla Smith (Comox, B.C.) with 11 and sophomore Jenny Rood (Ada, Mich.) with 11. Junior Emily Engel (Bay City, Mich.) had a team-best and career-high 14 digs, while Smith had 11 to finish with a double-double.
The Spartans hit .326 against Penn State, pounding a season-high 81 kills. MSU also had a 13-10 advantage in blocks, including six from Rood and five from sophomore Nikki Colson (Lincoln, Neb.), who added 63 assists.
MSU won for the sixth time in its last seven road matches and the seventh time in its last eight contests overall. It marked the second time in history, with the other coming in 1995 when MSU won the Big Ten with a 19-1 league record, that the Spartans won both at Penn State and at Ohio State.
Michigan State set the tone for the match by storming to a 10-1 lead in the opening game on the strength of four kills from Morley. Penn State did get as close as five points on seven occasions, but with the score 23-18, Schram, Smith and Morley had three straight kills to start a 5-0 run that put the game out of reach. MSU hit .324 while collecting 17 kills in the opening game. Engel had eight of Michigan State's 18 digs in the first game.
Penn State led much of game two, building a 26-20 lead before MSU made a run, scoring eight of the next ten points to tie the score at 28-28 on a Schram kill. The Spartans then had two game points but could not convert, but the third time proved to be a charm, as a kill by Morley with MSU leading 31-30 gave the Spartans a two-games-to-none lead. The Spartans continued their hot hitting, collecting 18 kills and attacking at a .350 clip.
In game three, the Nittany Lions jumped to a 10-5 advantage, before two Hartley kills sparked a 6-0 run that put MSU back in front. The game was nip and tuck from there, with the tenth tie of the game coming at 25. But Penn State scored the next two points, taking a lead it would not relinquish.
The Spartans took control of game four early, building a 6-2 lead. The advantage fluctuated between three and five points all the way until a block by Morley and Hartley pushed the lead to 20-14. With the lead at 27-22, Penn State put a scare into the Spartans by scoring three straight points, but a Schram kill stopped the run. Two more PSU points sliced the deficit to 28-27, but Hartley pounded a kill for MSU's 29th point. Penn State again closed within one, but at match point, Hartley came through again, finishing off the Nittany Lions with another kill.
"We played hard," said MSU head coach Chuck Erbe, who recorded his 499th career victory. "There weren't any easy points out there. These kids just kept battling, tonight and all season. We didn't play not to lose. We played to win."
Michigan State will begin the final weekend of the regular season when it hosts No. 21 Illinois Friday night at 8 p.m., in another match that will air on FOX Sports Chicago.
