Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Notre Dame
MSU Volleyball Beats Notre Dame In NCAA Tournament First Round
11/30/2001 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 30, 2001
MADISON, Wis. - The Michigan State volleyball team (21-7) overcame a slow start to throttle No. 25 Notre Dame (22-7), 25-30, 30-16, 30-20, 30-24, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night at the UW Field House. The 20th-ranked Spartans advanced to battle the winner of tonight's second match between host Wisconsin and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Michigan State dominated after the first game, as the statistics clearly show. MSU outhit Notre Dame, .346 to .110, outblocked the Irish, 15-3, had a 62-49 advantage in kills and a 45-34 edge in digs. The only problem for the Spartans was serving, as MSU racked up 17 service errors.
Senior Erin Hartley (Midland, Mich.) led MSU with 16 kills, eight digs and seven blocks. Freshman Kim Schram (London, Ont.) added 13 kills while junior Kyla Smith (Comox, B.C.) pounded 12 kills with nine digs and four blocks. Sophomore Jenny Rood (Ada, Mich.) added 10 kills while junior Angela Morley (Holland, Mich.) had 10 blocks. Sophomore Nikki Colson (Lincoln, Neb.) had 47 assists, eight digs and five kills.
"We were a bit jittery in game one and played like it," said MSU head coach Chuck Erbe. "Games two, three and four we were steady. I won't say spectacular but steady. We put great pressure on Notre Dame. I'm pleased to get the win and move on to the next round."
The Spartans looked sluggish at the start, falling into a quick 4-0 hole in the opening game. With Notre Dame's lead at 13-10, the Irish scored the next four points, and the Spartans answered back with four straight of their own. The teams then traded the next 13 points, before the Irish finally scored three straight, taking a 26-20 advantage and holding on to win the first game. Hartley had five kills in the opening game for MSU, which hit .211 to Notre Dame's .282.
Game two had a complete opposite start, with the Spartans taking a 3-0 lead. The advantage grew steadily and rapidly from there, with MSU leading 7-2, 12-4, 15-5, 19-7, and eventually by a whopping 23-8 margin. Michigan State cruised from there, winning the game 30-16. The Spartans hit a staggering .522 in the game while holding Notre Dame to just five kills and a -.143 hitting percentage. Schram had five kills in five swings during the game.
MSU kept the momentum in game three, racing to a 6-1 lead thanks to back-to-back blocks by Hartley and Morley. Again, the Spartans put together a string of mini-runs, pushing the lead as high as 22-9, before settling for a 30-20 victory. The Spartans hit .419 in the game with Hartley collecting eight kills and three block assists.
Game four was even at 7-7 when MSU took control, scoring four straight points to open an 11-7 lead on the second ace of the match from junior Emily Engel (Bay City, Mich.). Notre Dame inched within two points on three occasions, but a 5-0 spurt gave the Spartans a 20-13 lead and MSU never looked back. The Spartans' solid hitting continued, as MSU attacked at a .314 clip while Notre Dame hit .063.
Michigan State players admitted to letting their nerves get the best of them early. "I was nervous, I don't usually get nervous, I don't know why I was nervous," said Colson. "I think I was thinking too much in game one. After that, we settled down and just played and I didn't think about things so much."
"I don't know why I was nervous coming in," added Schram. "It's been my dream to play in the NCAA Tournament. But even after the first game we didn't get down on ourselves."
Notes:
? Michigan State now has an all-time record of 9-7 in eight NCAA Tournament appearances, all under head coach Chuck Erbe.
? Michigan State's all-time record in the NCAA Tournament first round is now 4-2 (two first round byes).
? This marks the third straight season Michigan State has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In each of the two previous seasons, the Spartans lost in the second round (Pepperdine in 1999, UCLA in 2000).
? The 16 points scored by Notre Dame in the second game equals the third fewest points scored by a Michigan State opponent in a game this season (excluding fifth games). Idaho scored only 14 points in game three against MSU, Michigan had 15 points in game two in Jenison Field House while Iowa had only 16 in game two in Iowa City.
? Erin Hartley became the fifth player in MSU history to reach 1,500 career kills in the fourth game, and now has exactly 1,500. All-American Val Sterk ranks fourth on the school list with 1,518.
? Nikki Colson had a career-high five kills, while Erin Hartley tied a season high with five assists and Emmy Miller tied a career high with two service aces.
