Michigan State University Athletics
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Schram Carries Spartan Volleyball Past Purdue
11/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 23, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A masterful performance by sophomore Kim Schram (London, Ont.) helped the Michigan State volleyball team earn a sweep of its road matches this weekend, as her 32 kills helped guide MSU to a 30-15, 21-30, 30-19, 30-24 victory at Purdue Saturday afternoon. The victory improved MSU's record to 18-10 and 10-8 in the Big Ten, and helps aide MSU's chances of advancing to its ninth-straight NCAA Tournament.
Schram set a career-high for kills for the second straight day after hammering 26 kills in a victory at Purdue last night, and also addeda career-best four service aces, four digs and three blocks. She had just four attack errors on 52 swings and hit .538 for the match. Her 32 kills tie for fifth best in a match in MSU history, and Schram became the first Spartan player to collect 30 or more kills since Jenna Wrobel slammed 36 vs. Wisconsin on Nov. 27, 1998.
Junior Jenny Rood (Ada) also played a key role for the second straight day, pounding 18 kills and adding seven digs. Senior Angela Morley (Holland) had eight kills and three blocks, junior Emmy Miller (Okemos) had a match-high 18 digs and junior Nikki Colson (Lincoln, Neb.) had 56 assists, eight digs and three service aces.
The Spartans dominated much of the match, hitting .336 for the game, outdigging Purdue 59-48 and outblocking the Boilermakers 9-5. MSU had a season-high 14 service aces to six for Purdue, which hit .259. Had the Spartans not stumbled in game two, MSU's attack percentage in the other three games was .418.
In the opening game, the teams were tied at 11 when three kills by Schram and a kill and service ace from Rood sparked a 10-0 run that gave MSU control. The Spartans cruised home from there, adding to the lead and pulling away for a 30-15 victory, marking the second fewest points allowed in a 30-point game this season for MSU. MSU hit .517 in the game, putting away 16 kills with only one error, led by seven kills on 11 swings by Schram. The Spartans also outblocked Purdue in the game, 5-0.
MSU started game two well, taking a 14-10 lead after another Schram kill. But Purdue answered shortly thereafter, exploding on an 11-0 run to take a 27-18 lead. The Boilers closed out the game soon after, taking a 30-21 victory into the lockerroom to even the match at one game each. MSU's offensive numbers suffered greatly in the second game, as the Spartans hit just .061 while Purdue hit .500. Schram did manage seven more kills in the second game, but it wasn't enough.
Back-to-back kills by Rood helped MSU to a 7-3 start in game three, but Purdue rallied to knot the score 8-8. A pair of Schram kills keyed a 5-0 surege to put MSU back on top, 13-8. Eight more consecutive points that included three Morley kills pushed the lead to 22-10, and the Boilers never threatened again in the game. The Spartans rebounded from game two to hit .359 in the third game, pounding 19 kills, while Purdue managed just nine kills and hit only .105. Morley keyed game three with five kills on seven attempts and a solo block.
MSU led 8-7 in game four, but later fell into a 14-9 hole. That's when Schram took over again. Schram had 10 kills, a block and a service ace during a 17-9 run that put MSU on top 26-23. Rood finished off the match collecting three kills in the games final four points as the Spartans went on to earn a 30-24 victory. MSU hit .405 in the game, racking up 21 kills.
Michigan State returns home to conlcude the regular season next weekend. The Spartans open the weekend by hosting Northwestern Friday (Nov. 29), before entertaining Wisconsin Saturday (Nov. 30) in the regular-season finale. Both matches begin at 7 p.m.
