Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Wisconsin
No. 15 Wisconsin Sweeps Spartan Volleyball
11/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 30, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - In the regular season finale, No. 15 Wisconsin swept the Michigan State volleyball team, 30-24, 30-19, 30-27, Saturday night (Nov. 30) at Jenison Field House. MSU finishes the regular season with a 19-11 (11-9 Big Ten) mark, but is assured of finishing in at least fifth place in the Big Ten standings. MSU's postseason fate rests in the hands of the NCAA Tournament committee, as the pairings for the NCAA Tournament will be announced Sunday, Dec. 1 at 9 p.m.
The Badgers held MSU to season lows in attack percentage (.088), kills (38) and assists (36) in the match. Wisconsin hit at a .227 clip and outblocked the Spartans nine to seven.
Kim Schram (So., London, Ontario) was the only Spartan in double figures for kills with 14, while Jenny Rood (Jr., Ada) added eight and Kyla Smith (Sr., Comox, British Columbia) and Megan Wallin (Fr., Sarasota, Fla.) each contributed seven.
"We never showed up tonight," said MSU head coach Chuck Erbe. "Our passing was good at times, but we missed serves at key points in the match. Last night (a five-game win over Northwestern) was such a competitive match, maybe it took a little out of us. But the bottom line is that we just didn't compete."
Despite the poor showing against the Badgers, Erbe likes his team's chances of making the NCAA Tournament.
"I'm pretty optimistic," Erbe said. "We put ourselves in a good position last night by defeating Northwestern. That win put us at fifth place in the standings, regardless of tonight. We received some help when Michigan beat Northwestern tonight. We might need help from some other teams, but with being in at least fifth place, we feel that's good enough to get in."
Both teams hit poorly in game one, but the Badgers overcame their mistakes to win 30-24. Although Wisconsin opened up a 17-9 lead midway through the frame, the Spartans bounced back, tying the game at 19 apiece after going on a 10-2 run. The Spartans lost the next six of seven points, however, and the Badgers cruised to a 11-5 spurt to close the game. The Spartans hit -.043 for the game and only managed 10 kills.
Michigan State trailed all of the second game except for one tie, allowing the Big Ten leader in attack percentage to hit .366 with 19 kills. MSU erased a four-point deficit to tie the game at 13, but that's the closest the Spartans would get to the Badgers. Wisconsin closed the game on an 11-2 run to take game two, 30-19.
Game three was the closest game of the match, but ended with the same result as UW topped MSU, 30-27. Wisconsin either tied or led Michigan State by only one or two points most the game until MSU took its first lead of the match at 21-20 on a Smith kill. MSU led the next few points until the Badgers tied it up at 24, and then never looked back. Two straight kills by Erin Byrd - who had a match-best 16 on the night - made the score 26-24. A service error by UW closed the game back within a point, but Byrd answered with another kill to reclaim the two-point advantage. Amy Hultgren ended the match with two consecutive kills from Morgan Shields, who recorded 41 assists on the night.
MSU's three seniors - Emily Engel, Angela Morley and Kyla Smith - were recognized before the match as a part of Senior Night ceremonies.
