Michigan State University
Iowa
No. 21 MSU Volleyball Disposes Iowa In Four Games
9/28/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 28, 2002
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The No. 21 Michigan State volleyball team scored its first Big Ten victory of the year, defeating Iowa, 30-26, 30-25, 19-30, 30-27, Saturday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The win improved MSU's record to 9-3, 1-1 in the Big Ten, while Iowa slipped to 6-6, 0-2.
Sophomore Kim Schram (London, Ont.) had a career-high 21 kills and senior Kyla Smith (Comox, B.C.) had her fifth double-double of the season to lead the Spartans. Smith pounded 14 kills and tied a career-high with 17 digs. Junior Jenny Rood (Ada) was the only other Spartan with double-digit kills, collecting 17 while hitting .394.
Junior Nikki Colson (Lincoln, Neb.) dished out 58 assists, leaving her just seven assists shy of 2,000 for her career. Senior Angela Morley (Holland) had a match-high seven block assists, while redshirt freshman Marley Bellwood (Battle Creek) had a career-high 11 digs.
In game one, the teams were even at 12 when a pair of blocks by Morley and Smith keyed a string of four straight points that put MSU in the lead for good. Iowa closed within one point at 23-22, but a trio of Hawkeye errors gave the Spartans some breathing room and a kill by Smith gave MSU a 30-26 win in game one. The Spartans pounded 20 kills in the game, with Colson collecting 18 assists, and hit .317. MSU also collected 18 digs in the game including five each from Colson and Smith.
In the second game MSU led by as many as four points early at 11-7, before Iowa came back to take a 14-13 lead. Iowa still led, 19-18, until a Smith kill started a 7-0 MSU run that put the Spartans ahead, 25-19. From there, MSU held on and took a two-game-to-none lead when Schram pounded a kill to give the Spartans a 30-25 win. The Spartans slammed 17 more kills in the game to just 12 for Iowa, and held the Hawkeyes to a .105 attack percentage.
MSU led 6-4 early in game three, but Iowa scored six of the next seven points to move in front, 10-7. The lead grew to 19-13, then 23-15, and the Spartans never recovered. Iowa continued to increase the lead and eventually handed MSU its worst loss in a game this season. MSU had only 11 kills and committed 10 errors in the game while hitting .021 and allowing Iowa a .325 attack percentage.
MSU's doldrums continued in game four, as Iowa took an early 5-2 lead. Trailing 13-10, Schram had a pair of kills during a 4-0 run that gave MSU its first lead of the game. Iowa responded by scoring eight of the next 10 points to take a 21-16 edge, but MSU answered back. A Smith kill gave MSU its sixth-straight point as the Spartans took a 22-21 lead. Iowa took its last lead at 27-26, but MSU ended the match by scoring four straight points, started by kills from Rood and Schram and ending with a block by Morley and Colson. The Spartans pounded 22 kills in the game while hitting .286.
"I think we were fortunate to win," said MSU head coach Chuck Erbe. "We seemed to regain our confidence and our enthusiasm at the end of the fourth game. I was pleased with the win although it was ragged."
MSU finished the match hitting .215, while Iowa hit at a .205 clip. MSU outdug the Hawkeyes, 68-56, but Iowa had an 11-9 edge in blocks.
Morley's seven block assists moved her into sixth place in Big Ten history with 469 career block assists, surpassing Wisconsin's Arlisa Hagan, who had 465 from 1989-92. Morley needs 24 more block assists to move into fifth place, and 26 more to become MSU's all-time leader and to move into fourth in Big Ten history.
MSU played without junior starter Sara Villwock (Fort Collins, Colo.), who was nursing a left foot injury. Senior Emily Engel (Bay City), typically a defensive specialist, played in the front row in Villwock's absence. Engel entered the match with career-highs of 1 kill and three attacks, but had 5 kills on 20 swings Saturday night.
Michigan State plays its Big Ten home opener next Friday, Oct. 4, when No. 11 Ohio State visits Jenison Field House at 7 p.m.
