Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Western Michigan
No. 12 MSU Volleyball Sweeps Western Michigan
9/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 6, 2002
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The No. 12 Michigan State volleyball team won its first road match of the year, defeating Western Michigan, 30-21, 30-27, 30-28, Friday night at the WMU Invitational to improve to 4-0. The Spartans played without two starters, as junior Sara Villwock (Fort Collins, Colo.) and Jenny Rood (Ada) both sat out the match while nursing injuries.
Sophomore Kim Schram (London, Ont.) had a match-high 14 kills while hitting .393 (14-3-28) to pace Michigan State, while senior Kyla Smith (Comox, B.C.) added 12 kills and five digs for the Spartans. Junior Emmy Miller (Okemos) had a match-best 10 digs, and senior Angela Morley (Holland) blocked a match-high five shots for the Spartans.
"We didn't play with any fire and I expected that," said MSU head coach Chuck Erbe. "First, we had a different lineup, and second, it's hard to come out with any fire after that South Carolina match."
MSU came out smoking in the opening game, rolling to a 7-0 lead thanks largely to four service aces from redshirt freshman Megan Wallin (Sarasota, Fla.). A Smith kill stretched the lead to 19-10 before the Broncos rallied for six straight points. The Spartans answered the run with four straight points of their own, capped by back-to-back blocks by Morley and junior Nikki Colson (Lincoln, Neb.). Western Michigan never got closer than five points the rest of the way. MSU hit .333 in the first game led by Smith's five kills.
Game two was much tighter, featuring 12 ties. Neither team led by more than two points until an ace by senior Emily Engel (Bay City) ended a string of four straight points for MSU that gave the Spartans a 21-17 lead. WMU never recovered, getting no closer than two points from there. MSU improved to .349 in the second game, pounding 19 kills with only four errors, including eight kills from Schram.
In game three, State held a slim lead through most of the first part of the game, and led 14-11 before the Broncos rallied. WMU scored eight of the next 10 points to move ahead 19-16. MSU inched within 21-20, but Western Michigan forged back ahead by a 28-24 score and appeared ready to send the match to a fourth game. The Spartans were resilient, though, scoring six straight points to win the match. Three of the six points came on blocks, including two by Morley and Smith. Wallin, who started the match with six service points, served the last five points to end the contest.
Colson had 39 assists for MSU, while Morley added eight kills with no errors on 12 attempts to hit .667.
We didn't have one of our more sterling performances," added Erbe, "but even the pros have an off night. That's the sign of a good team is winning ugly. When the match was on the line our kids' game went up a level."
Western Michigan slipped to 0-4 with the loss, with three of the four losses coming at the hands of nationally-ranked teams.
Michigan State continues action at the WMU Invitational Saturday, meeting DePaul at 10:30 a.m. and Wright State at 5 p.m.
