Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Wright State
No. 12 MSU Volleyball Suffers First Loss Of Season
9/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 7, 2002
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The No. 12 Michigan State volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season, as Wright State defeated the Spartans, 26-30, 30-25, 25-30, 30-22, 15-11, Saturday night at the WMU Invitational. Michigan State slipped to 5-1, while Wright State improved to 5-1, with the Raiders' only loss coming in five games against Minnesota.
Junior Jenny Rood (Ada) set a career-high with 22 kills and added five blocks, but it was not enough for the Spartans who hit a season-low .156 after entering the match with a hitting percentage of .312. Sophomore Kim Schram (London, Ont.) added 13 kills for MSU and senior Kyla Smith (Comox, B.C.) pounded 12 kills for the third straight match and had 11 digs. Junior Emmy Miller (Okemos) had a career-high 13 digs en route to earning all-tournament honors. She was joined on the all-tournament team by junior Nikki Colson (Lincoln, Neb.), who had her first double-double of the season with 53 assists and 10 digs.
"They beat us. They were better than we were," said MSU head coach Chuck Erbe of Wright State. "They deserved to win. It's a learning experience and we can't dwell on it."
Michigan State played without junior Sara Villwock (Fort Collins, Colo.), who was the MVP of last week's Coca-Cola Spartan Invitational, for the third straight match. But unlike the previous two contests, MSU had a hard time making up for her loss.
Senior Angela Morley (Holland) started the match with an ace, but Wright State scored the next three points and eventually led by as many as four at 15-11. MSU rallied to knot the score at 16-16, but Wright State countered with a run of its own to take a 24-18 lead. Michigan State then made the run that turned the match around, scoring nine straight points to move in front 27-24. Kyla Smith finished the game with back-to-back aces for the Spartans. MSU used stellar defense to spark its comeback, collecting 16 digs in the game including five from senior Emily Engel (Bay City) and four by Miller.
In game two, it was MSU which owned the early lead at 9-6, but Wright State scored eight of the next nine point to take a 14-10 lead and never trailed again in the game. With MSU trailing 22-16, the Spartans did run off five straight points to close within one, but the Raiders answered with four straight of their own to end the threat. The Spartans hit just .068 in the second game, converting a single-game season-low 10 kills while making seven errors.
Michigan State still looked somewhat sloppy in game three, but leading 11-10, the Spartans scored six of the next seven points to move ahead by a 17-11 score. Wright State inched within 26-25, but another kill by Rood and a Raider attack error squelched the rally. Rood's ninth kill of the game gave Michigan State a two-games-to-one lead. Michigan State hit .293 in the game, which was below their season average but their best attacking game of the match.
Wright State jumped on top of MSU again in game four, racing to a 13-6 lead and never letting MSU back in the game. The Raiders kept the pressure on, leading by as many as eight points on five occasions before earning the 30-22 lead. Michigan State committed nine attack errors in the game and hit .146 while allowing Wright State to hit at a .393 clip.
In the fifth and deciding game, Wright State won the first point, but MSU scored the next four, including kills from Rood and Smith and an ace from junior Stephanie Knopp (Cupertino, Calif.). Wright State came back to take their first lead at 9-8 and the Spartans never led again. Fittingly in a match where MSU hit for a season-low average, the Spartans ended the match with two straight hitting errors.
Michigan State will next compete at the South Florida Tournament, next Friday and Saturday, against South Florida, No. 25 Kansas State and Georgia Tech.
