Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Purdue
Spartan Volleyball Falls To Purdue In Five Games
10/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 2, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State (6-6; 1-3 Big Ten) volleyball fell to Purdue (10-4; 3-1 Big Ten) in a down-to-the-wire five-game match in East Lansing on Saturday night. Maggie Griffin led the Spartans with 68 assists and four Spartans hit double digits in kills throughout the contest, including senior Kim Schram, who led the team with 31. Redshirt freshman Katie Johnson had 15 kills, while freshman Meghan Schoen and junior Brooke Langston posted ten each.
Schram put the Spartans on the board with a kill early in game one, assisted by freshman Maggie Griffin. Purdue responded immediately with a kill by senior Kim Cappa to tie the game, 1-1, an early indication of the close competition to follow.
The contest remained almost even, as each team prevented the scoring gap from extending beyond a two-point lead on either side of the net, until MSU was able to establish a four-point, 10-6, lead. Still, Purdue quickly caught up and surpassed the Spartans, taking control with a 13-12 advantage over State.
The game gradually progressed and the score on each bench remained within mere points of the other, until Purdue hit the 20-point mark. At that time, the Boilermakers were able to pull away to an eventual 30-26 Purdue victory in game one.
Ready to rebound, the Spartans came out strong in game two and managed to establish a 15-9 lead early on. While the Boilermakers attempted to catch State, MSU held them off, extending its lead to 24-15.
Purdue managed to close the scoring gap, trailing by just three points for a time, but MSU took advantage of one key scoring opportunity after another to successfully deter the Boilermakers efforts. . As MSU's Johnson served the game point, an excited crowd of 2067 cheered and applauded loudly. MSU captured a 30-26 win to tie the match, 1-1, due to a Purdue service error.
MSU battled throughout an intense game three, as Purdue upped its level of aggression against the Spartans. MSU responded to the heightened level of competition and, despite a Boilermaker lead early in the game, State refused to give up. In an exciting close to game three, Purdue led, 28-26, when MSU posted four consecutive kills to secure a 30-28 win and a 2-1 overall lead..
Despite an exciting win, the Boilermakers were not ready to go home and entered game three with confidence and energy, enabling them to come out strong and grab a quick lead. Purdue held off the Spartans, increasing its lead to a staggering 27-14 points, marking the most significant lead for either team throughout the match.
MSU converted potential frustration into action and advanced to a 29-21 deficit with a forceful kill by Schram. Nevertheless, Purdue managed to secure a 30-21 win in game four, evening the match to a 2-2 tie.
Purdue used the momentum from its win in game four to jump to a 3-0 lead over MSU, inciting Erbe to call a time out. Purdue went on to increase its lead to 8-2, as MSU fought to regain the advantage. PU was relentless and battled its way to a 15-6 victory for the overall win.
Michigan State returns to action on Oct. 6, when it will face inter-state rival Michigan in Ann Arbor at 7 p.m.
