Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Michigan
Volleyball Claims Five-Game Set From Michigan
10/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 27, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Four Spartans, including Kim Schram, Katie Johnson, Michelle Kopka and Brooke Langston, had 10 or more kills as Michigan State volleyball (8-11, 3-8 Big Ten) defeated Michigan (15-7, 6-5 Big Ten) in five games in East Lansing, Mich., Wednesday. The Spartans won the match, 30-23, 28-30, 24-30, 30-19, 17-15, in front of a crowd of 3,517 in Jenison Field House.
Libero Marley Bellwood led the Spartans' defensive efforts with 19 digs on the night, while Schram had 16 and senior Diana Steplyk added 13. Schram had a team-best 19 kills on .250 hitting, while Johnson had 18 kills and five digs on the night. Meghan Schoen posted a career-best eight blocks, including seven block assists, to go along with seven kills. State's Langston hit .579 with 12 kills and an error on 19 attacks and Kopka hit .323 with 13 kills.
Additionally, the win gave MSU head coach Chuck Erbe his 550th career victory.
On the night, MSU bested the Wolverines in attack percentage (.271-.191), assists (68-60), digs (68-60) and blocks (15.0-10.0). Both teams struggled at the service line, as there were a combined 29 service errors (15 MSU, 14 UM) and just nine aces (five UM, four MSU). The win gives Michigan State a 2.5-1.5 lead in the fall race for the Pontiac Challenge Cup.
MSU jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a 30-23 win in a game that saw 18 tie scores and eight lead changes. Johnson started the night with a game-best six kills on .556 hitting. Kopka and Schram each added four kills as the Spartans hit .469 in the game (19K-4E-32TA). Setter Maggie Griffin had 13 assists and two blocks, including a block solo, in the game. MSU held Michigan to a .229 attack percentage in the game, with 15 kills and seven errors on 35 total attacks.
The Wolverines bounced back to take game two, 30-28, though MSU led 26-23 late in the game. A three-point service run from UM's Alicia Boswell and three consecutive attack errors by MSU tied the match at one win apiece. State hit just .125 in the game, with 14 kills and nine errors on 40 attacks, while Michigan also struggled with its offense, hitting .146 (15K-9E-41TA).
In the third game, MSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead on a service run from Steplyk before UM came back. The match was tied as late as 16 before Michigan took control and a 2-1 lead in the match with a 30-24 victory. State hit .242 to Michigan's .341 in the game, as the Spartans posted 13 kills and five errors on 33 attacks. Michigan had 19 kills and five errors on 41 attacks.
State held Michigan to a -.053 attack percentage in the fourth game, and hit at a .275 clip of its own, to tie the match at two games apiece with a 30-19 win. Steplyk again posted a four-point service run early in the game to put MSU up, 12-5. Later in the game, Schoen picked up and reeled off a four-point run of her own, propelling MSU to a 27-17 lead. State took the game on a kill from Langston.
The fifth game saw five tie scores and four lead changes before State took it and the match victory, 17-15. MSU trailed, 5-2, before coming back on a two-point run from Bellwood and a three-point run from Steplyk. Michigan came back to tie the game at 14 on a kill from Katie Bruzdzinski, and took a 15-14 lead before State came back to gain the two-point victory on a service ace from Schram and a kill from Johnson.
The Spartans return home on Friday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. when they host No. 21 Illinois in Jenison Field House.
Michigan State 3, Michigan 2 (East Lansing, Mich.)Michigan K E TA Pct.Game 1 15 7 35 .229Game 2 15 9 41 .146Game 3 19 5 41 .341Game 4 7 9 38 -.053Game 5 11 3 23 .348TOTAL 67 33 178 .191
Michigan State K E TA Pct.Game 1 19 4 32 .469Game 2 14 9 40 .125Game 3 13 5 33 .242Game 4 18 7 40 .275Game 5 9 2 25 .280
