State Wins Thrilling Five-Game Match Over VCU

Sept. 10, 2005

LAWRENCE, Kan. -

MSU vs. VCU Box Score
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The Michigan State volleyball squad (6-1) concluded play at the Pizza Hut Jayhawk Invitational hosted by Kansas today with an 11 a.m. match-up against non-conference foe Virginia Commonwealth (6-3). In an exciting come-from-behind victory the Spartans captured the 3-2 match win (29-31,30-22,26-30,30-24, 15-2) behind a career-best 33 kills from outside hitter Katie Johnson, the third-highest total in Spartan history for a five-game match, and five aces from libero Nicole Colaluca in the victory.

The back and forth play was the story of Spartan volleyball this weekend and the trend continued against VCU. In the first game, MSU tallied 16 digs compared to 10 by the Rams, however poor hitting by the MSU front court gave VCU the 31-29 game-one victory. Hitting just .122 during the first set, MSU was led by Johnson who posted five kills and two digs defensively in the loss. Both teams struggled from the service stripe as the Rams committed three errors against two by MSU, while Jessica Hohl added her eighth ace of the year.

The Spartans hit the court in game two gaining control of the tempo taking a 6-2 lead to open the second-set. Three straight service aces by Colaluca lengthened the State lead to 28-21, while a solid defensive stand at the net by the Spartans, 3.5 total blocks in game two, propelled MSU to the 30-22 victory. Senior Brooke Langston and sophomore Ashley Schatzle anchored the MSU defense as Langston posted one block solo and one block assist, and Schatzle added her fifth block solo of the season. Setter Mickey Davis tallied 11 assists during the second-set while Johnson chipped in eight kills and one block assist.

After a dominating effort in game two, the Spartans hit just .075 in the third-game as VCU regained momentum with a 30-26 victory. Although Schatzle and Hohl led the MSU defense with one block solo each, ten errors compared to just 13 kills by the State hitters allowed the Rams to take the 2-1 advantage. Johnson added seven kills, sending her three-game total to 20, while Davis added 11 assists and Colaluca posted eight digs defensively.

MSU jumped to a 15-12 lead behind Colaluca's fourth ace of the contest. VCU rallied to cut the MSU lead to 17-16 before the Spartan offense caught fire taking the 27-21 lead and the 30-24 game four victory. The dominating play of Johnson, who added eight kills for a total of 28 through the fourth game of the match, and the 5.0 blocks at the net by the Spartan defense in game-four sent the non-conference match-up to a deciding fifth game.

Both teams began game five with a fiery intensity as MSU took a 3-0 lead after a Spartan kill and two Ram errors at the net. The State lead lengthened to 10-0 behind the service of Colaluca forcing VCU to take its second timeout of the game. A solo block by Langston to end the match gave MSU the 15-2 and 3-2 match victory.

For the match, Johnson tallied a game-high 33 kills, while Davis finished the contest with 54 assists and eight digs. The defensive specialist duo of Marley Bellwood and Colaluca combined for 46 digs, 20 and 26 respectively, while Schatzle led the floor posting three block solo's in the win. Hohl posted eight kills while senior captain Megan Wallin chipped in 12 kills, hitting .407 for the match.

MSU continues 2005 action when it travels to the University of Miami to compete in the Orange and Green Challenge next weekend. State will face Louisville at 7 p.m. on Sept. 16 followed by an 11:30 a.m. match-up against host Miami on Sept. 17. The Spartans conclude play against Sacramento State Sept. 17 at 5:00 p.m. before returning to Jenison Field House to host Michigan in the 2005 Big Ten opener Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.