Michigan State University
Penn State
Spartans Fall at No. 2 Penn State, 3-0
10/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 21, 2006
State College, Pa - The Spartan volleyball team dropped its second straight Big Ten Conference match with a 3-0 loss to No. 2 Penn State on Saturday night. The Nittany Lions won by scores of 30-18, 30-22, and 30-13. Michigan State falls to 13-7, 4-6 in Big Ten play, while Penn State improves to 21-0, 10-0 against conference opponents.
Ashley Schatzle led the Spartans with 10 kills, while Katie Johnson snapped a streak of 17 straight double-digit kill matches, posting eight in the loss. The Spartans hit a season-low .009, compared to the .306 peformance by the Nittany Lions. Setter Allison Ianni spread out 20 assists, adding eight digs and two blocks for the Green and White.
Penn State won the battle at the net, as Christa Harmotto posted a match-high seven block assists and PSU tallied 12.5 total blocks against 7.0 by the Spartan defenders. Outside hitter Jessica Hohl led the Spartans with two block solos and two block assists, while Ianni and Johnson each added two blocks in the loss.
After lengthy rallies in the early goings of game one, Penn State used a 5-0 run to push its lead to 17-7 at the midway point of the opening set. The Nittany Lions extended the lead to 24-13, and closed out the game when Megan Hodge and Nicole Fawcett connected on consecutive swings to take game one, 30-18. The teams combined for eight service errors in the set, and the Spartans tallied just eight kills against 18 by the Penn State offense. Johnson managed three kills, while Ianni and Colaluca each tallied three assists for the Green and White.
A Hohl block solo and Melany Rarey ace pulled the Spartans within five of the Nittany Lion lead at 10-15 in game two. State scored four of the next six to stay within three at 14-17, but Penn State answered with a 5-1 run to push its lead to 22-15. Despite a late three-point run by the Spartans, the Nittany Lions won game two, 30-22. Both teams struggled offensively, as Penn State out-hit the Spartans .200-.103, and the teams combined for 16 attack errors in the set. Schatzle tallied a floor-high eight kills, while Ianni recorded 11 assists.
The Spartan offense struggled to find a rhythm in the early points of game three, which allowed Penn State to take a commanding 20-11 lead. Michigan State used its final timeout trailing 12-22, and scored just one point the remainder of the match as Penn State clinched the sweep with a 30-13 game-three victory.
The Spartans begin the second half of the Big Ten Conference season with its second consecutive weekend on the road, traveling to Northwestern (Oct. 27) and Illinois (Oct. 28). Both contests are set to start at 8 p.m. ET.
