Volleyball Loses Four-Game Battle With Loyola Marymount

Saturday, August 25

Los Angeles, Calif.

1:00 PM

Michigan State University

Loyola Marymount

8/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

Aug. 25, 2007

Final Stats

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Michigan State volleyball (0-2) fell to Loyola Marymount, 3-1, in its second match at the USC Trojan Invitational on Saturday morning. MSU dropped game one, recovered in game two, but then failed to clinch games three or four. Final scores favored LMU, 30-27, 25-30, 33-31 and 30-26.

For the second consecutive night, senior outside hitter Ashley Schatzle posted a double-double with 23 kills and 13 digs. The tri-captain's defensive plays bumped her career dig total to 313. Through two of the weekend's three games, Schatzle has posted 38 kills and 29 digs to lead the team. Classmate and fellow captain Katie Johnson also crushed out double-digits with a floor-high 24 kills.

Defensively for the Spartans, senior Miken Trogdon led the backcourt with a team-high 15 digs while Schatzle controlled the net with four block assists. Four other Spartans posted noteworthy blocking efforts as Jessica Hohl, Jenilee Rathje, Lauren O'Reilly and Vanessa King each earned three block assists.

In game one, Schatzle's seven kills couldn't save the Spartans in a tightly fought game against the Lions. MSU outplayed LMU in kills, 17-14, and blocks, 3-1, but failed to take advantage of LMU's seven attack errors. A late timeout by MSU helped tie the game at 25-25, but the Lions claimed the game 30-27 with solid attacks.

Game two was led by O'Reilly's six-point service run, as the Spartans broke open the tied 11-11 game to take a 17-12 lead.. LMU battled back and eventually tied the set at 24-24 before Johnson came alive pushing MSU to win 30-25 and tie the match at 1-1. In the victorious second game effort, Johnson posted 10 kills.

Game three sparked early for the Spartans as they took a quick 8-3 lead over the Lions, but a phenomenal eight-point service effort from LMU's Heather Hughes brought the Lions back on top, 19-16. Blocking played a significant role in game three with both programs earning four, including a momentum-changing effort by Hohl and O'Reilly, as the pair stuffed LMU, tying the close game at 29-29. After playing out two deuce scores, the Lions sealed game three, 33-31, and took the overall lead, 2-1.

LMU came out energized and controlled most of game four en route to clinching the overall match. The score stayed close through early action with the Lions largest lead halted at three points. But later, with LMU leading 20-19, the Lions quickly posted four-straight points and never gave up the lead.

Michigan State closes out the California tournament against St. John's tonight at 8 p.m. ET. Live stats and radio broadcast are available for all MSU matches at www.msuspartans.com.