Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
11-8, 3-5Big Ten
Iowa
12-8, 4-4Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 17 | 19 | 25 | 18 | 1 |
| Iowa | 25 | 25 | 16 | 25 | 3 |
Volleyball's Comeback Falls Short at Iowa
10/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 18, 2008
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The 2008 Michigan State volleyball team (11-8, 3-5) saw its comeback effort fall short at Iowa, losing 3-1 (25-17, 25-19, 16-25, 25-18), Saturday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Senior captain Heather McDaniel (Madison Heights, Mich.) tallied nine kills while hitting .300. Her nine kills tied her career-best, set in back in 2006 against Villanova.
The Spartans fell behind early in the first set, despite the effort of freshman setter Natalie Emro (Wildwood, Mo.). Emro was able to tally four kills on four attacks, leading Michigan State. She was also able to hand out seven assists, but it was not enough as the Spartans would drop the set, 25-17. Junior middle blocker Vanessa King (Spring Lake, Mich.) added three kills.
King picked up where she left off in the first set, tallying six kills in the second set, but once again the Spartans were not able to pull out a victory, dropping the set, 25-19. Despite falling behind early at 5-1, MSU would rally, pulling to within two points at 14-12, paced by three kills from King. The teams would go on to exchange points until a kill by Katie Kennedy of Iowa put the Hawkeyes in front, 19-16. From that point, Iowa would outscore the Spartans 6-3, winning the set.
Through two sets, King posted nine kills on 12 attacks with no errors. Freshman Kyndra Abron (Livonia, Mich.) posted four kills in the second set while McDaniel started her career-night with two.
Despite a sluggish start, the Spartans looked like a different team coming out of intermission, rebounding nicely. MSU jumped all over Iowa as they built an early 9-3 lead behind the arms of King and sophomore Megan Schatzle (Monroe, Mich.). MSU would dominate throughout the third set, hitting .324 and capitalizing on several miscues from the Hawkeyes. The Spartans were also able to post five team blocks in the set, helping limit Iowa to a .026 hitting percentage.
McDaniel, the Spartans captain, led the team with five kills while hitting .429 in the third set. Tonight marked just the her second time this season that McDaniel has played on the outside. Schatzle would add five kills on nine attacks while King pitched in three of her own.
Iowa would regain the momentum to begin the fourth set, taking an early 4-1 advantage. The Hawkeyes would extend the edge to 8-3, putting the Spartans in a hole that they could not dig out of. Despite a spirited comeback effort, MSU would drop the final set, 25-18.
King led the Spartans with 15 kills on the evening while Emro would finish the match with the third double-double of her career, posting 15 digs while handing out 40 assists. She finished just four kills shy of a triple-double with six. Freshman Allyson Karaba (Muskegon, Mich.) finished with 17 digs while Schatzle was the only other Spartan to hit double-digits in kills, posting 10.
The Spartans will return to action next weekend as they welcome both Illinois and Purdue to Jenison Field House. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Live audio/video, featuring the voice of the Spartans John Kreger, can be found at www.msuspartans.com.
