Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
14-14, 6-11Big Ten
Purdue
22-8, 11-7Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 19 | 22 | 17 | 0 |
| Purdue | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Volleyball Swept at No. 18 Purdue
11/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 21, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 2008 Michigan State volleyball team (14-14, 6-11 Big Ten) fell at No. 18 Purdue, 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-17), Friday night at Belin Court. Freshman outside hitter Becca Zlabis (Wheaton, Ill.) paced MSU with 15 kills, giving her 34 total kills against the Boilermakers this season. Junior Mischelle Nelson (Naperville, Ill.) finished the match with nine kills on 15 attacks while hitting a team-high .500. The nine kills from Nelson was one off of her career-high, set back in 2006 against Ball State.
Purdue took advantage of three early attack errors from the Spartans, jumping out to a quick 7-1 lead in the first set, forcing head coach Cathy George to take her first timeout of the set. Sophomore Megan Schatzle (Monroe, Mich.) ended the scoring drought out of the timeout with a kill from the left side. The Spartans kept the pressure on the Boilers, eventually cutting the lead to four at 13-9 after a kill from Nelson. The Spartans rallied to cut the lead to three at 19-16, but could not overcome their errors, which included five first-set service errors, as Purdue pulled away, winning the set 25-19.
Zlabis led the Spartans with five kills while hitting .273 in the opening frame while both Schatzle and Nelson finished the set with four kills apiece. Nelson finished the set hitting .500 with just one error. Allyson Karaba (Muskegon, Mich.) and Carli Weiler (Oak Lawn, Ill.) anchored the Spartan defense, posting five and four digs, respectively. Setter Natalie Emro (Wildwood, Mo.) handed out 11 assists and added two kills to her stat line in the first.
The second set saw MSU elevate their game as it would build a 5-3 edge early in the frame. Nelson and Emro combined on several quick kills at the net to spark the Spartan offense. MSU hit .643 while opening an 11-7 lead over Purdue, highlighted by Zlabis and Emro, who continued to dominate. After Zlabis' 10th kill, MSU would open a five point edge at 14-9. From there, the Spartans errors once again caught up with them. After leading 16-10, Purdue scored five of the next six points to pull them back within two at 17-15.
The Spartans extended their advantage back to 22-18, but Purdue scored the last seven points of the set, winning 25-22. Zlabis continued to lead MSU, adding six kills to her ledger, moving her match total to 11. Nelson also continued her efficient attack, adding four kills. Through the first two sets, Nelson hit .700 with eight kills and just one error. MSU hit .643 through the first 18 points, but finished the set hitting .200, committing seven errors in the second half of the set.
The Spartan errors continued in the third set as Purdue jumped out to an early 6-3 lead. MSU committed nine attack errors in the final set as it dropped the final set 25-17. As a team, MSU hit .031 in the third while Purdue hit .387.
The Spartans committed 25 attack errors on the match, proving to be their downfall. Zlabis led the Spartans with 15 kills in the match, while Emro handed out 30 assists with five kills. Karaba finished the match with a team-high 13 digs. Schatzle, Zlabis, Emro and Nelson were the only players to hit in positive numbers for Spartans.
MSU will continue its road trip as it heads to No. 16 Illinois to battle the Illini tomorrow night at 8 p.m. ET at Huff Hall. Live stats and live audio featuring John Kreger can be found at www.msuspartans.com.
