Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
13-12, 5-9
Indiana
14-12, 6-8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 18 | 23 | 26 | 15 | 1 |
| Michigan State | 25 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 3 |
Volleyball Tops Indiana, 3-1, With Offensive Outburst
11/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 8, 2008
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The 2008 Michigan State volleyball squad (13-12, 5-9 Big Ten) topped Indiana 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 24-26, 25-15) Saturday night at Jenison Field House. With the win, the Spartans improve to 8-4 at home this season. Sophomore Megan Schatzle (Monroe, Mich.) paced the Spartans by hitting .556 with 12 kills, while freshman Becca Zlabis (Wheaton, Ill.) led the team with 13 kills.
"I think we played well defensively, both in blocks and in digs," head coach Cathy George said. "We did a great job of going out there and executing our gameplan. Playing ggressive against Penn State last night helped us prepare mentally for this match."
The first set opened with the two teams exchanging points. Indiana would gain a two-point advantage at 9-7, but the Spartans ran off four straight to take an 11-9 lead, their first of the set. From that point, Schatzle took over for the Spartans, tallying four of the next nine Spartans points, helping MSU build a 20-17 advantage. From that point, MSU scored five of the next six points, winning the set, 25-18.
As a team, MSU had 15 kills while hitting .440, their highest percentage in a set since they hit .444 in the fifth set against Northwestern on Oct. 10. Freshman Natalie Emro (Wildwood, Mo.) handed out 13 assists while Schatzle finished with a team-high five kills. The Spartans also posted four blocks in the first set, with both freshman Kyndra Abron (Livonia, Mich.) and junior Vanessa King (Spring Lake, Mich.) each tallying a solo block. Both King and Abron accounted for four total points apiece in the first set.
The Spartans continued their efficient attack through the beginning of the second set, jumping out to a 15-9 lead behind the play of Zlabis. From there, the Hoosiers would capitalize on several Spartan errors, drawing even at 22. However, a kill from Zlabis and two Hoosier attack errors helped MSU win the second set, 25-23.
Zlabis finished the set with four kills, moving her match-total to six through two sets. Emro added 10 more assists to her ledger while tallying three kills. Sophomore libero Allyson Karaba (Muskegon, Mich.) posted seven digs in the second set, helping limit the Hoosiers to a .105 hitting percentage. The Spartan block also continued to dominate the play at the net as MSU once again posted four blocks.
The third set was highly contested from start to finish as neither team could build better than a three-point edge. With the Spartans down by a point at 21-20, senior Heather McDaniel (Madison Heights, Mich.) sent a kill off the block to pull the Spartans even. After the Hoosiers' Ashley Benson sent a ball long, the Spartans found themselves with a two-point advantage at 22-20. Indiana would rally to send the set to extra points. The Hoosiers scored the final three points of the set, winning 26-24.
McDaniel led the Spartans with seven kills, her career-best in a single set, to lead the team. Zlabis added four kills to her stat line, giving her 10 for the match. Emro, just like the first set, assisted on 13 Spartans kills.
The fourth set saw the Spartans jump all over Indiana, looking to end the match. MSU jumped out to an 11-6 lead and would never look back as they hit .545 in the set. MSU won the final set 25-15.
Emro finished the match with 50 assists and seven kills while Karaba led all players with 16 digs. King finished the match with 10 kills while hitting .500. As a team, the Spartans hit .288, their best since Sept. 27 against Michigan when they hit .314.
The match marked the end of a silent auction that benefited the MSU Pediatric and Adolescent Hematology/Oncology Clinic, the clinic that has played a critical role in the treatment of Adalin Farnum, the daughter of women's soccer associate head coach Tammy Farnum. Thirteen pairs of pink Nike volleyball shoes were auctioned off for $1,338 while over $600 was given in straight donations, raising nearly $2,000.
The Spartans will return to action next weekend as they travel to Michigan and Ohio State. Live audio with the voice of the Spartans John Kreger, can be found at www.msuspartans.com.
