Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
9-5, 1-2
Penn State
12-2, 2-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 21 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| PSU | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Volleyball Falls to No. 4 Penn State, 3-0
10/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 1, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Michigan State volleyball team (9-5, 1-2) fell to No. 4 Penn State (12-2, 2-1), 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-17), in its Big Ten road opener on Friday, Oct. 1. Junior Becca Zlabis (Wheaton, Ill.) led the team against the Nittany Lions with 11 kills while hitting .250 on the night.
MSU struggled early in the opening set, trailing 3-1 to the Nittany Lions. After finding themselves down 8-4, the Spartans battled back to pull within one after a block from junior Kyndra Abron (Livonia, Mich.) and freshman Kelsey Kuipers (Otsego, Mich.). The Green and White became tied with PSU at 13 after junior Natalie Emro (Wildwood, Mo.) hammered away a set from freshman Kristen Kelsay (Wheaton, Ill.). Just as the Nittany Lions began to pull away, MSU rallied back to tie the set up at 16 after Emro and red-shirt freshman Alexis Mathews put the Penn State attack away. The Spartans would tie the set once again at 18, before Penn State closed out the opening set, 25-21. Zlabis led the Spartans in set one with six kills.
Michigan State wound up trailing the Nittany Lions, 11-3 early in the 2nd set. PSU maintained its seven point lead at 18-11. The Spartans trailed by 10 at 24-14, before scoring three straight points to make it 24-17. PSU took set two by a score of 25-17. Zlabis led the team with four kills in the set.
Following intermission, the Spartans were behind 3-2 in set three. Penn State pushed its lead to 8-4 on MSU. The Green and White rallied back to pull within two at 14-12 after a Kelsay service ace. The PSU lead fell to one after Emro and freshman Kristen Kelsay (Otsego, Mich.) blocked the Nittany Lion attack, bringing the score to 15-14. PSU went on a 10-2 run to conclude the match. Penn State took the final set by a score of 25-17. Abron was the top attacker with three kills on three attacks in the final set.
Emro led the team on the night with 19 assists, while Kelsay also had double digit numbers with 10 assists. Red-shirt sophomore Mandi Karaba (Muskegon, Mich.) led the defense with seven digs. Mathews led the Green and White with five blocks on the night.
The Spartans return to action tomorrow (Oct. 2) when they face Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio at 7 p.m. ET.
Today's match against the Nittany Lions will be broadcast on Big Ten Network on Monday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. ET. The match is a part of BTN's Student U programming.
