Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
4-11, 12-14
Iowa
1-14, 6-18
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Iowa | 21 | 20 | 19 | 0 |
Volleyball Sweeps Iowa, 3-0
11/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 12, 2010
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Michigan State volleyball team (12-14, 4-11 Big Ten) topped Iowa (6-18, 1-14 Big Ten) on Friday, Nov. 12, 3-0. Red-shirt junior Jenilee Rathje (Mount Pleasant, Mich.) led the team offensively with a season-best 20 kills on the night.
MSU got started early in set one by gaining the first point of the match. Rathje pushed the Spartan lead to 3-1 with a beautiful kill up the middle. Iowa responded by pulling within one at 4-3 which later became tied at 5-5. The Hawkeyes earned their first lead of the match at 6-5. MSU took the next four points, which was capped off by an Iowa attack error, to lead 9-6. Sophomore Amy Dentlinger (Arcadia, Iowa) put away a thunderous kill in front of her home-state crowd to give MSU an 11-7 lead. With the Green and White leading by five at 14-9, a Hawkeye attack error forced an Iowa timeout. MSU's lead became six after a nice kill from Rathje as UI called its second timeout of the set at 18-12. Iowa took four of the next five points to force the Spartans into a timeout at 19-16. Junior Kyndra Abron (Livonia, Mich.) hammered home a ball to put the MSU lead back up to five at 23-18. The Hawkeyes gained the next three points to force Michigan State into its second timeout at 23-21. Rathje took care of business for MSU as she posted back-to-back kills to give the Spartans a 25-21 first set win. Rathje tallied eight kills in the set to hit .667. Freshman Kristen Kelsay (Wheaton, Ill.) dished out eight assists, while junior Becca Zlabis (Wheaton, Ill.) reeled in three digs. The Spartans out hit Iowa .281 to .125 in set one.
Set two opened up in similar fashion for the Spartans as they once again got the opening point of the set. Rathje fed the needle through the Iowa blockers as she gave MSU the 4-2 lead. Freshman Kelsey Kuipers (Otsego, Mich.) hit a nice roll shot as the Spartans led Iowa, 7-3. Kuipers and junior Natalie Emro (Wildwood, Mo.) stuffed the Hawkeye attack at 10-4 to cause them to call a timeout. Iowa responded following the break with three straight points to trail MSU 10-7. After Iowa got within two at 12-10, Abron killed the Hawkeye rally with a nice slide at 13-10. MSU once again regained the four-point lead at 16-12 after Rathje got just enough on the ball to get it over the Hawkeye block. Two more MSU points caused Iowa to call a timeout at 18-12 after Kuipers slipped the ball through the block. UI once again responded well out of a timeout after they took the next four points, causing MSU into a timeout at 18-16. Rathje hammered home an over pass to put MSU back on top at 23-19. After a Hawkeye attack error forced set point, the Spartans were finally able to end the set after Rathje once again slipped the ball through the Iowa block, ending the set at 25-20. Rathje once again led MSU with six kills on the set. Kelsay posted 10 assists to lead the team. Both senior Allyson Karaba (Muskegon, Mich.) and junior Carli Weiler (Oak Lawn, Ill.) had five digs in the set.
Once again, the Spartans opened up the set by gaining the first point of the set. After trailing for the only time in the set at 2-1, the Spartans got out to a 4-2 lead after Zlabis took a nice feed from Emro. The Hawkeyes responded by tying the set up at five and then gaining the 9-6 lead, causing MSU into a timeout. Four straight Green and White points which was capped off by a Kelsay service ace, forced Iowa into a timeout at 10-9. Rathje fed the ball through the Iowa block once again to cause a Hawkeye timeout at 16-11. A beautiful roll shot from Zlabis pushed the Spartan lead to four at 22-18. Abron finished off the set for the Spartans as she tallied the final three points for MSU with back-to-back-to-back kills, handing MSU the 25-19 match win. Rathje and Dentlinger each led the team with a team-high six kills. Kelsay recorded 13 assists, while Weiler had eight digs.
Dentlinger, in her return home to the state of Iowa, joined Rathje in double-digit kill numbers with career-high 11 kills. Both Weiler and Karaba posted double-digit dig efforts with 14 and 12, respectively. Kelsay dished out 31 assists, while Emro chipped in another 13.
The win gave the Spartans their first conference road win since Nov. 15, 2008.
The Spartans return to action tomorrow when they travel to Minneapolis, Minn., for a contest against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Action is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET.
