Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
17-6, 6-5Big Ten
Indiana
8-15, 0-11Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 19 | 25 | 15 | 22 | 1 |
| Michigan State | 25 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Middles Lead Volleyball Over Indiana, 3-1
10/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 26, 2011
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State volleyball team (17-6, 6-5 Big Ten) posted a 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-15, 25-22) win over Indiana (8-15, 0-11 Big Ten) to open the second half of conference action in East Lansing. Leading the Spartans offensively were middle blockers sophomore Alexis Mathews and freshman Jazmine White.
"It certainly was not a pretty match tonight," said head coach Cathy George. "But, any time you can pull out a win in this conference is nice. We have several things that we are going to need to work on the rest of this week before Saturday against Purdue. I was really pleased with the production tonight from both Alexis (Mathews) and Jazmine (White). Anytime you can have three individuals contributing offensively, along with Jenilee (Rathje), makes it tough to defend."
Michigan State got hot in the opening set by taking it by a score of 25-19. MSU took the first point of the set, but allowed the Hoosiers to gain the lead at 3-2 before posting its largest lead of two at 6-4. The Green and White rallied back to post a lead at 9-8, and continued to push the lead to five at 20-15. MSU took the set off of six kills by Mathews and backed by freshman Kori Moster's four digs.
The Spartans hoped to make quick work of IU, however they dropped set two, 25-21, to tie the match at 1-1. MSU took the opening two points, but allowed the Hoosiers to score six of seven for the 6-3 lead. The Indiana lead later became six at 12-6, with the Green and White only able to get within three towards the end of the set at 24-21. Senior Jenilee Rathje led all individuals on the set with four kills, while Moster was joined by senior Carli Weiler in the digs tally with four.
MSU returned to the right side of things in set three with a 25-15 win. The Green and White stormed out to the quick 7-3 lead over Indiana to open the frame. The Spartans kept composed and remained in the driver's seat for the remainder of the set. Michigan State forced an IU timeout at 19-12 after four straight went to MSU, and turned in the largest lead of the set at 10 to close out the frame. Rathje again paced the Spartans with four kills, while Moster led with four digs. White also chipped in four service aces in the set.
The Green and White closed out the close match by a score of 25-22 in set four, marking the team's sixth win in four sets. MSU took three of the first four before allowing the Hoosiers to garner the 7-4 lead. IU kept control of the set at the media timeout with it owning a 15-10 lead. Six straight to the Spartans put the Green and White back into the set at 16-15, but Indiana again tied the set at 16. The two schools would go on to trade service, until MSU posted three straight for the 23-21 lead. MSU wound up ending the set following seven kills by Rathje. Moster, Weiler and sophomore Kristen Kelsay each backed Michigan State with four digs.
With the win, MSU has completed the season sweep over the Hoosiers for the first time since 2007.
Both Mathews and White had career nights offensively with 13 kills and seven kills, respectively. Leading the team in kills was Rathje with 21, the third straight with over 20 kills and 11th with double digit numbers. Backing the team in the digs column was Moster with 16 and Weiler with 12. White also led all individuals with a career-best four service aces, all of which occurred during set three. At the net, White recorded a team-high four blocks, while Mathews and seniors Becca Zlabis and Natalie Emro each netted three. Kelsay distributed a team-high 29 assists, with Emro chipping in 14.
The Spartans return to action on Saturday, Oct. 29 when they face No. 11 Purdue at 6:30 p.m. inside Jenison Field House. The match will be covered by the Big Ten Digital Network at BTN.com, as well as at SpartanSportsNetwork.com.
