Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
14-3, 3-2Big Ten
Wisconsin
10-7, 2-3Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 25 | 23 | 34 | 19 | 1 |
| Michigan State | 27 | 25 | 32 | 25 | 3 |
Volleyball Holds Off Pesky Badgers, 3-1
10/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 7, 2011
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State volleyball team (14-3, 3-2 Big Ten) held off a pesky Wisconsin (10-7, 2-3 Big Ten), 3-1, on Friday night inside a jamming Jenison Field House. The Spartans saw a pair of underclassmen in sophomore Kristen Kelsay and freshman Kori Moster lead the squad against the Badgers. Kelsay posted a career-best 44 assists, while Moster had a career-best 17.
The Spartans and Wisconsin opened the match up in thrilling fashion. After the Green and White held the early 3-0 lead over the Badgers. MSU allowed Wisconsin to pull within one multiple times throughout the set, however the Spartans remained strong and pushed its lead to four to cause the first Wisconsin timeout of the match at 18-14. Four points later, the Green and White pushed its lead to the largest of the set, six, to force the final timeout of the set for UW. The Badgers clawed back and pull within three at 23-20 with MSU calling its first break of the match. After three-straight points fell in favor of Wisconsin to tie the match at 23, Michigan State called its final timeout of set one. The Badgers made their streak four to force the first set point of the match, 23-24. UW would force another set point at 24-25, before the Spartans final claimed the opening set, 27-25. Senior Jenilee Rathje paced all attackers in the opening frame with nine kills.
MSU fell into a bit of a funk to open the second as it dropped the first two points of the set, 2-0. The Spartans, however, remained composed and tied the set up at three before taking an 8-4 lead. The Green and White allowed UW to tie the set back up at nine, and then finally again at 15. Wisconsin called its first timeout of set two at 20-17 and then its second at 22-19. Michigan State closed out the second set by a score of 25-23. Senior Kyndra Abron led both teams in set two with her five kills.
Michigan State, once again, dropped the first two points of set three, before finally posting the 15-14 lead over the Badgers. The Spartans held their first significant lead of the set with the score 20-17, forcing UW to call back-to-back timeouts. Wisconsin managed to tie the set back up at 20, before taking the 22-23 lead to force the Spartans into a timeout. The two squads would continue to trade service, managing to tie the set up a whopping 20 times. UW finally closed out the set at 34-32. MSU's 32 points are the most ever recorded by the team in one set under the 25-point scoring system. Rathje, once again, paced both teams with her eight kills.
The Green and White dropped the first point of set four before getting out to the 4-2 lead. MSU forced the Badgers into their first timeout of the final set at the 13-8 mark. Michigan State remained strong in the driver's seat, pushing its lead to six with UW calling its final timeout of the match with MSU leading, 19-13.The Spartans began slip offensively, allowing Wisconsin back into the match at 23-19, however they finally capped off the match with a 25-19 fourth set win. Rathje paced both teams in set four with five kills.
Kelsay quarterbacked the Spartans with her fourth career double-double with a career-high 44 assists and 17 digs. Moster also set a career-best in service aces with three as well as a personal-high nine assists. Joining Kelsay and Moster with double-digit dig numbers was senior Becca Zlabis' team-best 18. Offensively, Rathje paced the Green and White with 26 kills on a career-best 59 attacks. Joining Rathje offensively was Abron with 16 kills. At the net, Zlabis led the squad with a career-best three solo blocks, while sophomore Alexis Mathews paced the squad with five total blocks.
The Spartans' 109 points are the most in a four-set match under the 25-point scoring system in program history.
The Green and White returns to action tomorrow (Oct. 8), when No. 14 Minnesota travels to East Lansing for a 7 p.m. contest against the Spartans inside Jenison Field House.
