Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
18-9, 7-8Big Ten
Minnesota
15-9, 8-7Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 20 | 22 | 18 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Volleyball Falls to No. 16 Minnesota, 3-0
11/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 9, 2011
Minneapolis, Minn. - The Michigan State volleyball team (18-9, 7-8 Big Ten) fell to No. 16 Minnesota (15-9, 8-7 Big Ten) in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Nov. 9 inside the Sports Pavilion, 3-0. Senior Natalie Emro led the Spartans with her second double-double of the season, and 12th in her career, on 28 assists and 13 digs.
After taking the opening point of the match, the Spartans fell into a bit of a rut, trailing Minnesota early in set one, 10-5. The Golden Gophers extended its lead to seven, the largest of the set, at 15-8. The Spartans rallied back with four of five to force a Minnesota timeout at 16-12. The Gophers' lead pushed back to six at 18-12, but MSU did not give up, pulling back four at 20-16. UM forced set point at 24-18, but the Green and White managed to get two more before the set ended at 25-20. Senior Jenilee Rathje led all individuals in the opening set with five kills. Emro led the Spartans in digs with six and assists with 12.
Michigan State looked to rebound in set two, however opened the set by dropping the first two points. The Spartans manage to tie the set back up at two before the Golden Gophers' lead became five at 8-5. Minnesota's lead grew to its largest of the set at six, causing an MSU timeout to be called at 11-5. The Green and White responded by cutting the deficit in half at 11-8 and then by pulling within two at 12-10. Michigan State was unable to get any closer than two points for the remainder of the set. Minnesota forced set point at 24-19, but the Spartans took three straight before the frame ended at 25-22. Senior Kyndra Abron and freshman Jazmine each had a team-best three kills in set two. Defensively, both Emro and freshman Kori Moster had four digs in the set.
MSU dropped the first two points of the final set before calling its first timeout of the set at 10-5. The Green and White clawed back within three at 13-10 and began to trade points with the Golden Gophers. The closest the Spartans got was one at 17-16, forcing the lone Minnesota timeout of the set to be called. UM responded with the next four points following break to post a 21-16 advantage before finally closing out the match 25-18. Abron tallied a set-high five kills to pace all Spartans. Moster and senior Becca Zlabis were the defensive backbones for the Green and White with her four digs.
Joining Emro with 13 digs on the match was Moster. At the net, freshman Jazmine White tallied a match-high four blocks.
The Spartans return to action this weekend when they close out their four-match road trip on Saturday, Nov. 12 against Wisconsin in Madison, Wis.
