Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
4-0
St. John's
3-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's | 18 | 16 | 20 | 0 |
| Michigan State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Volleyball Cruises To 3-0 Win Over St. John's
9/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 2, 2011
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State volleyball team (4-0) opened the 2011 Spartan Showcase on Friday, Sept. 2 with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-20) win over St. John's. The Spartans posted a blazing .557 hitting percentage over the Red Storm for the match to set a program record for a three-set match, and second most all-time in school history. Sophomore Alexis Mathews was the team's top defender at the net as she recorded a season-best nine blocks.
"I thought the girls played very organized throughout the match," said MSU head coach Cathy George. "When we faced a little adversity during set three, we became a little unorganized, and gave up roughly five-straight points, but then we came back and got back to business. We had a couple key blocks to get us back into the game, and then went on to win the game. So, I was very impressed with the way they stepped up and recognized that they need to make a turn in the right direction."
The Spartans got the match started by pulling away to make the score 7-2 with a block from Mathews and senior Kyndra Abron after the score was tied at 2-2. The block brought St. John's into its first timeout of the match. Another Mathews block with senior Natalie Emro brought the score to 9-4. The Red Storm rallied to within three at 9-6. A 5-2 run from the Spartans, capped off by a kill from junior Amy Dentlinger, brought the score to 14-8 with STJ calling its second timeout of the set. The MSU lead grew to eight following an ace from freshman Kori Moster, making the score 19-11. The Green and White closed out the set following a St. John's attack error to end the set at 25-18. Mathews led MSU to open the match with four first-set kills.
The Green and White initially struggled in set two as they only maintained a two-point lead at 4-2. St. John's called a timeout at the point after Mathews had already turned in three blocks in the set. STJ rallied to tie the set at 5-5, before gaining its first lead of the match at 10-9. Three points later, the Spartans regained the lead at 12-10 after Mathews was joined by junior Gina Lang on the block. The next point, St. John's called its second timeout of the set after a bad set from Sabina Piegza. MSU rolled forward as it pushed its lead to 18-13 after Lang terminated the ball from sophomore Kristen Kelsay. A 5-1 rally kept the Green and White in front at 23-14 following a kill from senior Jenilee Rathje. MSU capped off set two following a kill from Mathews to make the final score 25-16. Rathje's nine kills was team-high for set two.
Michigan State looked to continue its momentum in the decisive set, however it ran into a bump in the road at the middle of the set. After gaining a 5-2 lead following a kill from Rathje, St. John's got back within two points at 8-6. After the Spartans held a 12-9 lead, the Red Storm tied the set up at 12, causing the Green and White into its lone timeout of the match. STJ continued to press on with its first lead of the match at 15-13 before three-straight Spartan points, capped off by Rathje, caused the Red Storm into a timeout at 16-15. St. John's called its final timeout of the match at 20-15 following a set error. Michigan State closed out the match with a 25-20 third set win. Rathje paced MSU in set three with eight kills on 10 attacks.
Offensively, Rathje paced the team with 19 kills on 26 attacks while committing only one error. Rathje also turned in a career-best .692 hitting mark, individually. Both Kelsay and Emro netted over 15 assists with 19 and 18, respectively. Defensively, Kelsay was joined by Rathje with a team-best four digs, while Mathews led the team at the net with nine blocks.
The Spartans return to action with game two of the Spartan Showcase against Cleveland State at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3.
