Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
5-0
Cleveland State
4-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland State | 12 | 19 | 24 | 0 |
| Michigan State | 25 | 25 | 26 | 3 |
Volleyball Scrapes Out 3-0 Win Over Cleveland State
9/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2011
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State volleyball team (5-0) continued its strong early start to the season with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 26-24) win over Cleveland State (4-2) during game two of the Spartan Showcase on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 3). This marks the first time since 1975 MSU has opened up a season without dropping a set in the first five matches. Senior Jenilee Rathje paced the attack at the net with 14 kills on the night, her fifth-straight double-digit kill mark.
"I know that Cleveland State is really tough, we knew that coming in," said MSU head coach Cathy George. "They played extremely well last night, so we knew that we had our work cut out for us. We needed to make sure that we were serving tough, making it difficult to get Kara Koch hot - who was on fire last night - so I thought we did a nice job containing her. I still don't think that we played to our potential; I thought we were off a little bit. We came through in clutch times, especially when they took us to the wire in set three. I thought we had some veteran play and some veteran decisions that came through for us.
"I think the team plays with a lot of poise and chemistry. We have been in a couple matches this season where the opponent got ahead of us, and really, they just put the hammer down and recomposed themselves. They get really disciplined and detailed and finish it out strong."
MSU came out sluggish to open the match as they it only held a one-point lead at 3-2 and 7-6. The Spartans began to finally pull away during set one, as they led by two at 9-6 before rattling off five of the next eight for a 14-9 lead. The Green and White pushed the lead to 17-10 following a kill from sophomore Alexis Mathews. Junior Amy Dentlinger gave the Spartans their largest lead of the weekend of 12 points with a kill at 22-10. MSU closed out set one by a score of 25-12. Mathews and senior Jenilee Rathje both had four kills during the opening set.
The Green and White fell behind to the Vikings in set two, 2-0. Cleveland State's lead grew to three at 7-4. Four-straight MSU points put the Green and White ahead by one at 8-7, as CSU called its first timeout of the set. The Vikings once again tied up the set at 11, before the Spartans began to pull out in front at 13-11. As the Green and White maintained a 19-15 advantage, Cleveland State called its second timeout of the set. Rathje terminated a solid ball outside to force set point at 24-19. Mathews terminated the final ball of the set to end it at 25-19. Rathje was joined by senior Kyndra Abron with four kills during set two.
The Spartans looked poised to close out the match in three; however they faced tough competition late in the set. After holding a 3-1 advantage over the Vikings early in the set, MSU allowed Cleveland State to tie up the set at five points, each. Four of the next five points fell in favor of the Spartans, causing CSU to call a timeout at 9-6. The MSU lead was maintained at three with the score 15-12, as Cleveland State its final timeout of the match. The Green and White pushed the lead to four following a kill by Dentlinger at 18-14. Michigan State finally began to see the end in sight with a 21-17 lead; however the Vikings tied the set back up at 22, just as the Spartans called their first timeout of the match. MSU forced set point at 24-23, but were unable to finish off the Vikings. A CSU attack error ended the match for the Green and White, winning the set 26-24. Rathje tallied six of her 14 kills in the final set of the afternoon.
Abron and Mathews each finished the match with eight kills each. Mathews was also the top blocker for the match with senior Natalie Emro, as each recorded four total blocks. Emro also dished out 19 assists, while sophomore Kristen Kelsay chipped in 13. The top back row defender for the Green and White was senior Carli Weiler. Weiler ended the match with a team-best eight digs.
The Spartans close out the Spartan Showcase this evening when they host Toledo at 7 p.m.
