Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
9-7, 2-3Big Ten
Nebraska
10-4, 4-1Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | 25 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 3 |
| Michigan State | 20 | 18 | 25 | 23 | 1 |
Spartans Fall in Four to Huskers
10/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
WATCH: Highlights vs. Nebraska
East Lansing, Michigan -- - The eighth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers took their first win in East Lansing since 2011 on Friday, downing Michigan State 3-1 (20-25, 18-25, 25-22, 23-25). Nebraska improves to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten, while MSU falls to 9-7, 2-3.
Chloe Reinig had 15 kills to lead the Spartans, while Allyssah Fitterer had 10 kills and four digs, and Alyssa Garvelink had nine kills and two blocks. Taylor Galloway had nine kills and eight digs, while Kori Moster moved into eighth place all-time in the Big Ten with 19 digs. Rachel Minarick had a double-double - her fifth of the season - with 41 assists and 13 digs. Kadie Rolfzen led all scorers with 16 kills, hitting .200 with 12 digs for a double-double for the visitors. Alicia Ostrander (12 kills) and Amber Rolfzen (10) rounded out the double-digit kills for the Cornhuskers.
"We were much better in the second and third sets, but I'd like to see us not fall behind two sets," said head coach Cathy George. "We're progressing, but we're still waiting to see all the pieces put together consistently. The good news is that we get another chance at that very thing tomorrow night against Iowa."
Moster, who set the Michigan State career digs mark midway through her junior year, has improved her career total to 1,943 career digs, good for eighth on the all-time Big Ten list. She has had double-digit kill totals in all but 17 of her 120 career matches, and is the two-time defending Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Neither team could get any separation early in the first set, as the Spartan lead was either one or two points until a three-point run gave MSU its largest lead at 15-11 on a Reinig kill, Nebraska error, and Fitterer service ace. MSU built its lead to five points at 17-11, but the Huskers countered by scoring 12 of the next 15 points, capitalizing on eight MSU errors; this brought the visitors from a 17-12 deficit to a 25-20 win in the opening set, on the strength of four kills from Kadie Rolfzen and three each from Alicia Ostrander and Meghan Haggerty. The Spartans, who were hitting better than .350 with their biggest lead, hit just .100 in the set overall, and got four kills from Alyssa Garvelink. Both teams struggled at the service line, as Nebraska recorded four service errors and the Spartans three.
In the second set, Nebraska used four-and-five point runs to build to a sizeable lead, extending its advantage to as many as ten points at 19-9. Kadie Rolfzen had seven kills in the set, and her twin Amber kicked in an additional four as the Huskers hit .351. MSU got four kiklls from Reinig, but hit .212 - despite just five errors, the Spartans could not hold off the potent Nebraska attack, which accumulated 16 kills in the set. . After the Huskers took a 6-4 lead in the third set, the Spartans reeled off five straight points to move ahead 10-6, on the strength of two Taylor Galloway kills, MSU's first block of the night by Garvelink and Fitterer, and a Fitterer kill. After the timeout, Nebraska came back with three straight points - on Ostrander and Kadie Rolfzen kills and a Rolfzen service ace - to force MSU into a timeout with its lead reduced to just one point. After the teams returned to the floor, MSU got the sideout with a Garvelink kill, then saw the Huskers commit three straight errors. Minarick's tip into the back left corner gave MSU a six-point lead at 15-9, and Nebraska called timeout.
Muir came out of the timeout with an ace, and a Rolfzen attempt went long to push MSU to its largest lead of the night at 17-9. Back-to-back Husker kills stalled MSU's momentum, and the visitors cut it to 17-12 on a block, followed by an MSU error. MSU maintained its five-point advantage through 22-17, but Nebraska cut back into it on a kill by Amber Rolfzen, a kill by the setter Polmiller, and a Townsend ace that made it 22-20 and forced MSU into a timeout. MSU closed out a third-set win on a Townsend service error out of the timeout, and kills by FItterer and Galloway to push the match to a fourth set.
Mini-runs and trading leads was again the storyline in the fourth, as the teams tied at 8-8, then again at 12, 14, 17, 18, and 19; Nebraska alternated between one-and-two point leads, as the Spartans stayed in it with kills from Reinig and Fitterer. Leading by one, the road team called a timeout at 23-22; the teams again traded kills from their big arms, Kadie Rolfzen and Reinig to make it 24-23, and Rolfzen capped it with a shot down the left line to secure the 3-1 Husker win.
The Spartans will look to rebound on Saturday when it hosts Iowa at Jenison Field House to wrap a three-game homestand.
