Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
11-7, 4-3Big Ten
Maryland
7-11, 0-7Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Maryland | 23 | 14 | 21 | 0 |
MSU Sweeps Terps in First-Ever B1G Showdown
10/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
College Park, Maryland - Traveling to one of the newest members of the Big Ten, the Spartan volleyball team registered its second straight 3-0 sweep with a win over Maryland (25-23, 25-14, 25-21) in College Park. The Spartans improve to 11-7 and 4-3 in Big Ten play, while the Terps drop their 10th straight match and fall to 4-11, 0-7 B1G.
Michigan State got a match-high 16 kills from sophomore Chloe Reinig, who just missed a double-double with nine digs; Allyssah Fitterer had nine kills and three digs, while Alyssa Garvelink had a team-best four blocks and added four kills. For the host Terps, Ashlyn Macgregor had a match-best six block, including three solos, while Hailey Murray had nine kills.
It was a big night on the Maryland campus, as the volleyball game served as a warmup for the crowd prior to the "Maryland Madness" event for the men's and women's basketball teams. A steadily-increasing crowd saw the first volleyball match in the Xfinity Center since 2010.
Michigan State's largest lead in the opening set was three points, but scored 11 of their first 15 points on kills, while Maryland had only five of their first 12 on the offensive. After an attack error by the Spartans to allow the Terps to pull within two at 18-16, MSU moved ahead by four on back-to-back kills by Reinig and Minarick, and after a Maryland timeout, Minarick and Fitterer combined on a double block followed by a Fitterer tip to push MSU's lead to 22-16, its largest of the set. Maryland stopped the Spartan run with back-to-back kills by Murray and Chavi St. Hill, and two MSU errors allowed the Terps to make it a three-point game. The home team kept inching closer, using another Murray kill and an Amy Dion ace to pull within one, but trailing by just a point at 24-23, Maryland mishandled a pass and gave the Spartans the opening-set victory.
Garvelink set the tone for the second set early, killing two straight balls to open the frame - but a series of Maryland errors allowed the Spartans to build to a 10-4 lead. The teams settled down, and MSU maintained a six or seven point advantage until three straight kills allowed the Spartans to open up their biggest lead of the night, 21-11. With the Spartans holding a 22-13 edge, the teams traded errors, but MSU got a point off a Maryland service error, followed by Garvelink closing out the set with a block.
Coming out of the intermission, the team looked to make a strong statement in the third set and was in search of its second straight 3-0 sweep in Big Ten play. Opening up leads of 7-1 and 10-4, a pair of blocking errors by MSU accounted for half of Maryland's points. The home team cut MSU's lead down to three points, capping a 8-5 run on a kill by Murray that made it 12-9 MSU. Reinig had seven kills among the Spartans' first 14 points of the third frame, helping to push MSU's lead back to seven points at 18-11. Maryland used a 6-1 run - fueled by three straight kills by Emily Fraik and one from Whitney Craigo - to cut MSU's lead to 19-17. With the Spartans holding a 21-18 lead, the Spartans got its next three points on Fitterer kills, then a long ball by Fraik sealed the sweep for MSU.
The Spartans now head to the other newest Big Ten institution, taking on Rutgers on Saturday at 7 p.m.
