Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
12-7,5-3Big Ten
Rutgers
7-14, 0-8Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Rutgers | 16 | 21 | 21 | 0 |
MSU Earns Third Straight Sweep
10/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
New Brunswick, NJ - Michigan State earned a 3-0 victory at Rutgers on Saturday (25-16, 25-21, 25-21) to earn its third straight victory, all by 3-0 scores. Chloe Reinig finished with 12 kills and six digs, while freshman Alyssa Garvelink had 10 kills. MSU played 14 of its 16 traveling players in the match, and improved to 12-7, 5-3 B1G. Rutgers remains winless in Big Ten play.
"There were lots of new things for us this weekend," said head coach Cathy George. "We played in two venues which were new to us, which is rare once you get into conference play. We played the two newest teams where we are most unfamiliar with their personnel. However, some of the new things was us trying new combinations and lineups, which gave some experience to more of the players on our bench. "
Michigan State opened the game on a 11-4 run, with three of Rutgers' points coming on Spartan service errors - MSU connected on eight of its first nine swings (hitting .889), and was firmly in control. A 5-0 run for the home team allowed Rutgers to pull it within three at 12-9, on two kills, one ace, and two MSU miscues. The Spartans got back on track and at 16-12, used a 9-3 run to finish off the set with a 25-15 advantage. The Spartans got 17 kills in the set, with Reinig accounting for seven.
Rutgers was able to keep it closer in the opening part of the second set, when four of the Scarlet Knights' first seven points came on MSU attack errors, bringing the teams to a 7-7 score. A 6-2 Spartan run, fueled by two Garvelink terminations and a kill and a block by Reinig - made it 13-9; a 6-1 run for the home team, including Rutgers' first block of the night, gave the Scarlet Knights their first lead of the night at 15-14. The Rutgers run coincided with MSU using a lineup for four freshmen, a sophomore and the senior libero Moster; with the set tied at 19, MSU used a 5-1 run to get to set point, as freshman Marissa Ratzenberger, making her career debut, served four straight points. An Alex Lassa kill halted the MSU run, but Megan Tompkins finished off the set for MSU, which took a 2-0 lead in the match.
Garvelink had three straight kills to open the third set on a strong note for MSU, which extended its advantage to 8-3 lead without an error . The Spartans maintained their five-point lead though to 15-10, but the home team cut it down to three at 16-13 with a four-point run, capped by a Rachel Andreassian kill. MSU built it back to five at 23-17, but allowed the home team back in with three straight points on Spartan errors. MSU got the sideout on a service error, and the Spartans closed it out on a Reinig kill to secure a third straight victory.
MSU's four-game road trip continues next week at Ohio State and Penn State.
