Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
12-10, 5-6Big Ten
Illinois
17-5, 9-2Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 25 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Michigan State | 21 | 25 | 22 | 18 | 1 |
MSU Falls to No. 10 Illinois, 3-1
10/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score | Video Highlights
East Lansing, Michigan - - Michigan State dropped a 3-1 decision (21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 18-25) to No. 10 Illinois on Friday night at Jenison Field House. MSU falls to 12-10 overall and 5-6 in Big Ten play, while the Illini win their sixth straight and improve to 17-5, 9-2 B1G.
Chloe Reinig had 16 kills and five blocks, adding 10 digs on the night for her first career double-double. Allyssah Fitterer had eight kills and six blocks, while freshman setter Rachel Minarick had 38 assists, six kills, and six digs along with five blocks. Kori Moster moved into sole possession of sixth place on the Big Ten career digs list, as she finished her night by tying her career best with 29, and pushed her career total to 2,037.
For the Illini, Joselynn Birks had a double-double with 16 kills and 14 digs, while Morganne Criswel had 19 kills.
In the opening set, the game got to the first TV timeout with the Illini leading 15-12. The visitors came out of the break with four straight points, getting two blocks out of bounds and two Spartan attempts that went long to build to its largest lead of the night, 19-12. A back-row attack by Reinig followed by a solo block by Jazmine White started a 3-0 run for the Spartans, but the Illini got the three points right back on a kill, an ace, and a big block. Trailing 24-17, MSU fought off set point four times, once on a block by Christenson and two more on Reinig terminations, forcing the Illini into a timeout at 24-21. Reinig was hard for the Illini to stop in the opening set, as she had eight kills and hit .500, while White had three blocks. Moster moved into sixth place in the Big Ten all-time digs list, recording six in the set.
Illinois took a three-point lead in the second set at 9-6, but MSU rallied with a three-point run to tie it at 9-9, and then the teams went point-for-point, trading one-point leads until MSU pulled ahead 17-15 on a Garvelink kill and a Minarick dump; three straight MSU attacking errors gave the lead back to the visitors 18-17, forcing the Spartans into a timeout. MSU tied the game again at 19 on a Reinig kill, then got an ace from Hubbard and then Fitterer polished off a long rally with a kill from the right pin to give MSU a 21-19 advantage. After an Illini timeout, Hubbard iced the Illini with an ace for the third time in the set, giving the Spartans a 22-19 lead. Illinois got the sideout with a block by Anna Dorn and McMahon, but MSU countered with a Fitterer kill. After the Illini pulled back within a pair on a Birks kill, MSU closed it out on a pair of blocks - by Reinig and Garvelink on the left side, and Fitterer and Minarick on the right - to even up the match at 1-1. The second set alone featured 14 tie scores and seven lead changes.
The Illini jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third set, but MSU battled back into it at 8-7 before Illinois got a kill by Criswell and a block out of bounds to push it back to a three- point lead at 10-7 and 12-9. The Illini extended their lead to as many as five points, but the home team kept clawing back into it. The Illini took its largest lead since the first set at 22-16, forcing MSU into a timeout; Reinig powered the ball into the back left corner to get the sideout, and White followed with a service ace to make it a four-point match. Birks cut down a would-be MSU rally, then and McMahon gave the visitors set point at 24-19, but MSU once again rallied at set point, getting kills by Fitterer and Minarick and a Muir ace to cut it down to 24-22. After an Illinios timeout, Birks halted the MSU run and got the set point to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.
MSU had an early 6-4 lead in the fourth set, but the Illini ripped off five straight points - two coming off Spartan errors - to give the visitors a 9-6 lead. Out of the timeout, Illinois pushed its lead to 12-7, then opened it up on back-to-back MSU errors to take its largest lead of the set, 17-10. After Illinois went up by eight, MSU was able to cut it back down to five, 22-17, but the Illini got the next two points on a McMahon kill and a hit off the block gave them match point. MSU got one back, but Birks finished off the Spartans with a shot to the back left corner.
The Spartans will look to snap a three-game skid on Saturday when it hosts Northwestern at Jenison Field House at 6:30 p.m.
