Michigan State University
14-13, 7-9Big Ten
Indiana
15-13, 6-10Big Ten
Spartans Make Quick Work of Hoosiers, 3-0
11/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
East Lansing -- Michigan State allowed just 34 points in a three-game sweep of visiting Indiana on Saturday (25-12, 25-8, 25-14), establishing a new school record and moving MSU to 7-9 in Big Ten play and 14-13 overall. The match took just 71 minutes, as MSU had its foot on the gas from the opening serve and dispatched its conference foe in convincing fashion. Combined with a 3-1 victory in Bloomington in the first match of the conference season, the Spartans get the season sweep of the Hoosiers as well.
MSU's school record for fewest points allowed had been 35, which it allowed in a three-game sweep of Dartmouth on Sept. 1, 2012 (25-9, 25-17, 25-9). MSU allowed eight points to the Hoosiers in the second set, the fewest number of points MSU has allowed to a Big Ten opponent in a set since the collegiate game went to the 25-point scoring system in 2009. It is also the fewest points allowed to a Big Ten opponent in the 25-point scoring system in school history.
It was a critical Big Ten match for both teams, which entered the match tied for seventh place in the Conference standings with identical 6-9 marks in Big Ten play. It was a night where everything clicked for the home team, as MSU committed just five hitting errors and hit .481, a Big Ten-season best. The sophomore duo of Chloe Reinig and Allyssah Fitterer were once again the double-digit killers for MSU, as Reinig hit .500 with 14 kills and just two errors, while Fitterer went 10-0-14 to hit a career-high .714, and added three blocks (one solo). MSU had double-digit blocks for the 10th time in 16 Big Ten matches, as freshman Alyssa Garvelink tied her career best with seven and senior Jazmine White had six, while also contributing seven kills and hit .462. No MSU hitter was below .250 on the night, and the Spartans had 33 team digs - mostly split between senior libero Kori Moster (11) and classmate Taylor Galloway (10). Rachel Minarick had 29 assists, adding three kills and a pair of blocks.
For the visitors, Amelia Anderson had seven kills, while both Morgan Leach and Awele Nwaze had four. As a team, Indiana had just 19 kills and committed 25 errors, hitting -.070 in the match. MSU also out-blocked its visitors 11-1.
"I thought we had some really good practices leading up to today's match, and I felt like we were building to a good performance," said head coach Cathy George, who's team snapped a three- match skid. "We were consistent and got really strong performances across the board. The wins right now are critical as all teams are fighting for position, so it was nice to see that we were rewarded for a really strong night."
The Spartans built to a 10-6 lead, using a pair of three-point runs early in the set. Reinig set the tone early, with three of MSU's first four kills. The Spartans pushed it out to 13-8 on a pair of back-to-back Fitterer terminations, forcing IU into a timeout; out of the break, MSU went on a 11-4 run, fueled by a two kills and pair of blocks from Reinig, to get to set point at 24-12, and freshman Marissa Ratzenberger came in to serve for Garvelink. The defensive specialist aced the serve, giving MSU a convincing first-set victory. The Spartans were strong throughout - they hit .542 (14-1-24) in the opening set, with 12 digs, four blocks, and a pair of aces. IU went 7-7-27 (.000), with eight digs and no blocks.
The Spartans kept their foot on the gas in the second frame, as Kori Moster served MSU to ten consecutive points to start the set. Alyssa Garvelink had a kill and pair of blocks and Reinig added three kills in the sequence. An MSU error halted the run, and kickstarted a 4-1 Hoosier run that made it 11-4, but the Spartans got back on track and pushed its lead back to 11 points at 16-5. MSU finished off the match on another significant run, capturing the set by a 25-8 margin, matching the fewest points the Spartans had allowed in a set this season (the Spartans allowed just eight points to Southeast Louisiana in the opening set of the year, and also in the middle set in a sweep of Milwaukee). It was the fewest points the Spartans have allowed in a Big Ten Conference set since the sport went to 25-point format.
The third set was much more competitive early, as MSU's earliest significant lead came at 15-10, forcing the visitors into a timeout. The Spartans continued to be big at the net, getting a pair of blocks from Garvelink and Fitterer, with the latter tying her career best, set earlier in the year against the Hoosiers, with her third block on MSU's 16th point. MSU maintained it's five-point advantage to a 17-12 lead, but then Ryian Hubbard entered the game to serve and got four straight points - all on Maryland errors to push the lead to 21-12. An Allison Hammond kill stopped the Spartan run, but MSU closed out the set with four of the next five points. Fitterer and Reinig each had four kills in the final set, while Galloway had five digs and a kill to help the Spartans close it out.
MSU is back on the road for a game at Northwestern on Wednesday evening, but has another Saturday evening home date next week when it hosts Rutgers after the two schools face off earlier in the day on the gridiron. Fans who present their football ticket stub from the Rutgers game will receive free entry into the volleyball match.
