Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
13-11, 6-7Big Ten
Minnesota
15-9, 5-8Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 25 | 16 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Michigan State | 18 | 25 | 17 | 19 | 1 |
Spartans Tripped by Minnesota, 3-1
11/7/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
East Lansing, Michigan - - Michigan State fell to visiting Minnesota, 3-1 (18-25, 25-16, 17-25, 19-25) on Friday night at Jenison Field House to fall to 13-11, 6-7 in Big Ten play.
Sophomore Autumn Christenson had a career best 11 kills and added two blocks, while Chloe Reinig led the Spartans with a double-double (13 kills, 10 digs) and Allyssah Fitterer had 10 kills and a tied for the team lead four blocks Kori Moster had 18 digs and a season-high eight assists, and freshman setter Rachel Minarick put up 41 assists, six kills, with seven digs and two blocks.
Daly Santana led all scorers with 17 kills, while Alyssa Goehner had 12 kills and nine digs. Hannah Tapp led all players with six blocks, as two of the top four blocking teams in the league faced off. Minnesota is now 15-9, 5-8 B1G.
MSU got off to a slow start in the opening set, allowing the Gophers to open up a 16-7 lead. The visitors had eight kills and no errors on 18 attempts, hitting a red-hot 45 percent, while the Spartans produced seven kills against six errors in the early going. Santana was setting the early pace, recording four of the visitors first eight kills as the Gophers used a pair of 5-0 runs to steadily build to a significant lead. With Minnesota holding a 21-11 lead, a Wilhite service error, a dump over the net buy Minarick, and a kill from the left pin by Christenson gave the Spartans their first multi-point run of the set. Trailing 22-12, the Spartans went on a 7-1 run to cut the lead to five, kick-started by back-to-back blocks by Minarick and Reinig. Minnesota called a timeout with a 23-18 lead, and came out of the break with a pair of kills by Daly that sealed the first set victory, 25-18. MSU recovered from an early negative hitting percentage to hit .132 in the frame, while the Gophers hit .286, but MSU ended up with more kills (14 vs. 13).
Minnesota opened up the second set with a pair of blocks and a pair of blocking errors. With the set tied at 4-4, Christenson ripped off a block and a pair of big kills to give the Spartans their first lead of the night, forcing the visitors into a timeout. Out of the break, Garvelink pushed the lead to 8-4 before the Gophers got the sideout; MSU rattled off back-to-back six and four-point runs to push their lead to 12-5. The teams began to trade points, as MSU moved out to 17-10 and 23-13 leads. A Jazmine White kill gave the Spartans set point, and despite the Gophers twice fending off the final strike, Fitterer got the cross-court shot to finish off the set and tie the match at 1-1.
The early part of the third set was a story of momentum - the Spartans opened up a 6-4 lead on four straight points, and the Gophers countered with a 5-0 run to make it 9-6, forcing the Spartans into a timeout. The teams kept fighting for points, and the Gophers used a 5-1 run to turn a one-point advantage into a 20-15 lead, on kills by Goehner, Hannah Tapp, Wilhite, and Santana. After an MSU timeout, the Gophers came out with four of the next five points to make it set point at 24-16. A service error halted the Minnesota run, but a Hannah Tapp finished it off for a 25-16 victory and 2-1 edge in the match.
The visitors used a 7-1 run to open up the fourth set with a 12-4 lead, but MSU battled back into it to cut the Gopher lead to six (16-10). Moster made a highlight-reel play to keep a play alive, MSU got big at the net, and the Spartans strung together four of five points. The visitors turned up the heat, hitting .469 in the fourth set (18-3-32), and kept MSU from getting too close. Trailing 21-12, The Spartans fought back with five of the next seven points to make it 23-17. A kill by Santana made gave the Gophers set point, but the Spartans warded it off with a Reinig kill and a attacking error by Paige Tapp to cut it to 24-19. Minnesota finished it off with a sharp-angle shot by Wilhite to take the match 3-1.
