Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
4-3
Oregon
7-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 25 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 1 |
| Oregon | 22 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Spartans Fall to No. 18 Ducks, 3-1
9/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
For MSU, senior Taylor Galloway had nine kills to lead the team, while Alyssa Garvelink had seven kills and a solo block. Three players finished with six kills each, and Megan Tompkins had her second straight game of being the team's top blocker, with four block assists. Senior Kori Moster had 25 digs, while freshman Rachel Minarick had 14 assists, 13 digs, and six kills for her second career double-double.
Oregon finished with three in double-digit kills; Martenne Betterndorf led the Ducks with 16 kills on 41 swings with two blocks, while Frankie Shebby hit .440 with 13 kills and two blocks. Liz Brenner had 12 kills on 31 swings, while both Kacey Nady (four blocks/two solo, with six kills) and Serena Warner (seven blocks, two solo, and four kills with three digs) each had big nights at the net.
"We just did not play well defensively," said head coach Cathy George. "And, any team with 28 errors is going to struggle to succeed. Oregon killed us with nine blocks in the final two sets as well. We're still learning and trying to gel as a team, but it's frustrating for sure."
The Spartans took a hard-fought opening set, 25-22. MSU took an early 6-2 lead, but the hosts used a 6-1 run to take an 8-7 lead. Featuring long rallies and some impressive sharp line shots , the teams battled nearly point-for-point from there, with the largest lead on either side two points until Oregon went up 21-18. MSU then used a 4-0 run - on a kill by Reinig, a Moster ace, and a pair of errors by the Ducks - to turn it into a 22-21 lead. With MSU leading 23-22, a big block by Fitterer and Tompkins gave the Spartans set point, and then got the win when a Crittenden shot sailed long.
Oregon regained its focus after the opening set, and it proved to be a struggle for the Spartans, who hit just .071 with seven errors; combined with Oregon hitting .483, the Ducks were able to steadily build to a big lead and close out the second set by a 25-13 margin to knot the match at one set each.
In the third set, a 7-1 run for the Ducks turned a one-point MSU deficit into a commanding 19-12 lead for the hosts. The Oregon blockers made it very difficult for the Spartans, with five team blocks in the set, contributing to MSU's nine errors in the frame.
The fourth set didn't go much better for MSU, as Oregon remained tough at the net with four team blocks and hit .353, with 15 kills against just one error. MSU had eight errors in the final set, and Oregon put together a 11-3 run that turned a 10-6 edge into an insurmountable 21-9 lead. Bettendorf had six of her team-best 16 kill in the frame.
MSU heads to Corvallis, Oregon to tangle with Oregon State on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET to complete the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. The Beavers defeated Michigan on Friday in five sets.
