Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
5-3
Oregon State
7-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 26 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Oregon State | 24 | 26 | 23 | 21 | 1 |
MSU Snaps Skid With Four-Set Win Over Oregon State
9/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The Spartans had lost their last three matches (to No. 20 North Carolina, No. 19 Duke, and No. 18 Oregon), and had to battle point-for-point with the Beavers, who were receiving votes in this week's AVCA poll.
Chloe Reinig led the Spartans with a career-best 20 kills, seven more than her previous career high, and also tied her season best with five blocks. Taylor Galloway had her ninth-career double-double with a career best 17 kills, and she also added 12 digs. Allyssah Fitterer also had 11 kills, while Rachel Minarick had her second double-double of the weekend and third of her career with a career-high 55 assists and 19 digs. Senior libero Kori Moster was two shy of her career best, recording 27 digs.
Mary-Kate Marshall had 19 kills for the home team, while Tayla Woods had 40 assists. Arica Nassar finished with a match-best 10 blocks.
The two teams fought through an opening set that featured 11 ties and three lead changes. Reinig was unstoppable in the set, getting nine of the Spartans' 18 kills in the set and adding two blocks, one solo. With the score tied at 20, Reinig went on a tear that featured four kills and a block to give MSU a 26-24 opening-set victory. The Spartan used a four-point run to get to set point and lead 24-20, but the home team landed a counterpunch by rolling off four straight points of its own to tie the score at 24. A Lila Toner serve sailed long to give MSU set point once again, and Reinig finished off the Beavers with her ninth kill of the set. MSU hit just .188 as a team in the frame, but Reinig had her nine kills on just 14 swings (.429).
The second set featured the teams trading four-and five-point rallies. The Beavers out-blocked MSU 4-0 in the set, as Arrica Nassar had four of her own in the frame. The teams traded runs early on in the second, as the home team took a 10-6 lead, but the Spartans took the next five points to pull ahead, 11-10. The teams traded points, and the home squad eventually built to a five-point advantage at 21-17 on an MSU error. The Spartans battled back to tie the game at 23 on a 6-2 run, on two kills each by Jazmine White and Galloway; MSU got to set point on a Fitterer serve, but gave it back on a Nassar kill to tie it at 24. Mary-Kate Marshall and Laura Schaudt came out of an OSU time out with big kills and got the win for the home team to knot the match at 1-1.
The Spartans put together their longest rally of the night (five points) in the third set to rally from a 12-8 deficit; back-to-back Reinig shots, followed by two big blocks, got the Spartans back into the game. MSU used another run to push its lead to 18-14 and increased its advantage to 21-17. It was Oregon State's turn to rally, capping a four-point run with two big blocks to knot the third at 21-all. The teams traded points to get to 23-23, but back-to-back errors gave MSU the third set and a 2-1 match lead.
MSU hit its best in the fourth set, hitting .243 on 37 swings and opening up a 16-8 lead. The home team battled back into it, using a 4-0 lead to trim MSU's lead to four points at 23-19. A Galloway kill halted the Beaver run, but Reinig fittingly closed out the set with her 20th kill of the night.
MSU has one weekend of non-conference matches remaining, welcoming Western Kentucky, LIU-Brooklyn, and Milwaukee to Jenison Field House next weekend for the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational.
