Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
4-1
North Carolina
3-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Michigan State | 17 | 20 | 22 | 0 |
Tar Heels Down Spartans, 3-0
9/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score | Video Highlights
East Lansing, Mich. - - No. 14 Michigan State struggled to find any offensive rhythm and fell to No. 20 North Carolina, 3-0 (17-25, 20-25, 22-25), in the home opener at Jenison Field House on Friday evening. The Spartans, 4-1, suffer their first loss of the season, while North Carolina improves to 3-1.
"First off, credit to a strong North Carolina team, because I don't want to diminish their effort," said head coach Cathy George. "They are a veteran team and play well together. I do wish that we had been able to establish some consistency. I don't know that we ever got into a flow. I think we saw what can happen with a young lineup. This is the type of weekend we will see once the Big Ten season starts - strong teams both nights that will bring their best to the court. Our job tonight is to focus on how we will be better tomorrow and put tonight behind us in an effort to do that."
Chloe Reinig led the Spartans with nine kills and a block, hitting a team-best .294. Holly Toliver had eight kills on 25 swings, while Allyssah Fitterer was limited to six kills, and she also contributed a pair of blocks, (one solo). Rachel Minarick had 21 assists, and Kori Moster had six digs.
Lauren McAdoo led the way for UNC with 13 kills on 23 swings, hitting .391. Leigh Andrew and Chaniel Nelson each had seven kills, while Nelson contributed four blocks. Victoria McPherson had six blocks for the Heels, who head to Michigan tomorrow to wrap up their Big Ten-ACC Challenge games.
MSU struggled to establish any rhythm in the opening set, hitting -.043 with eight errors and seeing the Tar Heels hit .391 with 14 kills and five blocks. McAdoo set the early tone, recording four kills in the opening set as UNC took a 25-17 win. UNC opened up an early four-point lead at 7-3, but the Spartns fought back with a five-point run to regain the advantage, 8-7. With the game tied 9-9, UNC went on a 12-4 run to push its lead to a set-high eight points, then held off a late four-point rally by MSU to close out the opening set with the seven-point victory.
In the second set, the Tar Heels came out hot, jumping out to an 8-1 lead, thanks in large part to a pair of aces by Jordyn Schnabl and one to cap the rally by Leigh Andrew. MSU fought back into it to make it a four-point game at 10-6, but UNC continued to build on its lead to a set-beset seven points at 20-13 and 21-14. Back-to-back kills by Fitterer and Toliver, followed by a Kori Moster ace, trimmed the lead back down to four points, but the Spartans were done in by a pair of service errors down the stretch as they tried to cut further into the UNC lead. The visitors closed out a 25-20 win in the second set with a kill by Chaniel Nelson.
The third set was the best for MSU, and the teams battled point-for-point with the largest lead by either team a three-point (12-9) edge to the Tar Heels. With the teams trading points as the score climbed into the 20's, a pair of McAdoo kills pushed UNC to a 22-21 lead; McPherson and Hayley McCorkle put up a block on Toliver to push the visitor's lead to two points, and after a kill by Megan Tompkins again made it a one-point game, a Spartan service error, followed by an attack error, handed the third set to UNC along with the three-set sweep.
MSU hit .250 in each of the second and third frames, but allowed its visitor to hit better than .390 in each of the three sets and .413 in the match. The Tar Heels won the battle at the net (11 team blocks to three), and had six aces to MSU's four.
The Spartans are back in action on Saturday when they host No. 19 Duke at Jenison Field House in a 5 p.m. start. Lauren Wicinski, a 2014 graduate, will be honored by having her ALl-American banner raised to the Jenison rafters in a pre-match ceremony. In addition, it is the "P'Jammin with the Spartans" event, where fans are urged to wear their favorite pajamas to show their support for the fight against children's cancer.
