Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
18-13, 10-10B1G
Iowa
12-21, 2-18B1G
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 13 | 19 | 16 | 0 |
| Michigan State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
MSU Closes Out B1G Season With Sweep of Iowa
11/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score | 
WATCH: Highlights vs. Iowa/Senior Night
SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
MSU closed out Big Ten play with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-16) sweep over visiting Iowa on Saturday night at Jenison Field House. The Spartans, who won their fourth straight match, honored their three seniors, Maggie Halloran, Kristen Muir and Halle Peterson at the conclusion of the contest.
Holly Toliver served up a career-best six service aces to go along with her seven kills, while Chloe Reinig smashed a match-high 11 kills and Alyssa Garvelink added nine kills and two blocks. MSU is now 18-13 and finishes the season with a 10-10 record in Big Ten play, tied for seventh in the final standings with No. 18 Illlinois. Reghan Coyle had nine kills for the Hawkeyes, while Annika Olsen tallied a match-high 11 digs and setter Loxley Keala finished with 25 assists. The Spartans finished the match hitting .370 (41-11-81), while limiting the visiting Hawkeyes to just .141 (29-17-85). MSU also served up a total of nine aces on the night, adding eight blocks.
- SET ONE: Up 4-3, Holly Toliver served up four aces on her next five serves, giving MSU a 9-3 lead and forcing the Hawkeyes into a timoeut. MSU hit well (.296, 13-5-27 in the frame), and methodically built their lead, and forced Iowa into its second timeout at 22-11 after a big solo block by Megan Tompkins. The Spartans came back with a pair of kills by Fitterer and the set-sealing kill off the block by Tompkins, and took the first by a 25-13 margin. Toliver, Fitterer, and Reingi each had three kills, while Tompkins and Fitterer each recorded two blocks.
- SET TWO: The teams kept it close early, as Iowa cut it to 7-6 on consecutive Spartan errors, but MSU responded with a 4-0 run to push it to 11-6. After an Iowa timoeut, the Hawkeyes cut it to four at 14-10, but the Spartans were not interested in allowing their visitors much closer A fifth Toliver ace made it 15-10, and established her new career best. Up 22-18, Toliver's big swing at the left pin got MSU the sideout and sent the sophomore to the service line, where she promptly served up her sixth ace to give the Spartans set point. The Hawkeyes fought off the inevitable with a Reagan Coyle kill, but a service error sealed it for MSU, 25-19. Fitterer finished the frame with five kills and a block, as MSU hit 14-3-29 (.339).
- SET THREE: MSU took a 12-5 lead by hitting .455 (6-1-11) and getting a pair of service aces from Rachel Minarick. Iowa countered, and cut into the lead with consecutive terminations and a 8-3 run overall to come within two at 15-13. Chloe Reinig had MSU's next three kills, and a hitting error pushed MSU's lead to 20-15. Reinig contined her assault with her fifth kill of the frame, nearly half of her match-best 11 kills, for a 22-16 Spartan advantage, and MSU coasted to the sweep. MSU hit a match-best .440 (14-3-25) in the third set, while logging four blocks in the set to limit Iowa to just .040 (8-7-25). The Spartans finished the night with eight total blocks.
QUOTABLE
"We knew that we needed to finish strong, and I am proud of our team for rising to the occasion over the last two weeks. Nights like tonight are very special, but also bittersweet, because our three seniors just played their final game at Jenison Field House. Maggie [Halloran], Kristen [Muir] and Halle [Peterson] are all very high achieving young women of very high character, who all made our program better - we were excited to share today with their families. As we say around here, `Forever a Spartan', and they will always be a part of our Spartan volleyball family."
-- Head Coach Cathy George
TOP PERFORMERS
- Holly Toliver served up a career-high six service aces to go with seven kills.
- Alyssa Garvelink logged nine kills while hitting .600 (9-0-15), adding two blocks.
- Chloe Reinig posted a match-best 11 kills in hitting .348 (11-3-23). Saturday was Reinig's sixth-straight double-digit kills outing and ninth in the last 10 matches.
- Allyssah Fitterer notched seven kills to go with four blocks.
- Megan Tompkins posted a match-high five blocks, matching that with five kills.
- Rachel Minarick dished out 31 assists for her sixth-straight match with 30+ helpers, and added seven digs.
- Kristen Muir logged 10 digs.
STATS AND STORYLINES
- MSU is now 46-24 all-time against Iowa, and has won 12 straight in the series. MSU also swept the first meeting of the teams this season in Iowa City, and won their 11th straight match over the Hawkeyes by a 3-0 score.
- The Spartans won their fourth straight match, their third win streak this season of at least four victories in a row.
- MSU hit .370 Saturday night, and has now hit .250 or better in each of their last five matches.
- MSU leveled its November record at 4-4 for the month, as well as improving to 10-6 on Saturdays.
- Michigan State finished the season with an 8-5 home mark.
- The Spartans welcomed 3,643 fans to their Senior Night match Saturday night at Jenison Field House, as MSU finished its home slate welcoming 37,333 fans in its 13 home matches, an average of 2,872, as MSU entered Saturday ranked eighth in the latest NCAA attendance rankings.
