Arkansas State, Spartans Tangle In NCAA First Round

Dec. 2, 2015

2015 NCAA Tournament - First and Second Rounds
Dates	Friday,, Dec. 4; 8 pm ET vs. No. 24 Arkansas State Saturday, Dec. 5; 10 pm ET vs. No. 1 Washington/Denver
Location	Seattle, Wash.; Alaska Airlines Arena
Tickets	Washintgon Ticket Office
TV/Video Stream	Washington Webstream
Radio	none
Live Statistics	vs. Arkansas State \| vs. Washington/Denver (if advancing)
Download Game Notes	Michigan State \| Arkansas State \| Denver \| Washington
Previews	Cathy
Social Media	@MichStVB \| Facebook

TOURNAMENT NOTES

• Michigan State has earned an at-large bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament, and will play Sun Belt champion No. 24 Arkansas State in the first round on Friday at 8 pm ET. MSU will play its games at No. 1 Washington, the national No. 5 seed and Pac-12 co-champion, which will take on Summit League champion Denver in the other first-round match.

• The Spartans earned their 18th NCAA Tournament bid overall and fifth consecutive at-large bid to the Championship, the second-longest streak in school history. MSU made 10 consecutive NCAA Tournament fields from 1994-2003.

• The Spartans finished the regular season with a 18-13 overall record, and were 10-10 in the Big Ten Conference, tied with No. 21 Illinois for seventh place.

• MSU is sent to the west coast for the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, and will be playing for the first time at the University of Washington. If MSU were to advance past Arkansas State, it could face No. 1 Washington - the second straight season MSU would play the AVCA No. 1 team in the NCAA Tournament. In 2015, MSU defeated Loyola-Marymount to take on No. 1 Stanford in Palo Alto, falling 3-1 to the Cardinal.

• The Big Ten sent nine teams into the NCAA Tournament field, and four are among the top seven seeds: (Minnesota (2), Nebraska (4), Wisconsin (6) and Penn State (7), while Ohio State is seeded 12th and also hosting. In addition to the Spartans, Purdue, Michigan, and Illinois were selected to the tournament field and will be playing on the road.

• In addition to the eight Big Ten foes, MSU played three other teams in the NCAA Tournament field - Kentucky, North Carolina, and New Hampshire. MSU went 2-1 against non-Conference NCAA qualifiers (falling to Kentucky, 3-2). and 3-8 against the eight NCAA-qualifying B1G squads.

• MSU's streak of five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances is the third-longest active streak in the Big Ten, behind Penn State and Nebraska.

• MSU joins Purdue, Penn State and Nebraska as the only four schools to finish .500 or better in Big Ten play in each of the last five seasons.

• The Spartans have won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last four trips, a program record. MSU is 6-4 in NCAA Tournament contests in those four seasons, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2012 and 2013.

• MSU is making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in the 11-year tenure of current coach Cathy George. MSU has reached the Sweet 16 three times (2007, 2012, and 2013) and is 9-8 all-time under George in the national tournament.

Halle Peterson

TEAM NOTES

• MSU rides a four-match winning streak into the NCAA Tournament, a nice turnaround after suffering through a seven-match skid, it's longest losing streak since 1993.

• MSU played seven of its final 10 Big Ten games away from Jenison Field House, and went 4-6 in that final stretch. The Spartans went 8-5 in home matches this season, 6-8 in road venues, and were a perfect 4-0 in neutral-site matches.

• MSU won the Holly Young Invitational at New Hampshire and finished second at Kentucky's Bluegrass Invitational in it's pre-B1G schedule, and also won ACC/Big Ten Challenge matches at North Carolina (3-1) and Duke (3-0).

• The Spartans have never met Arkansas State on the volleyball court, but did play fellow Sun Belt member Little Rock in the season-opening tournament at Kentucky, posting a 3-0 win; the Red Wolves posted 3-2 and 3-1 wins over the Trojans in the regular season and a 3-0 decision in the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals. Little Rock is the only common opponent between the schools this season.

• Site host Washington owns a 1-0 all-time lead in the series with the Spartans, a 3-0 sweep in the lone meeting of the teams back in 2004 at Wichita State's Green Mill Restaurant Classic. The Huskies shared the Pac-12 title with USC, and swept B1G foe Maryland 3-0 on Sept. 17. The Terps are the only shared opponent between the teams, and MSU took a 3-1 win over Maryland in the lone meeting of the teams on Oct. 14.

• Denver, the regular-season and tournament champion from the Summit League, is host Washington's first-round opponent. Denver split its season meetings during the Summit League schedule with IUPUI, falling 3-2 on the road and sweeping the Jaguars at home. MSU played IUPUI in the opening weekend at Kentucky, and came away with a 3-0 win. MSU and the Pioneers met once previously - Denver came to East Lansing for the 2001 Coca-Cola/MSU Classic, and fell to MSU 3-1.

• MSU stopped receiving votes in the AVCA poll after its losses to Illinois and Northwestern Halloween weekend. MSU was among teams receiving votes the previous eight weeks after starting the season at No. 19 in the survey.

• The Spartans are ranked seventh in the Big Ten in blocks per set (2.50) and total blocks (280) but those totals are good for 41st and 54th in Division I in the most recent national statistical rankings. The Spartans are averaging 13.78 kills per set (53rd nationally), and 12.78 assists per set (67th), despite ranking seventh in both categories in Conference.

• The Spartans had four double-digit blocking efforts in their last six matches. MSU out-blocked its opponent in all six, and established a season high with 15 stuffs against Nebraska (Nov. 11).

• MSU is 18-1 when registering a higher hitting percentage than its opponent, and 0-12 when its opponent out-hits MSU.

• MSU hit .370 Saturday vs. Iowa, its fourth-best performance in a match this season and third-best in a Big Ten match. The Spartans have hit .250 or better in each of their last five matches.

• MSU has opened with a first-set victory in 22 of its 31 matches, and is 18-4 in those contests. The four losses when winning the first set have all come in Big Ten play, to No. 20 Purdue, No. 23 Michigan, No. 4 Nebraska, and Northwestern. The nine times MSU has lost the first set this season, it resulted in a Spartan match loss.

• In its seven-match skid, the Spartans lost 21 sets - one set less than MSU had lost in its first 20 matches of the season. In its four-match winning streak, the Spartans won 12 of 15 sets.

• Over the last four matches, MSU is hitting .313 with 2.67 blocks per set and 1.73 aces per set, limiting its opponent to a .171 hitting percentage and 1.6 blocks per set.

• MSU had 21 service aces over its final two matches vs. Purdue (12, season best) and Iowa (9). The Spartans rank 10th in the Big Ten in aces per set (1.08).

• Through the regular season, the Spartans finished eighth in average attendance, welcoming 2,872 fans per match to Jenison Field House. MSU ranks 10th in total attendance (37,333), one spot ahead of Washington (36,421/2,428 avg, 12th). MSU had just 13 home matches in 2015, the fewest since the 2009 campaign.

Chloe Reinig

PLAYER NOTES
• MSU is spreading out its offense, with five starters averaging between 2.26 and 3.11 kills per set. Brooke Kranda maintains the team lead at 3.06, followed by Chloe Reinig (3.0), Allyssah Fitterer (2.46), Holly Toliver (2.48), and Alyssa Garvelink (2.23).

• Junior outside hitter Chloe Reinig was named an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection, as the teams were announced by the Big Ten office on Tuesday. Reinig was a First Team pick in 2014.

• Reinig, who missed seven matches and the start of Big Ten play with an injury, has battled her way back into form and is averaging 3.00 kills, hitting .195, and contributing 0.65 blocks per set. Over the last five matches, she is hitting .340 while averaging 3.74 kills, 0.79 blocks, and 0.42 digs per set.

• Reinig has had double-digit kill efforts in her last six matches and nine of her last 10 . This included her season-bests of 18 kills (18, vs. Northwestern, Nov. 18), hitting .382 at Indiana Nov. 14) and three times matching her season high in block assists with four.

• In five NCAA Tournament matches, Reinig has averaged 3.11 kills per set and hit .199, her high in Tournament play being a 19-kill performance in the 2014 first round vs. Loyola Marymount.

• Sophomore lefty Holly Toliver posted a career-best 18 kills and added four aces (tying her then-career best) and four digs in MSU's win over No. 14 Purdue on the road last Wednesday. Last Saturday, she established a new career best of six aces, one shy of a school record in a three-set match, with seven kills and five digs in MSU's sweep of Iowa at Jenison Field House.

• Toliver, who missed almost all of her freshman season (as well as much of the first two weekends of 2015) with injuries, and her development has been a lift to the Spartan offense. She is now hitting .209 and averaging 2.48 kills, 1.27 digs and .33 service aces per set. She ranks third in the Big Ten in aces per set.

• Sophomore setter Rachel Minarick tied her season high with 48 assists and added six digs, five kills, three service aces, and three blocks in helping MSU to a .282 hitting percentage as MSU stopped No. 14 Purdue on the road last Wednesday. On Saturday, she contributed 31 assists with seven digs, three aces, and two each kills and blocks as MSU closed out the Big Ten season with a sweep of Iowa.

• Minarick and Wisconsin setter Lauren Carlini are the only two players in the Conference to earn Setter of the Week honors three times or more this season. Minarick's three Setter of the Week awards is tied for the fourth-most in a single season, while the three in her career is tied for sixth for career Setter of the Week selections.

• Minarick now has 10, 40+ assist performances this season, and also owns 11 double-doubles, which includes three in the last six contests. Minarick's 11 double-doubles is the most for a Spartan since Ashley Schatzle posted 20 in the 2007 season.

• Minarick is 11th in the Big Ten, averaging 9.10 assists per set. She has alternately run a 6-2 and 5-1 this season, and is also averaging 0.53 blocks, 2.29 digs, and 0.96 kills per set on the season, while hitting .249. She also ranks third in the Conference in service aces per set (0.33).

• In last year's NCAA Tournament, Minarick had 48 (vs. Loyola Marymount) and 52 (vs. Stanford) assists, averaging 12.5 assists/set.

• Minarick posted the 11th triple-double in MSU history against North Carolina (Sept. 18). In her triple-double she posted career-bests in kills (11) and aces (4), while recording 25 assists and 10 digs and also contributing two blocks. MSU's last triple-double was by setter Allison Ianni, who did it in the 2006 season opener vs. IPFW (55 assists, 11 kills, 10 digs.) Minarick is the lone player in the Big Ten with a triple-double this season.

• Junior MB/OH Allyssah Fitterer has a streak of five consecutive double-digit kill performances, her longest stretch since posting five straight to start the season, snapped in the season finale vs. Iowa. Against the Hawkeyes, she had seven kills, four blocks, and five digs in a 3-0 sweep.

• Fitterer leads the Spartans in hitting percentage (.299), averaging 2.46 kills, 0.90 digs and 0.82 blocks per set. She has hit .259 or better in five of the last six contests, and over the last five matches, she has contributed a .345 hitting percentage, 3.0 K/s, along with 1.58 digs and 0.84 blocks per set.

• In her five previous NCAA Tournament matches, Fitterer has combined for a .387 hitting percentage and averaged 3.53 kills per set. She has four consecutive double-digit kill performances on the NCAA stage, which includes her career-best 18 kills and hitting .441 vs. Penn State in the Sweet 16 in 2013. She also posted 15 kills vs. Kentucky (2013) and 16 and 15, respectively, vs. Loyola Marymount and Stanford last season, hitting .355 over those two matches. She was named to the Lexington Regional All-Tournament Team in 2013.

• Sophomore middle blocker Alyssa Garvelink had seven blocks in MSU's hard-fought win at No. 14 Purdue on the road last Wednesday, and then on Saturday added nine kills and hit .600 in MSU's sweep of Iowa.

• On the year, Garvelink averages 1.07 blocks per set, second on the team and 15th in the Big Ten. She has been MSU's blocks leader in 14 of 31 matches, and her five solo blocks vs. Michigan (Oct. 3) is still the most solo blocks in a match by a Big Ten team this season. Her season high is nine blocks on the road at Northwestern (Oct. 31), and on five other occasions she has had seven or more.

• Garvelink is also averaging 2.23 kills per set and hitting .268. On five occasions she has hit .500 or better, with eight double-digit kill efforts.

• In the 2014 NCAA Tournament, Garvelink posted a pair of double-digit kill performances, with 10 kills and six blocks vs. Loyola Marymount and 13 kills and three blocks vs. No. 1 Stanford.

• Redshirt sophomore Megan Tompkins tied her career best with nine blocks in the match vs. Northwestern (Nov. 18), which she also accomplished earlier in the season vs. Delaware. Over the last five matches, Tompkins is averaging 1.37 blocks per set to go along with a .305 hitting percentage and 1.21 kills per set. Her 1.12 blocks per set average is 12th among Big Ten blocking leaders, and she also is contributing 1.28 kills per set and hitting .376 on the season.

• Senior captain Halle Peterson, who has been in and out of the lineup this season with nagging injuries, posted 15 assists and seven digs vs. Nebraska on Nov. 11, and added 12 assists and three digs at Indiana. It was her first back-to-back double-digit assist performances since the games vs. Michigan on Sept. 30 and Oct. 3.

• Peterson was one of 14 honorees given the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, which is announced in conjunction with the All-Big Ten honorees.

• Brooke Kranda continues to lead MSU with 3.06 kills per set - which is 15th in the Big Ten. Kranda had played exactly one set last year as a redshirt freshman before appearing in 89 sets this season, leading MSU in kills and hitting .220 with 0.62 blocks per set.

• Both senior Kristen Muir and sophomore Abby Monson have worn the libero jersey this season. Muir played in the off-color in the first six matches and in the last eight matches, and Monson wore it in the 17 matches in between. • Muir has posted double-digit dig efforts in the last six matches, 11 of the last 14, and 13 times in MSU's 20 Big Ten contests. Her season and career best is 26 digs, set in the season opener at Kentucky, while her Big Ten best was 23 in a five-set battle with Nebraska on Nov. 11.

• Muir ranks 13th in the Big Ten with 3.21 digs per set, while sophomore Monson is averaging 3.13, which is good for 15th. MSU is the only school with two players among the top 15 in the B1G in digs.

• In her 17 matches playing the libero position, Monson was held without double-digit digs just once - in the Oct. 17 match vs. Rutgers, where she had nine.

• Megan Tompkins was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 14, and Abby Monson earned the same honor on Sept. 21. This gives MSU four different players a Conference weekly honor in the same season for the first time since 1999, when Jessica Sanborn, Erin Hartley, Angela Morley, and Vicki Basil had all earned Player of the Week honors. The only other time it happened in school history was in 1995 -- when Player of the Week honors were earned by Dana Cooke, Veronica Morales, Val Sterk,(twice) and Jenna Wrobel.

• Tompkins was the Defensive Player of the Week after the Holly Young Invitational at New Hampshire, in which she compiled her career best nine blocks vs. Delaware (Sept. 12). She matched that total with nine vs. Northwestern on Nov. 18.

• Six weekly Player of the Week awards have been won by this current Spartan team, which is the first time in program history that MSU has had this many weekly awards in a single season. The previous best was five, by the 1995 Final Four team.

• The season of junior transfer and two-time All-American Autumn Bailey came to an end before it really even got started. Bailey suffered a ACL injury against Kentucky in the fourth set of the season opener on Aug. 28, and will petition for a medical hardship waiver to have two more years to play in East Lansing. Bailey had a double-double in the Green & White exhibition match, and also had a double-double (11k, 12d) vs. Kentucky before leaving the match with injury. Bailey was a two-time Honorable Mention All-American and the 2014 BIG EAST Player of the Year at Marquette.