Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
2-1
IUPUI
1-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IUPUI | 18 | 18 | 19 | 0 |
| Michigan State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Spartans Sweep IUPUI
8/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
No. 19 Michigan State downed IUPUI 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-19) at the Bluegrass Invitational at Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans improve to 2-1 overall, while the Jaguars fall to 1-2 on the year. The Jaguars upset Little Rock in Friday's tournament opener.
- The Spartans set the tone early in the first set, pulling out to a five-point lead at 15-10 and never looking back, taking a 25-17 win in just 18 minutes. Allyssah Fitterer hit .778 (7-0-9), while Brooke Kranda had five kills.
- The second set was almost as quick, as Fitterer added another six kills and Alyssa Garvelink posted four kills and a pair of blocks. The Spartans hit .400 in the second set .
- The Spartans closed out the match with a third straight set of hitting .300 or better, connecting on 17 kills on 34 swings (.324).
TOP PERFORMERS
- Allyssah Fitterer finished with a match-best 16 kills and 10 digs, leading the Spartan offense in all three matches this weekend. She also added two blocks, hitting .538.
- Alyssa Garvelink contributed four blocks and added 11 kills (.444), while Chloe Reinig had a season-best 12 kills and added two blocks.
- Redshirt sophomore Megan Tompkins had a match-best six blocks and three kills. She tied her career high in blocks, as she also had six vs. Duke last September.
- Rachel Minarick had 45 assists and four blocks.
KEY STRETCH
A service error allowed IUPUI to pull within two points, 18-16, in the second set. MSU outscored the Jaguars 7-1 the rest of the way, which included a kill, a block, and three assists from Rachel Minarick as the Spartans won the second set 25-17.
QUOTABLE
"Coming off of a loss yesterday, we wanted to see how we handled the adversity. I thought we did some really good things today, particularly with dealing with the loss of Autumn Bailey yesterday. These pre-conference matches allow us to assess our improvements and the areas we need to continue to work. All in all, we did some good things and we're looking forward to playing in front of our home fans next weekend. "
-- Head Coach Cathy George.
STATS AND STORYLINES
- This was the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
- The Spartans hit .362 in the match, their best of the three matches of the weekend. MSU out-blocked IUPUI by an 11-7 margin in the match, the largest margin vs. any opponent on the weekend.
- With 16 kills against IUPUI, Allyssah Fitterer had her fifth double-digit kill game in Memorial Coliseum in six tries over her career, and third straight to start the 2015 season. She had 15 vs. Kentucky and 18 vs. Penn State in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, 15 kills against the Wildcats Friday night, and 17 vs. Little Rock.
- Fitterer recorded her first career double-double against the Jaguars, adding 10 digs to her kill total.
- Rachel Minarick, compiled 45 assists and four blocks, the second-most of any player in the match.
- Alyssa Garvelink had nine kills in each of the first two matches of the weekend, and against IUPUI had four blocks (one solo), and added 11 kills, her season best. She also hit .444.
- MSU hosts the Auto-Owners Invitational next weekend, welcoming Virginia Tech, Butler, and Miami (Ohio) to Jenison Field House.
