Friday, September 11
Durham, NH
4:30 PM
Michigan State University
4-3, 0-0Big Ten
3
vs
0
Boston College
4-3, 0-0ACC
1
2
3
F
Michigan State
25
25
25
3
Boston College
22
18
18
0
Big Blocks Help Down BC, 3-0
9/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 11, 2015 
SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
Michigan State (4-3) snapped a two-game skid with a 3-0 victory over Boston College (25-22, 25-18, 25-18) The match was the first for both teams at the Holly Young Invitational at the University of New Hampshire.
- SET ONE: MSU jumped out to a 15-10 lead, but BC got back into it with a 6-2 run, trimming the Spartan lead to a single point at 17-16. MSU pushed it back out to three on a kill by Holly Toliver and big block at the left pin by Alyssa Garvelink and Rachel Minarick, and with a 22-19 lead, the Eagles once again trimmed it within a point as they scored three of the next four. A Katy Workman attempt sailed out of bounds to give the Spartans set point, and Rachel Minarick sealed the first-set victory with a dump into the back right corner. Brooke Kranda had three kills, two digs, and two blocks for MSU, which hit just .159 in the opening frame.
- SET TWO: MSU's lead varied between three and five points until taking a 21-15 advantage on a block by Fitterer and Garvelink. The teams traded points, and the final two Spartan points in the frame came on a solo block and a thunderous kill by Garvelink to improve MSU's match lead to 2-0. Fitterer had four kills in the set along with a pair of blocks, while Megan Tompkins led all players with three stuffs, including one solo.
- SET THREE: Boston College used a 5-1 run to take its first lead of the match at 8-7, and extended that lead to 13-10 with a 5-2 run. Kills by Garvelink and Minarick, followed by a BC error, allowed MSU to knot the score at 13. MSU extended its run to 9-1 to take a five-point advantage at 19-14, forcing the Eagles into their second and final time out. MSU scored five of the final seven points of the match, and came away with the 3-0 sweep.
- QUOTABLE:
"We obviously had to make some adjustments with the injuries we've had, and I thought that we did a nice job, particularly since we've been asking people to play some new roles and positions. I think this was a good way for us to start the weekend, and we will look to see some more steps in our two matches tomorrow."
- Head Coach Cathy George
TOP PERFORMERS
- Megan Tompkins led MSU with a season-best eight blocks, adding four kills and hit .429.
- Brooke Kranda and Holly Toliver shared the MSU lead with seven kills each, with Kranda tying her career best with five blocks. Toliver'sseven kills and four blocks were both 2015 bests for the sophomore.
- Both setters - Halle Peterson and Rachel Minarick each finished with 15 assists; Peterson added nine digs and three kills, while Minarick had five kills. .
STATS AND STORYLINES
- MSU, which had dropped its last two matches to Virginia Tech and Miami, snapped the skid with the straight-set victory over Boston College. Three of four MSU wins this season were 3-0 decisions, and the fourth was a five-set win over Butler.
- The Spartans held a commanding 12-5 lead in blocks after being out-blocked in two of its last three matches.
- MSU finished with six service aces, one off its season-best of eight (vs. Virginia Tech).
- MSU finished with 48 digs, the third-most this season and the most in a three-set match.
- MSU limited BC to a .073 hitting percentage, the lowest of any opponent this season. MSU fimished at .194 for the match.
- Megan Tompkins set a career-best in blocks for the second time this season. She had a seven-block performance vs. Butler (Sept. 4), and eight against the Eagles.
- Abby Monson wore the libero jersey for the first time in Green & White, and finished with a team -best 11 digs, and had a service ace.
- MSU continues the Holly Young Invitational Saturday at 12:30 p.m. vs. host New Hampshire, and then takes on Delaware in the finale at 4:30 p.m.
Team Stats
MSU
BC
Kills
37
30
Errors
17
22
Attempts
103
109
Hitting %
.194
.073
Points
55.0
37.0
Assists
34
28
Aces
6
2
Blocks
12.0
5.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballMB/OPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
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