Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
16-4, 5-3B1G
Minnesota
6-214-3. B1G
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 25 | 20 | 21 | 25 | 13 | 2 |
| Michigan State | 12 | 25 | 25 | 18 | 15 | 3 |
Garvelink Helps Spartans Outlast No. 3 Minnesota, 3-2
10/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
No. 14 Michigan State battled back from a 25-12 loss in the opening set to take a five-set victory over No. 3 Minnesota on Saturday night at Jenison Field House. MSU won the second and third sets, then took a two-point win in the fifth and deciding frame to secure the victory (12-25, 25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 15-13).
Alyssa Garvelink had a a career-best with 18 kills and added a season-high 10 blocks finishing just hy of her career bests of 11 and recording her first career double-double. Rachel Minarick finished one assist shy of her career best with 54 helpers, adding six digs and three blocks, and Abby Monson was one shy of her career best with 21 digs, adding a pair of assists.
MSU hit just .201 on the match, recovering from a .059 hitting percentage in the opening set and .150 in the second, and held Minnesota to .268. MSU had its most blocks since last November by posting 15, while Minnesota is just the second Big Ten team to reach double-digits against the Spartans with 10. MSU also had eight service aces to five for the Gophers.
Sarah Wilhite had a double-double for Minnesota, with 20 kills and 19 digs.
MSU rebounded not only from a rough first set, but also a 3-0 setback on the road at No. 24 Illinois on Wednesday. Minnesota was coming off a three-set sweep of No. 1 Wisconsin in Madison on Wednesday, and falls to 14-3, 6-2 Big Ten. MSU is now 16-4 overall and improves to 5-3 in Conference play.
The Spartans return home for a Wednesday night match against Rutgers at Jenison Field House. The match will be televised live on Big Ten Network at 6 pm, and will be MSU's Breast Cancer Awareness match. Fans are encouraged to wear pink.
- SET ONE: Minnesota raced out to a 5-1 lead in the opening frame, getting consecutive kills from Hannah Tapp to open the match. MSU called time out as the Gophers pulled ahead 9-3. Minnesota's front row kept swinging, building to leads of seven, nine, and eventually 12 at 24-12, posting three blocks and hitting .483 in the frame. A roll shot by the Spartans at set point sailed long, and the Gophers earned a 25-12 win. Alyssa Garvelink had three kills, while Allyssah Fitterer had a hand in each of MSU's blocks (one solo, one block assist). Hannah Tapp had five kills on seven swings for Minnesota.
- SET TWO: MSU held early 4-2 and 9-5 leads in the set, getting seven kills on their first 11 swings with just one error (.545). A big solo block by Fitterer on Sara Wilhite gave MSU that 9-5 advantage, and MInnesota called time out. Brooke Kranda delivered an ace out of the break, and MSU methodically continued to build its lead by serving tough and getting big at the net - Fitterer posted two more blocks and Garvelink a third to push MSU's lead out to seven, 15-8 - and Minnesota called its second time out. With the Spartans leading 19-10, Minnesota scored back-to-back pooints to trim MSU's advantage back down to seven points, but MSU came back with a kill from Bailey. The Gophers kept chipping away, until they trimmed it down to three at 23-20. A shot long by Minnesota gave the Spartans set points, and a block by Bailey and Garvelink sealed a 25-20 victory. Bailey, fitterer and Garvelink each had three kills, while Garvelink added three blocks in the frame.
- SET THREE: Trailing 7-2, MSU called time out to regroup - and promptly went off on a 6-2 run to trim Minnesotas lead to a single point at 9-8. MSU tied it at 11-11 on a kill by Garvelink and 13-13 with a block by Garvelink and Reinig. Tied at 16-16, Minnesota scored the next three points to try to regain control of the set, and maintained the lead through 20-17 - but Bailey trimmed it back down with a crosscourt shot , and Toliver delivered an ace to bring MSU back within one, 20-19. Minneota called a time out to try to stop MSU's momentum, but it was all for naught - Toliver tied the score with her second straight ace, and MSU got a pair of kills from Fitterer, one from Reinig, and a block by Fitterer and Minarick to close out the set win, 25-21. Both Garvelink and Bailey had four kills in the frame, while Garvelink posted another three blocks.
- SET FOUR: Tied at 5-5, Minnesota put up a service ace and won a long rally to pull ahead by two points, but Bailey stopped it from going further with a kill from the left pin. The teams engaged in a heated battle - the Spartans were excelling at altering shots and continued to put up blocks, getting to 14 team blocks by the time the frame was tied 13-13. Minnesota scored three of the next four points to take a 17-14 lead, and MSU called time out to stop the run - but the Gophers scored three of the next four out of the break to pull ahead 21-15. Toliver stopped the run with a kill, but the Gophers won consecutive jousts at the net to push their lead to seven, 23-16. Reinig's roll shot out of the break made it a six-point game, and despite Garvelink's 15th kill of the night staving off set point once, the Gophers took it 25-18. Sarah Wilhite had eight kills for the Gophers in the set, while Garvelink had five kills and three blocks.
- SET FIVE: Tie Spartans jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Reinig kill and Minarick ace, but then once again began trading points with their guests. A Reinig kill made it 7-6, nd a Garvelink termination - her 18th of the match - gave MSU an 8-6 lead at the crossover. Out of the timeout, Reinig tooled one off the block, and Megan Tompkins delivered a service ace to make it 11-6 - and the Gophers called their second and final time out. The Gophers got three straight back - on a kill and a block by Wilhite and and one MSU error - to trim it down to 11-9, and forcing the Spartans to call a time out. Another Spartan error got Minnesota within one at 12-11, but Reinig came back with a kill to re-establish a two-point lead. Kills by Hannah Tapp and Alexis Hart sandwiched around a termination by Brooke Kranda left the Spartans with a two point lead and set point, and Bailey polished it off to secure the upset win for the Spartans.
Quoteable:
"I was very happy with how we kept our heads in it after they pretty much took it to us in the first set. We showed a lot of mental toughness, a lot of fight in battling back to take the next two sets. Our message to the team was to stay the course - we felt strongly about our game plan, and despite being maybe a step slow or behind in the first set, we shored up a couple of small things and were able to get right back in the match."
-- Head Coach Cathy George
TOP PERFORMERS
- Alyssa Garvelink had 18 kills, hit .364 (18-6-33) and had 10 blocks, establishing a new season high. It was her first career double-double.
- Allyssah Fitterer had eight kills, tied for a match-high hitting percentage (.368) and added a season-best five blocks (two solo).
- Chloe Reinig posted 14 kills, added four blocks, and a pair of digs.
STATS AND STORYLINES
- MSU had a season-best 15 team blocks, and have double-digit blocking totals the last three matches.
- The victory snapped a four-match losing streak to Minnesota, and is MSU's first victory this season over a top-five team (in two tries).
- Tonight was just the fifth time MSU played more than three sets in 2016 The Spartans are 2-1 in five-set matches this season, and 2-0 in four-set affairs. .
- Abby Monson had a season-high 21 digs, one shy of her career best.
- Rachel Minarick recorded 54 assists, one shy of her career best, and also had three blocks, six digs, and a pair of kills.
- Autumn Bailey had her fifth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs, along with two blocks and two assists.
