Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
5-1
Florida
4-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Michigan State | 13 | 16 | 19 | 0 |
No. 7 Gators Best Spartans in Tournament Finale
9/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score | Video Highlights
SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
Michigan State fell to visiting Florida on Sunday afternoon in the final match of the Auto Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational, dropping a 3-0 decision to the No. 7 Gators. The early-season showdown between the SEC power and the Spartans drew 3,678 fans to Jenison Field House. The Spartans fall to 5-1 on the year with the loss, while Florida improves to 4-1.
Florida exerted their will at the net, out-blocking the Spartans by a 9-4 margin and also hit .341 for the match, the best by an MSU opponent this season. Tournament MVP Carli Snyder (Macomb, Mich/Dakota). had 15 kills and hit .481 for the visitors. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by teammates Rhamat Alhassan and Alex Holston, Spartans Chloe Reinig (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon) and Alyssa Garvelink (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian), Monette Daniels (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech) and Taylor Robertson (Midland, Mich./MIdland) from Central Michigan.
The Spartans are off to Bowling Green, Kentucky next weekend for a four-team tournament at Western Kentucky, which also features Cincinnati and Southern Illinois.
- SET ONE: Four hitting errors put the Spartans in a 9-4 hole early, and self-inflicted wounds - to the tune of ten hitting errors - found MSU down 21-12, and Florida came up with two late blocks to take the first set 25-13. MSU hit -.071 for the set, while the Gators had three players over .440 and hit .400 as a team (12-2-25).
- SET TWO: MSU struggled with errors in the second set as well, with a wall of Florida attackers big at the net disrupting any offensive flow the Spartans looked to manufacture. MSU did limit their visitors to just .261 hitting in the frame (10-4-23). The Gators made their hay at the net, posting three more team blocks in addition to the four they had in the opening frame.
- SET THREE: With the game tied 6-6, the Gators pushed it out to a four-point lead at 12-8, and the teams traded points to keep it between three and four points. The frame, like the whole game, featured hard hitting fast-paced action, but between Florida's towers at the net and hitting .353, they held off the Spartans. MSU hit .289 in the frame, by far it's best effort, but could not sustain offensive pressure on the Gators, siding out at just 52% for the match compared to 80% for the visitors.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Holly Toliver had seven kills, six digs, and a block.
- Alyssa Garvelink had six kills, hit .455, and added two blocks.
- Rachel Minarick had 27 assists, adding three kills (3-1-5, .400), six digs, and a block.
STATS AND STORYLINES
- The match was the first against a ranked opponent for the Spartans in 2016.
- Chloe Reinig earned her second consecutive All-Tournament Team honor. She was the MVP of last weekend's San Diego State Aztec Invitational.
- MSU hit .098, its lowest hitting percentage in a match this season. The Spartans had 18 of their 22 attack errors in the first two frames, but had 15 kills against just four errors in the third set (.289).
- MSU was held without a service ace for the first time in six matches this season.
- Abby Monson had 10 digs, the only player with double-digit digs in the match.
