Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
15-4, 8-2B1G
Maryland
14-8, 3-7B1G
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Maryland | 13 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
Spartans Earn Season Sweep of Maryland
10/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
No. 10 Michigan State earned another road win on Saturday with a 3-0 victory over Maryland in College Park. The Spartans improved to 15-4 overall and close the first half of Big Ten play with an 8-2 record, while Maryland is 14-8, 3-7 through the first half of the Conference schedule.
The Spartans secured a season sweep of the Terrapins, as MSU won the matchup in East Lansing on Sept. 29 3-0. It is the second series sweep of a B1G opponent for MSU this year, as the Spartans also beat Wisconsin twice (3-2, 3-1).
MSU took a commanding 25-13 win in the opening set, generated almost entirely on their own side of the net to the tune of 20 kills, a block, and a service ace. The second set was closer, as Maryland took its first lead of the day at 13-12; MSU called time out and proceeded to close out the set on a 13-4 run and took a 25-17 decision to take a 2-0 match lead into the intermisison. MSU took a sizeable lead in the third and went to its bench, and despite the home team fending off match point three times, MSU closed out the match with a 25-17 victory in the final frame to win its third straight match.
Rachel Minarick became the third player in school history and 45th in the Big Ten to record 4,000 career assists, and had 39 helpers, three kills, hit .400, posted 10 digs, and an ace in the match to earn her fifth double-double. Minarick spread the offense among her hitters: Brooke Kranda had 11 terminations and hit .588, Alyssa Garvelink had 10 kills, hit .562, and posted a block and two digs.
Gia Milana had nine kills to lead the Terps, who hit .103 in the match (31-19-117).
Michigan State opens a three-game homestand on Friday, hosting No. 7 Nebraska at Jenison Field House. The game will air live on BTN at 8 pm.
QUOTABLE
"We're getting into the portion of our schedule where sometimes it can feel like a grind - so to see the sense of urgency we had when we came out and set a strong tone in the opening set was a really good sign. We've played six of our 10 Big Ten matches on the road, plus six of our nine pre-Conference games - so we're looking forward to playing at home next weekend for sure.
As for Rachel's [Minarick} reaching 4,000 assists - it is truly a sign of the dedication that she has had to our program over her career. Milestones like this are impressive, because it means that you have to be a go-to-for your team over the course of time. Rachel has certainly been that for us, and I know that her main priority is team success. She will certainly go into our history books as one of the top players in school history.
- Head Coach Cathy George
TOP PERFORMERS
- Brooke Kranda had 11 kills and hit .588
- Rachel Minarick had 39 assists, 10 digs, and three kills (3-1-5, .400)
- Alyssa Garvlinek had 10 kills, hit .562, and added a pair of digs and a block.
- Freshman libero Jamye Cox had 16 digs, an ace and an assist.
STATS AND STORYLINES
- Rachel Minarick earned her 4,000th career assist with a helper on a Holly Toliver kill early in the second set. She is third all-time at MSU with 4,021career assists and is the 45th member of the B1G 4,000 assists club.
- MSU won its third straight match, including two on the road.
- The Spartans hit .381 (46-9-97), which included 20 first-set kills.
- Megan Tompkins led MSU with four blocks and added six kills (6-01-11, .455).
GAME REPLAY
- SET ONE: The Sprtans opened up the match by taking a 5-2 lead, and pushed it to 10-3 with six kills on nine swings. Minarick had two kills, four assists, and a pair of digs as the Terps called their first time out. MSU's lead fluxuated between six and eight points, and leading 19-12, Cathy George challenged an out-of bounds call that she believed was touched by the Maryland blocker. George won the challenge to win the race to 20. MSU extended its lead out to 11 at 24-13 on a pair of kills by Brooke Kranda, and Holly Toliver finished it off with a tool off the block. MSU had 20 kills, a block, and an ace in the frame to account for 22 of its own points, led by Autumn Bailey, Alyssa Garvelink, and Holly Toliver, who each had four terminations. Minarick had 17 assists, three kills, and six digs in the first set as well. The Spartans hit a scorching .486 in the opening frame (20-2-37) compared to .135 for the home team (9-4-37).
- SET TWO: MSU took a 4-1 lead on a Holly Toliver kill, which as the 4,000th career assist for Minarick. A 4-0 Spartan run opened up a one-point second set and gave the visitors a 11-6 lead, but after a Maryland time out, the Terps rolled off a 5-1 run to come within a point at 12-11. MSU called its first time out of the match, but out of the break the home team got back-to-back kills to take their first lead of the night, 13-12. Kranda stopped the run with three straight kills to regain the lead, and MSU pushed it back to four with some help from a pair of Maryland errors (19-15) which made the home team call its second time out. The Spartans closed out the set on a 13-4 run to take the second frame 25-17, hitting .294 for a game percentage of .394. Kranda led MSU with five kills on six swings, while Megan Tompkins had four kills (five swings) and a block.
- SET THREE: MSU trailed 4-5, and then used a 3-0 run to pull out to a three-point lead at 8-5, and started to pull away as Kranda and Garvelink put down big kills and put up big blocks that made it 13-7 Spartans, forcing the home team into a time out. MSU got right back to work out of the break and pushed it to a 15-7 advantage, but the Terps battled back with a 3-1 run to make it 16-10. After Jamye Cox delivered an ace that pushed MSU's lead back to 18-11, the Terps called their second time out. MSU scored two straight to make it 20-11, and despite the Spartans allowing the Terps to fend off set point four times, MSU closed out a 25-17 win the third set to earn the sweep. MSU hit .346 in the final frame, led by five kills for Garvelink and three for Kranda.
