Michigan State University Athletics
Friday, September 14
East Lansing, MI
7 pm
Michigan State University
10-1
3
vs
0
UAlbany
4-6
1
2
3
F
Albany
19
21
16
0
Michigan State
25
25
25
3
Team Stats
UAVB
MSU
Kills
32
40
Errors
23
12
Attempts
88
85
Hitting %
.102
.329
Points
39.0
58.0
Assists
29
37
Aces
3
7
Blocks
4.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMSU Drops Great Danes 3-0 To Open Home Tournament
9/14/2018 10:02:00 PM | Volleyball
Chronowski, Poljan lead the way for MSU
SPARTAN SYNOPSISÂ Â
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Michigan State played in front of its home crowd for the first time in the 2018 season, and posted a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-21, 25-16) of Albany in the first game of the annual Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational.Â
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In the other match of the day, Western Michigan held off UAB, 3-1.Â
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MSU out-blocked the Great Danes by an 11-4 margin hit .329, (40-12-85) and had seven service aces on the night. Alyssa Chronowski had 10 kills, an ace, two blocks and two digs, while Rebecka Poljan posted a match-best seven blocks and added five kills.Â
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MSU got some impressive performances off the bench. Maggie Midgette came on to set in the final frame and quickly tallied three service aces then went on to post 12 assists and a pair of digs along with two kills. Meredith Norris had five kills, an ace, two digs, and a solo block in two sets of work.Â
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MSU got a push from the Great Danes in the second set, trailing by as many as four points before recovering to post a 25-21 win and take a 2-0 match lead.Â
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Naya Gros hit .600 (7-1-10) and had three blocks, while Molly Johnson had six kills and three blocks.Â
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The tournament continues on Saturday with four games on the schedule – MSU opens at 11 am vs. Alabama-Birmingham, which lost 3-1 to Western Michigan earlier today.Â
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 TOP PERFORMERS Â
•  Alyssa Chronowski put up 10 kills and hit .261, adding two blocks, two digs, and an ace.Â
•  Rebecka Poljan made her home debut with seven blocks and five kills..
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  STATS AND STORYLINES Â
•  MSU posted its sixth double-digit blocking match, with 11.  Â
•  The Spartans won their tenth straight match and fifth consecutive by a 3-0 margin. MSU has won 18 straight sets since dropping the first frame at North Carolina on Sept. 1
•  Naya Gros hit .600, (7-1-10) and added three blocks. She has hit .500 or better in six of the last eight contests.
• Poljan has recorded seven blocks in each of her last two matches; the last came at North Carolina on Sept. 1.
•  Elena Shklyar started the game and had 20 assists, three blocks, three kills, and a pair of digs in the first two sets. Maggie Midgette came on in the third set and fired off three service aces in the first six points, and over the balance of the third set added 12 assists, two digs, and a pair of kills.
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 GAME REPLAY Â
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•  SET ONE:  MSU opened the match on a 4-0 lead,  and led by as many as seven points (19-12) as the Green and White remained consistent and poised, hitting .368 to Albany's .077, (9-7-26). A shot by Molly Johnson that kissed the line was originally called out was overturned on replay, giving MSU a 20-13 advantage. Poljan and Shklyar put up a block – MSU's fourth of the frame – to get to set point at 24-16, but the Great Danes fended off three set points before a Shklyar kill finished off the effort. Chronowski had four kills and a block, while Shklyar, Gros, and Poljan each had two blocks. The Spartans hit .333 in the opening set as compared to .081 for the visitors.Â
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•  SET TWO:   Albany took an early 7-5 lead, but a pair of Great Dane miscues allowed the Spartans to tie it at 7-7 A 4-1 Albany run allowed the visitors to take their largest lead at 11-8, but the Spartans were able to tie it up at 12-12 after a pair of Albany mistakes. The Great Danes corrected many of its hitting miscues from the first set, starting out at 8-3-16 (.312), and MSU was hanging in at .235, staying within a point or two as the teams fought toward the 20-point mark. Poljan and Shklyar teamed up on a block to make it 20-17, at which point Albany called a time out. The Great Danes came back with three of the next four points to pull within one at 21-20, but MSU closed it out and took the set by a 25-21 margin. Meredith Norris came off the bench to record four kills, a solo block, and a dig, and Poljan had three kills and two blocks to push her match total to four.Â
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•  SET THREE:    Maggie Midgette came off the bench to set in the third frame, and put together an early serving run that helped her team to a 6-1 lead with three service aces. MSU kept its foot on the gas and pushed its lead to seven (11-4). MSU maintained the seven-point edge, getting to 14-7 on a solo stuff by Poljan; while the Great Danes were able to get it within four, the Spartans never surrendered control. A nice tip from Norris put MSU at 20-15, and a block from Chronowski and Gros made it 22-15. Another 3-1 run for MSU closed it out, as the Spartans evenly distributed their offense and hit a match-best .393 (14-3-28) in the third and deciding set. MSU held Albany to .045 in the third (8-7-22). Gros and Chronowski each had four kills and a block in the final set, while Poljan put up three more blocks – two solo.
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Michigan State played in front of its home crowd for the first time in the 2018 season, and posted a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-21, 25-16) of Albany in the first game of the annual Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational.Â
Â
In the other match of the day, Western Michigan held off UAB, 3-1.Â
Â
MSU out-blocked the Great Danes by an 11-4 margin hit .329, (40-12-85) and had seven service aces on the night. Alyssa Chronowski had 10 kills, an ace, two blocks and two digs, while Rebecka Poljan posted a match-best seven blocks and added five kills.Â
Â
MSU got some impressive performances off the bench. Maggie Midgette came on to set in the final frame and quickly tallied three service aces then went on to post 12 assists and a pair of digs along with two kills. Meredith Norris had five kills, an ace, two digs, and a solo block in two sets of work.Â
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MSU got a push from the Great Danes in the second set, trailing by as many as four points before recovering to post a 25-21 win and take a 2-0 match lead.Â
Â
Naya Gros hit .600 (7-1-10) and had three blocks, while Molly Johnson had six kills and three blocks.Â
Â
The tournament continues on Saturday with four games on the schedule – MSU opens at 11 am vs. Alabama-Birmingham, which lost 3-1 to Western Michigan earlier today.Â
Â
 TOP PERFORMERS Â
•  Alyssa Chronowski put up 10 kills and hit .261, adding two blocks, two digs, and an ace.Â
•  Rebecka Poljan made her home debut with seven blocks and five kills..
Â
  STATS AND STORYLINES Â
•  MSU posted its sixth double-digit blocking match, with 11.  Â
•  The Spartans won their tenth straight match and fifth consecutive by a 3-0 margin. MSU has won 18 straight sets since dropping the first frame at North Carolina on Sept. 1
•  Naya Gros hit .600, (7-1-10) and added three blocks. She has hit .500 or better in six of the last eight contests.
• Poljan has recorded seven blocks in each of her last two matches; the last came at North Carolina on Sept. 1.
•  Elena Shklyar started the game and had 20 assists, three blocks, three kills, and a pair of digs in the first two sets. Maggie Midgette came on in the third set and fired off three service aces in the first six points, and over the balance of the third set added 12 assists, two digs, and a pair of kills.
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 GAME REPLAY Â
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•  SET ONE:  MSU opened the match on a 4-0 lead,  and led by as many as seven points (19-12) as the Green and White remained consistent and poised, hitting .368 to Albany's .077, (9-7-26). A shot by Molly Johnson that kissed the line was originally called out was overturned on replay, giving MSU a 20-13 advantage. Poljan and Shklyar put up a block – MSU's fourth of the frame – to get to set point at 24-16, but the Great Danes fended off three set points before a Shklyar kill finished off the effort. Chronowski had four kills and a block, while Shklyar, Gros, and Poljan each had two blocks. The Spartans hit .333 in the opening set as compared to .081 for the visitors.Â
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•  SET TWO:   Albany took an early 7-5 lead, but a pair of Great Dane miscues allowed the Spartans to tie it at 7-7 A 4-1 Albany run allowed the visitors to take their largest lead at 11-8, but the Spartans were able to tie it up at 12-12 after a pair of Albany mistakes. The Great Danes corrected many of its hitting miscues from the first set, starting out at 8-3-16 (.312), and MSU was hanging in at .235, staying within a point or two as the teams fought toward the 20-point mark. Poljan and Shklyar teamed up on a block to make it 20-17, at which point Albany called a time out. The Great Danes came back with three of the next four points to pull within one at 21-20, but MSU closed it out and took the set by a 25-21 margin. Meredith Norris came off the bench to record four kills, a solo block, and a dig, and Poljan had three kills and two blocks to push her match total to four.Â
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•  SET THREE:    Maggie Midgette came off the bench to set in the third frame, and put together an early serving run that helped her team to a 6-1 lead with three service aces. MSU kept its foot on the gas and pushed its lead to seven (11-4). MSU maintained the seven-point edge, getting to 14-7 on a solo stuff by Poljan; while the Great Danes were able to get it within four, the Spartans never surrendered control. A nice tip from Norris put MSU at 20-15, and a block from Chronowski and Gros made it 22-15. Another 3-1 run for MSU closed it out, as the Spartans evenly distributed their offense and hit a match-best .393 (14-3-28) in the third and deciding set. MSU held Albany to .045 in the third (8-7-22). Gros and Chronowski each had four kills and a block in the final set, while Poljan put up three more blocks – two solo.
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