MSU Improves to 2-0 With Sweep of Cougars

Saturday, August 31

Charleston, S.C.

7 PM ET

Michigan State University

2-0

College of Charleston

0-2

Michigan State

Charleston

Michigan State Athletics Announces Kristen Kelsay Contract Extension

Monday, December 29

Kulig Named CSC Academic All-District

Tuesday, December 16

Staniszewska Earns AVCA All-North Region Honors

Tuesday, December 09

Karolina Staniszewska Named Second Team All-Big Ten

Tuesday, December 02

Next Event

Indiana State

W, 3-0

Sep 6 (Fri)

12:30 PM ET

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Full Schedule

Team Stats

MSU

COFC

Kills

Errors

Attempts

100

114

Hitting %

.250

.044

Points

49.0

36.0

Assists

Aces

Blocks

10.0

6.0

8/31/2019 8:44:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score PDF Box: MSU 3, COFC 0

GAME CAPSULE
Michigan State improved to 2-0 on the season with a 3-0 victory over the College of Charleston on Saturday evening. Meredith Norris led the Spartans with 16 kills and nine digs – her second straight near miss on a double-double.

The Spartans, who took a 2-0 match lead, were able to hold off a surging Cougar squad in the third set as CofC overcame a six-point deficit to tie the game at 23-23. The Spartans held on, closing it out for the 3-0 match victory.

The Spartans had double-digit blocks (10) for the second straight match, and hit .250 in the match. The Spartans also showed a lot of poise on defense, recording 59 digs.

Audrey Alford had her first double-double in the Green & White with 15 assists and 10 digs. Jamye Cox recorded 18 digs on the night. Cox and Norris were named to the All-Tournament Team.

For CofC, Lauren Freed had eight kills and 13 digs, and Sylvia Duggan had seven terminations for the Cougars (0-2).

The Spartans return home to host the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational next weekend (Sept. 6-7) at Jenison Field House. MSU welcomes Indiana State, Cincinnati, and Tennessee.

PLAYER HIGHS

Meredith Norris posted 16 kills and nine digs.
Audrey Alford posted a double-double (her first as a Spartan) with 16 assists and 10 digs.
Jamye Cox led MSU with 18 digs and added five assists.

STATS & STORYLINES

Four players saw their first action of the season: Maggie Midgette, Julia Hatcher, Lauryn Gibbs, and Biamba Kabengele. Kabengele, a freshman, had two kills and a dig in her collegiate debut.

SET SYNOPSIS

SET ONE: Michigan State was in control early, going up 6-4 and steadily building its lead from there. Meredith Norris was again a menace for opponents, as she finished the set with eight kills on 19 swings. There were some dicey rallies, but the Spartans looked composed and scrappy and got the better of most as they sided out at an 80% success rate and compiled 23 digs compared to just 16 for the hosts. The Spartans posted four blocks (compared to seven in the first set vs. Duke) and hit .273 (13-4-33). MSU held CofC to seven kills in the frame, and forced eight hitting errors (-.025).

SET TWO: MSU raced out to a 6-1 lead and quickly pushed it to 11 (15-4) with the help of five hitting errors by the Cougars. With a sizeable lead on the scoreboard, George brought on Biamba Kabengele, who quickly took her first swing and recorded her first collegiate kill. The Spartans also got both Julia Hatcher and Maggie Midgette on the floor in the set for their first action of the season, as the lead grew to 22-8. A kill by Lauren Swartz got MSU to set point at 24-10, but the Cougars fended off set point three times before a service error gave MSU the set by a 25-13 margin , Despite the Spartans going to the bench, they still held their hosts to a negative hitting percentage (-.069) with just five kills in the frame. Molly Johnson had three of MSU's 11 kills, while three players shared the team lead with four digs each.

SET THREE: The home team found its rhythm a bit in the third set and stayed close to the Spartans, quickly cutting down MSU's largest lead (six, 17-11), and pulled within two at 22-20, and eventually pulled even with the Spartans at 23-23. A service error gave MSU match point, and a block by Lauren Swartz at the right pin sealed the victory. The home team had its best hitting percentage in the final set (178) and also had three of its six blocks, but the Spartans recorded 13 kills, four blocks, and 19 more digs to seal the win. Norris had seven of MSU's kills in the frame, while Lauryn Gibbs made the most of her first appearance of the season with five digs.

Michigan State Athletics Announces Kristen Kelsay Contract Extension

Monday, December 29

Kulig Named CSC Academic All-District

Tuesday, December 16

Staniszewska Earns AVCA All-North Region Honors

Tuesday, December 09

Karolina Staniszewska Named Second Team All-Big Ten

Tuesday, December 02

Next Event

Team Stats

Meredith Norris

Alyssa Chronowski

Rebecka Poljan

Naya Gros

Players Mentioned

Audrey Alford

Jamye Cox

Lauryn Gibbs

Julia Hatcher

Molly Johnson

Biamba Kabengele

Maggie Midgette

Meredith Norris

Lauren Swartz