Spartans Sweep In-State Rival Oakland

GAME CAPSULE
Michigan State improved to 5-1 on the season with a 3-0 victory (25-18, 26-24, 25-17) over visiting Oakland on Thursday evening. The Golden Grizzlies fall to 4-4 overall.

The Spartans needed extra points in the second set to take down their in-state rival, as Oakland hit a scorching .500 (15-1-28) in the set; MSU did limit OU to a .178 percentage in the opening set and .024 in the third. The Spartans hit .269 on the night overall. Oakland had more blocks (7-6) and digs (49-39).

MSU placed three players with double-figure kills: Meredith Norris had 11 terminations, nine digs, and hit .310 with a pair of aces. Middle Naya Gros had 10 kills, hit a team-best .714 (10-0-14), and added four blocks, and Alyssa Chronowski posted 10 kills, hitting .316.

Taylor Dellinger led Oakland with 13 kills, while libero Lindsay Wightman compiled 22 digs. Madison Ross had a match-best five blocks.

MSU is idle until Sunday when it hosts North Carolina in a matinee match at 1 pm.

PLAYER HIGHS

Naya Gros established season bests with 10 kills and a .714 hitting percentage.
Alyssa Chronowski had 10 kills and hit .316
Meredith Norris compiled 11 kills and finished one dig shy of a double-double, adding two aces.

STATS & STORYLINES

Michgan State and Oakland were meeting for the first time since the 2010 season. The Spartans now lead the all-time series by a 9-0 margin.
Jamye Cox had her sixth straight game with double-digit digs (10).
Meredith Norris finished one dig shy of a double-double. It is the third time this season she had nine digs, and has eight or more in five of six matches in 2019.

SET SYNOPSIS

SET ONE: The visitors jumped out to a 4-2 lead with a 3-0 run, but Meredith Norris quickly put a stop to it with a shot down the line. An 8-2 MSU run allowed the home team a four-point lead at 10-6, and Oakland called a time out. The Golden Grizzlies twice pulled within two points, but MSU took its largest lead at 18-12 on a 4-0 run, fueled by a pair of blocks by Gros. The Spartans took their largest lead of seven and closed out the set by a 25-18 score. Norris racked up four kills and a pair of aces, Gros had two kills and three blocks, and Audrey Alford had seven assists. Dellinger had four kills for OU.

SET TWO: The teams were tight through the midpoint of the frame, fighting out to a 14-14 deadlock. The visitors were riding a .438 hitting percentage (8-1-16), while MSU sat at .278 (8-3-18). Oakland went up 17-15 with a 3-0 run, compiling two kills and a block, and forced the Spartans into their first time out of the night. Chronowski ended the run with a sharp cross-court shot, and a 3-1 MSU run tied the match at 18's, capped with an ace by Rebecka Poljan. The Grizzlies improved their hitting percentage to .529 (15-1-27) in taking a 23-22 lead, while the Spartans were hitting .278. Chronowski's ninth kill of the night tied things at 23-23, and Elena Shklyar picked up a timely termination when she buried the overpass to get to set point. The teams traded service errors, and with a 25-24 lead, Chronowski once again answered the bell, delivering the ace to give MSU a 2-0 match lead. She had six kills on nine swings in the frame, while both Gros and Norris picked up three. Dellinger had six more terminations for the Grizzlies to push her match total to 10. MSU hit .297 in the frame, and Oakland hit .500 (15-1-28).

SET THREE: The set started with a 4-0 MSU lead, featuring a 50+ touch rally. Oakland battled back into it to tie things at 9-9, but a pair of blocks by Poljan helped MSU pull back ahead by four at 14-10. Both teams were struggling with hitting errors – after hot hands in the second set, both teams were hitting sub-.100 in the third. Norris' 10^th kill made it 15-11 in favor of the home team, and back-to-back OU errors pushed that MSU lead to six. After OU's second time out, the string of errors continued for the visitors, piling up nine in the frame overall after just seven in the first two sets combined. MSU closed it out with a 25-17 victory in the frame, limiting Oakland to just a .024 hitting percentage (10-9-41). Gros (four kills) and Norris (three kills) paced the Spartan offense, while Poljan picked up two blocks.

Next Event

Team Stats

Meredith Norris

Naya Gros

Alyssa Chronowski

Molly Johnson

Players Mentioned

Audrey Alford

Alyssa Chronowski

Jamye Cox

Naya Gros

Meredith Norris

Rebecka Poljan

Elena Shklyar

Players Mentioned

Audrey Alford

Alyssa Chronowski

Jamye Cox

Naya Gros

Meredith Norris

Rebecka Poljan

Elena Shklyar

Related News

Next Event

Team Stats

Game Leaders

Meredith Norris

Naya Gros

Alyssa Chronowski

Molly Johnson

Players Mentioned

Audrey Alford

Alyssa Chronowski

Jamye Cox

Naya Gros

Meredith Norris

Rebecka Poljan

Elena Shklyar