Spartans Fall on the Road, 3-0, in Opener

GAME CAPSULE

Michigan State opened its 2021 spring season with a tough 3-0 setback at No. 7 Minnesota on Saturday.

The opening frame was tight to 14-14, but a 5-0 Gopher run allowed the home team to pull away a bit. MSU was within three at 19-16 after a Talia Edmonds ace, but six of the next eight points went to the home team to close it out 25-18. In the second, Michigan State took a big 20-12 lead, but saw the home team respond with an 8-0 run and 11 of the final 13 points overall as MSU dropped the set 26-24. The third set was all Gophers, as Minnesota raced out to an insurmountable lead, hitting 13-0-27 in the frame (.481) and secured the sweep, 3-0.

The Spartans got some contributions from veterans and newcomers alike. Senior Meredith Norris finished with seven kills, 14 digs, and hit .294, while sophomore Emma Monks posted six kills and hit .357. Freshman Sarah Franklin led all players with 11 kills, while adding six digs. Classmate Celia Cullen dished out a match-high 31 assists and added three kills, five digs, and an ace.

The two teams play again on Sunday. The rematch is slated for 4 pm ET/3 pm CT and will air live on BTN+.

PLAYER HIGHS

Meredith Norris had seven kills, hit .312, and added a match-best 13 digs while adding an ace.
Sarah Franklin had 11 kills and 6 digs in her collegiate debut.
Freshman Celia Cullen dished out 31 assists, had five digs, and added three kills and an ace.

STATS & STORYLINES

Minnesota out-blocked its guests 8-1 in the match, and held a commanding lead in hitting percentage (.384-155)
In a battle of freshman setters, Celia Cullen had 31 assists, an ace, three kills, and five digs, while Melani Shaffmaster had 29 assists, six digs, two aces and four kills.
Cullen and Franklin were the two Spartan freshman who saw their first action, while Oregon State transfer Cecilee Max-Brown came off the bench to record three kills on four swings in the second and third sets.

SET SYNOPSIS

SET ONE: Sarah Franklin started off with five of MSU's first seven points, as the teams traded points early trying to get a feel for the game. Celia Cullen served up an ace that tied things at 8-8. After an overturned call that led to a Minnesota net violation tied things up at 14-14, a pair of Spartan miscues and a Taylor Landfair kill pushed the Gopher lead out to 17-14, and MSU called time out. The Gophers started to pull away as they pushed their lead to 21-16, and closed it out by a 25-18 score. Sarah Franklin led all scorers with seven kills on 15 swings, while Meredith Norris had four kills, hit .571, and had seven digs. Adanna Rollins hit .600 for the Gophers with six kills. Celia Cullen had 12 assists for the Spartans, while her freshman counterpart Melani Shaffmaster had 10.

SET TWO: The Spartans used some four-point mini-runs to build leads of 10-5 and 16-9, and eventually built its lead to 20-12 after an Elena Shklyar ace. A 3-0 run trimmed it back down to five for the Gophers, but after back-to-back kills by middles Naya Gros and Emma Monks made it 22-15, The Gophers scored 11 of the next 13 points to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 26-24 win. Katie Myers had a kill and a pair of blocks in that sequence for Minnesota, while Stephanie Samedy was unstoppable with five kills (the final three Minnesota points) and a block. Middles Emma Monks and Naya Gros each had four kills.

SET THREE: Michigan State saw Minnesota bring its momentum right into the third set, as the Gophers opened up a 12-4 lead on a 5-0-14 effort on the attack (.357) while MSU had four kills and six errors on 17 early swings. Minnesota was firmly in control, pushing out the advantage to 15-7, but a 5-1 MSU run with a pair of kills by Monks and a Norris ace trimmed it down to six, 18-12. After finding their rhythm in the second set, Minnesota just kept rolling – the home team outscored MSU 7-4 the rest of the way.

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Team Stats

Sarah Franklin

Meredith Norris

Naya Gros

Emma Monks

Players Mentioned

Celia Cullen

Talia Edmonds

Sarah Franklin

Naya Gros

Cecilee Max-Brown

Emma Monks

Meredith Norris

Elena Shklyar

Players Mentioned

Celia Cullen

Talia Edmonds

Sarah Franklin

Naya Gros

Cecilee Max-Brown

Emma Monks

Meredith Norris

Elena Shklyar