Spartans Sweep at Iowa

GAME CAPSULE

Michigan State earned its first Big Ten win of the season with a 3-0 decision at Iowa (25-23, 25-28, 25-21) on Friday night. The win was No. 299 for Cathy George at Michigan State.

Sarah Franklin delivered 20 kills and hit .375 to lead MSU (8-4, 1-2 B1G), which is starting the Big Ten season with four consecutive road matches. MSU's middles each contributed seven kills as Rebecka Poljan hit .438 and added three blocks and three digs, while Gros hit .385 with two stuffs.

The teams engaged in tight battles in each of the first two sets as MSU pulled away in each after reaching the 20-point mark. MSU took a five-point edge early in the third and deciding frame, and held that lead for most of the set before closing it out 25-21.

MSU hit .324 as a team and out-blocked the Hawkeyes 5-4. It was MSU's fifth match this season hitting .300 or better and the first in Big Ten play.

Michigan State heads to Nebraska for a Sunday match that will air live on the Big Ten Network. First serve is 4 pm ET/3 pm CT.

PLAYER HIGHS

Sarah Franklin delivered 20 kills and hit .375, adding six digs and posting three blocks.
Rebecka Poljan hit .438 (7-0-16) and shared the blocking lead (three) with Franklin
Celia Cullen had 37 assists, eight digs, and a pair of aces.

STATS AND STORYLINES

Naya Gros hit .385 with seven kills and a pair of blocks.
Franklin delivered her second consecutive 20+ kill effort and third in her last four matches
Cecilee Max-Brown tied her career best with three aces, and had that total for the second straight match She added six kills and seven digs.
Head coach Cathy George picked up her 299^th victory as the coach of the Spartans. She is 299-219 in her 17^th season at Michigan State and 664-443 overall in her 35^th season.

SET SYNOPSIS

SET ONE: The teams were within two points as they fought their way to 15, as MSU dialed up three early aces and had six kills to take a 12-11 lead. MSU's largest lead came at 17-14 after a Max-Brown kill and a block from Poljan and Gros, forcing the home team into a time out. Iowa came back to tie it at 19-all on a 4-1 run, which triggered a Spartan time out. Franklin came out of the break with back-to-back kills, and an Iowa error made it a three-point MSU edge, 22-19. The home team pulled within a point at 23-22, but Franklin put down a thundering strike, and then a tip over the block to seal the first-set win. She had seven kills and hit .417, helping the Spartans to a team percentage of .312 (15-5-32). Poljan had three kills and three digs.

SET TWO: The teams were tight early once again, with Iowa leading by two early (8-6) and MSU going up 14-12 after Iowa tried to tip on ensuing attempts and they were sent back across the net by Franklin. The home team called a time out as MSU put together a 3-0 scoring run to take that 14-12 lead, as the Hawkeye hitting percentage suffered as the Spartans were getting their hands on a lot of balls at the net. With a 15-13 lead, MSU was hitting .350 in the frame (8-2-21) to Iowa's .172 (9-4-29). MSU once again took a three-point edge at 17-14, and led by four after Cullen fed Gros at the right pin on back-to-back points. MSU gave their hosts a taste of their own medicine by varying up the big powerful swings, tips, and roll shots to build to a 22-18 edge. Kabengele and Franklin combined for consecutive kills to get to set point, and Cullen closed out a second-set win with an ace, MSU's fifth of the night. Franklin had eight kills after her seven in the first set, as MSU hit .429

SET THREE: MSU built a five-point edge early and held it to a 15-10 advantage, putting up a pair of blocks and hitting .269 as the Hawkeyes struggled with a 7-5-25 (.080) hitting percentage. The Spartans maintained their lead to the finish line hitting .237 with 15 digs to win it 25-21, as Franklin put down five kills and had two blcks in the frame. Grs had four of her kills and a block, while Poljan had three terminations on four swings.

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Team Stats

Sarah Franklin

Rebecka Poljan

Naya Gros

Cecilee Max-Brown

Players Mentioned

Celia Cullen

Sarah Franklin

Naya Gros

Cecilee Max-Brown

Rebecka Poljan

Players Mentioned

Celia Cullen

Sarah Franklin

Naya Gros

Cecilee Max-Brown

Rebecka Poljan