Spartans fall at No. 12 Nebraska, 3-0

GAME CAPSULE

Michigan State fell at No. 12 Nebraska on Sunday afternoon, 3-0 (16-25, 19-25, 20-25). The match capped a four-match road swing to begin the Big Ten slate, as MSU is now 8-5, 1-3 in Conference play. Nebraska is 10-3, 4-0 B1G.

The teams were involved in some lengthy rallies, as the teams combined for more than 100 digs in the three-set match (60 for Nebraska, 47 for MSU). The Huskers had a 7-6 edge in blocks and a 41-30 advantage in kills, hitting .250 on the day compared to .079 for the Spartans.

Cecilee Max-Brown led msu with a .269 hitting percentage, putting down 10 kills and digging up five balls, while Cellia Cullen had her third double-double of the year with 24 assists and 14 digs (her season high.)

Michigan State gets its first home matches of the Big Ten season next weekend when it welcomes Ohio State (Friday) and Minnesota (Saturday) to Jenison Field House.

PLAYER HIGHS

Cecilee Max-Brown had nine kills and five digs.
Celia Cullen had a double-double with 24 assists and a season-best 14 digs.
Emma Monks made her first start in Big Ten play this season and had five kills and four blocks.

STATS AND STORYLINES

Talia Edmonds had 15 digs and added three assists
Sarah Franklin and Naya Gros each had five kills and two blocks. Franklin added three digs.

SET SYNOPSIS

SET ONE: The home team came out to an enthusiastic crowd and quickly built an 8-3 lead with four kills on their first eight swings, all from four different players. Cecilee Max-Brown sent a line shot into the corner to stop a 6-0 Husker run which made it 11-4, and MSU called time out when the Nebraska lead reached 10 at 15-5. The Spartans scored three straight out of the break, but Nebraska got to 20 with the 10-point edge as they were hitting a modest .233, but MSU had six kills to five errors. MSU went on a 6-3 run capped with a pair of kills from Kabengele to activate a Nebraska time out, but the home team scored twice out of that break to take the first set 25-16. Max-Brown had four kills and three digs and hit .300, but as a team the Spartans hit just .024 (10-9-42). Nebraska hit .184, with Kayla Caffey leading her team with three terminations.

SET TWO: The teams were within two points of one another as they crossed the 10-point threshold, with the Spartans taking a 10-9 lead on kills from Kabengele and Monks, but the Huskers countered with a 3-0 run that made it 12-10 and MSU called time out. The Spartans lost a challenge on a touch call and the Huskers scored the next two to make it 15-11, but Max-Brown tooled the block to slow the Nebraska run. MSU was back within a pair at 19-17 before a 3-1 Nebraska run brought it back out to four (22-18), and the Huskers closed it out 25-19. MSU got three kills each from Gros and Max-Brown in the frame, and Cullen had eight assists and nine digs in the set as well.

SET THREE: MSU took a 9-7 lead on a big block by Monks followed by a Cullen ace, but a 3-0 run for Nebraska swung the game in favor of the home team before a big swing from Monks tied things up at 10. Both teams were hitting .000 at that point, but the home team was able to build a three-point edge at 14-11. Nebraska built its lead out to 19-14 to force a Spartan time out, and despite MSU trying to fight back into it, the Huskers closed out the sweep with a 25-20 win in the final frame. Max-Brown had three of her 10 kills in the final set, while both Cullen and Monks added a pair of blocks.

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Team Stats

Cecilee Max-Brown

Naya Gros

Emma Monks

Sarah Franklin

Players Mentioned

Celia Cullen

Talia Edmonds

Sarah Franklin

Naya Gros

Cecilee Max-Brown

Emma Monks

Players Mentioned

Celia Cullen

Talia Edmonds

Sarah Franklin

Naya Gros

Cecilee Max-Brown

Emma Monks