Spartans Fall In Epic Battle at Ohio State

GAME CAPSULE

Michigan State fought through a four-set battle with Ohio State, but fell to the ninth-ranked Buckeyes 3-1 (24-26, 25-15, 16-25, 22-25) in Columbus on Saturday.

The two teams entertained the crowd with lengthy rallies, big kills, and impressive blocks, as the Spartans had a season best with 14 blocks and out-blocked their hosts by five. Emma Monks (10) and Biamba Kabengele (5) both had career bests in that category, while Monks added nine kills and Kabengele had 14 digs for new career highs in those categories.

Gabby Gonzales had 22 kills to pace the Buckeyes, and just missed a double-double with nine digs. Mia Grunze also had double-digit kills for OSU (13).

OSU hit .176 and the Spartans .154 in the match, as the teams combined for 37 tie scores and 15 lead changes – seven lead changes alone in the fourth set.

Michigan State remains on the road next weekend, traveling to Rutgers on Friday and at Penn State on Saturday.

PLAYER HIGHS

Emma Monks put up career bests in both kills (9) and blocks (10), and hit a season-best .600 (9-0-15)
Sarah Franklin had a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs, her seventh of the season
Biamba Kabengele had career bests of five blocks and 14 digs, and added eight kills.

STATS AND STORYLINES

Lauryn Gibbs set a new season high with 14 digs.
Naya Gros had nine kills, hit .438, and had four blocks.
Molly Johnson tied her season high with four blocks and added five digs and a pair of kills
Michigan State has played seven sets against OSU this season, and three have gone to extra points. In the first meeting, the Buckeyes needed extra points in each of the first two sets of a 3-0 win, and needed extra points in the first set today.

SET SYNOPSIS

SET ONE: The Spartans trailed 13-10, but a Buckeye service error, a Monks ace, and Gros winning a joust at the net allowed the Spartans to tie things up at 13-all. MSU was able to pull ahead by two (16-14) and eventually four (19-15), but the home team battled back into it with some help from MSU, as the squad committed back-to-back errors and made it 20-19. Out of the Spartan time out, the teams continued to battle point-for-point, and after a Buckeye service error – their fifth of the set – MSU held a 23-22 lead. Rylee Rader got back-to-back kills for OSU to get them to set point at 24-23, at which point the teams traded service errors. Mia Grunze finished off the set for the Buckeyes with her third kill of the set for the 26-24 win. Gros led MSU with four kills (4-0-5) and a block, while Gabby Gonzales led OSU with five of their 16 kills.

SET TWO: The teams were trading kills in the early part of the set, as MSU rolled up six compared to OSU's five in working to an 8-8 tie. MSU went on a 6-2 run to take a four-point edge, capped by an ace and a kill by Kabengele, to pull ahead 14-10 and force the Buckeyes into a time out. Back-to-back errors from OSU allowed the Spartan lead to grow to 16-10, and then a block by Johnson and Monks followed by a kill from Franklin made it 18-11, and OSU called its second time out. OSU came out of the break with a kill and an ace, and an MSU error after that allowed the home team back within four at 18-14. Franklin stopped the OSU run with her eighth kill of the day, and with a 22-15 lead, stepped to the service line and delivered an ace. The Buckeyes committed errors on the next two rallies, giving the Spartans a 25-15 victory to even the match at 1-1. Franklin put down six kills without an error (13 attempts), while Emma Monks posted four blocks (one solo) and added two kills. MSU hit .216 in the set, and the Buckeyes had nine errors compared to just eight kills.

SET THREE: The teams battled through the first 14 points tied at 7-7, but a trio of Spartan errors allowed OSU to pull ahead by three, and the visitors called time out. Trailing 14-13, MSU got back-to-back blocks by Gros and Cullen to give the Spartans a 15-14 lead; OSU battled back into a two-point lead at 18-16, forcing MSU to call its second time out. Neither team was hitting particularly well – MSU was hitting .100 (6-4-20), and OSU .154 (10-6-26). OSU extended its run to 9-0 with six straight points out of the break to get to set point, and finished it off with a kill off the block to return the lopsided set win, 25-16. OSU had 16 kills in the set compared to just six for MSU, hitting .258 to the visitors' .000 (6-6-26). Gros had half of MSU's kills and added two blocks.

SET FOUR: The Spartans took a 9-8 lead over their hosts on the ninth block of the day by Emma Monks, but OSU used a 6-2 run to go up three at 14-11. The Buckeyes maintained their three—point edge to 18-15, but the Spartans reeled off a 3-0 run on two kills from Monks and one from Kabengele to pull within one at 19-18, forcing an OSU time out. With the Spartans leading 22-20, the teams engaged in an epic rally – while OSU finished it off by going off the block, the Spartans challenged the play, looking for the ball hitting the floor on a pancake by the libero. The play was reviewed and went in favor of MSU, which took a 22-20 lead. OSU came out of the challenge with a 3-0 run, and another epic rally went to Ohio State on a kill by Rader to get the Buckeyes to set point. A long attempt by the Spartans closed out the set 25-22 in favor of the home team. Kabengele led MSU with five kills and added a pair of blocks, while Monks compiled four kills and three blocks to secure her career day.

Next Event

Team Stats

Sarah Franklin

Naya Gros

Emma Monks

Biamba Kabengele

Players Mentioned

Sarah Franklin

Lauryn Gibbs

Naya Gros

Molly Johnson

Biamba Kabengele

Emma Monks

Players Mentioned

Sarah Franklin

Lauryn Gibbs

Naya Gros

Molly Johnson

Biamba Kabengele

Emma Monks