Spartans Sweep Rutgers at Jenison

GAME CAPSULE

Michigan State earned a 3-0 victory over Rutgers (26-24, 25-20, 25-19) on Friday night at Jenison Field House.

Biamba Kabengele led all Spartans with 12 kills, adding eight digs. Sarah Franklin, Naya Gros, and Molly Johnson each had nine terminations, and Gros led MSU with four blocks. Sarah Franklin set a new career high with four service aces.

The Spartans won the first set in extra points but earned five- and six-point wins in the second and third sets to earn a sweep of the Scarlet Knights (8-18, 0-15 B1G). The two teams met just a week ago in Piscataway, with the Spartans taking a victory in four sets.

Rutgers got nine kills and three blocks from Beka Kojadinovic, who hit .444 for the visitors. Shea McNamara led all players with six blocks and added seven kills.

The Scarlet Knights out-blocked MSU 9-5, but the Spartans held an edge in kills (43-31), hitting percentage (.225-.178), aces (7-2) and digs (39-32).

The Spartans host No. 15 Penn State on Saturday at Jenison Field House. Match time is 8 pm.

PLAYER HIGHS

Biamba Kabengele had 12 kills, hit .458, and added eight digs and an ace.
Sarah Franklin had nine kills, four aces, six digs, and was a perfect in serve receive.
Lauryn Gibbs had 14 digs to tie her season best.

STATS AND STORYLINES

MSU had its first 3-0 sweep in Big Ten play since a 3-0 sweep of Iowa on Oct. 1.
Molly Johnson had nine kills, establishing a season best for the third consecutive game.
Reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week Julia Bishop had 20 assists, two aces, and three digs. Celia Cullen had 16 assists and two blocks.

SET SYNOPSIS

SET ONE: The Spartans took an early lead, but were never able to pull ahead by more than three points. MSU was up two at 15-13, saw Rutgers tie it up, and then won the race to 20 on a ball that sailed out of bounds for a 20-17 edge. MSU pulled ahead 22-20 on a Johnson and Poljan block which triggered a Rutgers time out, and after back-to-back blocks from the Scarlet Knights, the teams were tied at 22-all and MSU called a time out. A Shea McNamara termination off the block made it three straight for Rutgers, but their next attempt sailed long to once again knot the score. A second straight Rutgers error gave MSU set point, which Rutgers fought off. The Spartans went back up on a Gros kill, and a Franklin ace closed it out 26-24. MSU hit just .129 (12-8-31), with Rutgers checking in at .125 (10-6-32).

SET TWO: The Spartans took a four-point advantage at 8-4 when Naya Gros hammered an overpass, but the Scarlet Knights kept it close, coming within a point at 10-9 and tying things up at 13-all. MSU was able to get a kill from Franklin to pull ahead by two (16-14), and Kabengele went off the block to push MSU's lead to four at 21-17. The teams traded points until the Spartans got to 24-20 when the teams traded service errors, and Gros picked up a block to close out the set. The Spartans improved their hitting significantly, registering .289 (16-5-38).

SET THREE: Michigan State pulled ahead 7-4 on a pair of Molly Johnson terminations, and the lead grew to 10-6 on a block by Gros and Cullen. Rutgers pulled within a point on a kill by Kojadinovic at 10-9, but a 10-2 Michigan State run (fueled by a pair of kills by Kabengele and a kill and an ace from Franklin) gave MSU a 20-11 lead. The visitors reeled off a 6-0 run, put together with a pair of blocks, two kills, and a pair of MSU miscues, to once again get within striking distance at 20-18. Johnson and Franklin went back-to-back, followed by a Rutgers kill that made it 22-19, and the Spartans closed it out on a 3-0 run (kills from Franklin and Gros) to seal the victory. Both squads hit their best in the third frame, as MSU had 15 kills and hit .242, while Rutgers had 11 and hit .226.

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Team Stats

Biamba Kabengele

Molly Johnson

Naya Gros

Sarah Franklin

Players Mentioned

Julia Bishop

Celia Cullen

Sarah Franklin

Lauryn Gibbs

Naya Gros

Molly Johnson

Biamba Kabengele