Saturday, November 6
University Park, PA
7 pm
Michigan State University
10-13,3-11Big Ten
2
at
3
Penn State
17-7,10-4Big Ten
1
2
3
4
5
F
Michigan St.
23
21
25
25
13
2
Penn St.
25
25
21
20
15
3
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell
Franklin Registers Career Night in Five-Set Battle with Penn State
11/6/2021 9:37:00 PM | Volleyball
GAME CAPSULE
Michigan State fell in a five-set battle at No. 15 Penn State on Saturday night, 3-2 (23-21, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 15-13). The match was the second of a pair of road games on the east side for the Spartans, starting out with a 3-1 win at Rutgers on Friday.
Each set was a back-and-forth battle with the Nittany Lions only able to pull away late in the first two sets. Michigan State battled hard in the third set with a late 23-19 lead and ended up winning 25-21 to force a fourth set. They put on another stellar performance in that set, winning 25-20 to go to a fifth-set decision. The fifth and final set again was full of ties until Penn State went ahead with a crucial point from a Spartan error and a final kill to seal the win, 15-13.
The highlight of the match was Sarah Franklin's career-high night. The sophomore Sarah Franklin led the Spartans with 27 kills, her 14th game of the season with double-digit successful attacks and a new career best. She hit .453 and also recorded ten digs. As a team, the Spartans hit .316 compared to .292 by the Nittany Lions and recorded 71 digs to Penn State's 61. Both teams had three service aces.
The Spartans return to their home court next weekend for another pair of rematches against Rutgers (Friday) and Penn State (Saturday) inside Jenison Fieldhouse.
PLAYER HIGHS
STATS AND STORYLINES
Michigan State fell in a five-set battle at No. 15 Penn State on Saturday night, 3-2 (23-21, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 15-13). The match was the second of a pair of road games on the east side for the Spartans, starting out with a 3-1 win at Rutgers on Friday.
Each set was a back-and-forth battle with the Nittany Lions only able to pull away late in the first two sets. Michigan State battled hard in the third set with a late 23-19 lead and ended up winning 25-21 to force a fourth set. They put on another stellar performance in that set, winning 25-20 to go to a fifth-set decision. The fifth and final set again was full of ties until Penn State went ahead with a crucial point from a Spartan error and a final kill to seal the win, 15-13.
The highlight of the match was Sarah Franklin's career-high night. The sophomore Sarah Franklin led the Spartans with 27 kills, her 14th game of the season with double-digit successful attacks and a new career best. She hit .453 and also recorded ten digs. As a team, the Spartans hit .316 compared to .292 by the Nittany Lions and recorded 71 digs to Penn State's 61. Both teams had three service aces.
The Spartans return to their home court next weekend for another pair of rematches against Rutgers (Friday) and Penn State (Saturday) inside Jenison Fieldhouse.
PLAYER HIGHS
- Sarah Franklin led the Spartans early on in kills with seven after the first set. She went on to total a team-high 27.
- Biamba Kabengele was also over-ten on kills with 13 total.
- Franklin had a double double as she also registered ten digs.
STATS AND STORYLINES
- Biamba Kabengele also had a double-double with 13 kills and 17 digs.
- Rebekah Poljan returned to action for the Spartans, totaling six kills and two service aces.
- Franklin had three straight kills for the Green and White in the second set.
- Kabengele earned her tenth kill with a crucial point in the third set.
- SET ONE: The first set saw 14 ties as the Spartans fought to contain Penn State early on. Sarah Franklin laid down the first kill for the Green & White. She would go on to total seven in the first set. Both teams traded points with Penn State pulling ahead on two separate occasions only for the Spartans to regain the tie. MSU at one point led by two after another kill from Franklin and a block by Julia Bishop and Molly Johnson. An 18-17 advantage was also held later on, capped off by a kill from Biamba Kabengele. Penn State began to pull away after the 20th point and won the first set, 25-23.
- SET TWO: The Spartans found themselves down 2-5 early in the second set before a comeback formed thanks to two team blocks and a kill laid down by Naya Gros. Michigan State was kept from taking the lead but held within one point of the Nittany Lions several times throughout the set. Penn State began its set-winning run with a 19-14 lead to draw a timeout by the Spartans. Despite late points from Rebecka Poljan and Sarah Franklin with three straight kills, the home team took the second set 25-21. Franklin surpassed double-digit kills in the set.
- SET THREE: MSU went up 3-1 after kills from Johnson, Poljan and Bishop. The Nittany Lions traded off to take a 5-3 lead with points of their own. The Spartans went point-for-point with the Lions to find themselves in a 13-13 tie midway through the set. Franklin and Kabengele each had a pair of kills while Johnson and Gros earned Spartan points back-to-back to hold on tight in set three. Kabengele surpassed double-digit kills with a big go-ahead for MSU to take a 17-16 lead. The Spartans were the first to reach 20 points in the set after a Penn State attack error, forcing a Nittany Lions timeout. Thanks to Franklin putting in more work at the net, Michigan State took the third, set 25-21.
- SET FOUR: Rebecka Poljan landed her fifth kill of the match to help keep the Spartans alive in the fourth set. Michigan State held on to a one-point lead several times in the set, with Penn State climbing back to tie at the 10th point. Franklin went over 20 kills in the set, along with Kabengele earning a double-double to help the Green & White go up 15-13 midway through the set. Michigan State again earned the 20th point first, capped off by a service ace by Poljan to take a 21-18 lead and draw another Penn State timeout. A fifth set was on the horizon as the Spartans won 25-20.
- SET FIVE: Penn State brought back the fight in the final set. After going up 4-1, Michigan State came back to tie it at 8-8 thanks in part to Sarah Franklin's 26th kill, setting her new career best. The match came down to the wire as Penn State fell behind with back-to-back attacking errors and Kabengele earned another kill for the Green & White. An unfortunate Spartan error put the Nittany Lions ahead 12-10, but Kabengele came up with major points again for the Spartans. Another timely error brought the game to match point, which went in Penn State's favor with a final kill by Jonni Parker.
Team Stats
MSU
PSU
Kills
69
71
Errors
19
21
Attempts
158
171
Hitting %
.316
.292
Points
82
85
Assists
65
66
Aces
3
3
Blocks
10
11
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
27
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballSecond Serve: Danyle Courtley's Comeback | Spartans All-Access
Tuesday, September 30
Kristen Kelsay Postgame Comments | Michigan
Saturday, September 27
Celebrating the Past | Alumni Weekend | Spartans All-Access
Friday, September 26
Kristen Kelsay Postgame Comments | Chicago State
Sunday, August 31