Spartans Fall in Series Finale at Iowa, 3-0

GAME CAPSULE

Homestanding Iowa earned a split in the season series with Michigan State on Saturday, sweeping the Spartans by a 3-0 margin (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) to earn a victory in the Hawkeyes' final home game in 2021.

The Spartans (3-10) outblocked their hosts 12-5, but hit .147 compared to .202 for the home team . Iowa won a pair of tight 25-22 decisions in the first two sets, but had a bit more room in the final frame, taking that by six points to earn the sweep.

MSU got eight kills, seven digs, and a pair of blocks from Meredith Norris, and three other players had five kills each (Biamba Kabengele, Alyssa Chronowski, and Lauren Swartz); Kabengele and Chronowski each had three blocks as well. Naya Gros led all players with six stuffs and she added three kills. Emma Monks had four kills, four blocks, and an ace in the third set.

Edina Schmidt led Iowa with 12 kills and six digs, and Iowa had eight terminations each from Blythe Reints and Hannah Clayton. Joslyn Boyer had a match-best 25 digs.

The Spartans return to East Lansing for the final weekend of the season where they will host Rutgers in a two-match set.

PLAYER HIGHS

Meredith Norris had eight kills , seven digs and a pair of blocks.
Alyssa Chronowski and Biamba Kabengele each had eight kills and three blocks.
Setter Celia Cullen had 16 assists and six digs, while Elena Shklyar had 14 assists and two digs.
Jamye Cox had a team-best 14 digs, and DS Lauryn Gibbs had eight.

STATS AND STORYLINES

Rebecka Poljan had three kills, hit .429, and a pair of blocks in the first two sets, and Emma Monks replaced her in the third and posted four kills, four blocks, and an ace.
MSU had been 3-2 on the road this season, but could not get its second road sweep of the year.
The Spartans have just two matches remaining in the 2021 spring season – the season finales against Rutgers at Jenison Field House next Friday and Saturday. The Spartan seniors will be honored in a post-match ceremony on Saturday evening.

SET SYNOPSIS

SET ONE: MSU opened up a four-point lead at 10-6 by posting back-to-back blocks by Gros and Kabengele, and led 15-11 after consecutive kills from Poljan. The Hawkeyes used a 5-1 run to tie the set at 16-all, and had a seven-point service run by libero Joslyn Boyer to pull ahead 21-16. With the home team up 22-17, the Spartans got the side out and Meredith Norris put together a serving streak of her own, which was aided by kills from Kabengele and Chronowski and a block by Gros and Chronowski that tied things up at 22. The home team got back-to-back kills from Amiya Jones and a closeout kill from Audrey Black to take the 25-22 victory. Lauren Swartz had three of MSU's kills in the set, and Naya Gros had four of her six blocks in the frame.

SET TWO: Iowa took the early lead from the opening serve of the second frame, and led by as many as four (10-6). MSU Battled back to tie things up at 12-12, and with MSU within a point at 15-14, Iowa used a 3-4-1 run to put some separation between the clubs. MSU got back within ttwo on a block by Norris and Poljan that made it 20-18, but another small run for the Hawkeyes put four of the next five points on the board and made it 24-19. A kill and a block by Gros fended off set point and brought MSU back within 24-22, but a Spartan error gave the set to Iowa. Norris was the hot hand with eight kills, three digs, and a block for MSU in the second and Lauryn Gibbs had six of her digs.

SET THREE: In a set that featured 11 tie scores and six lead changes – both of those numbers higher than the first two sets combined – Iowa was able to post its most comfortable set win, 25-19. Neither team could pull ahead by more than a point until a kill by Courtney Buzzerio and two from Edina Schmidt gave Iowa a 14-11 edge. Schmidt got the kill for a sideout that kept it at three (15-12), and then served up an ace and got a kill from Blythe Rients that made it 17-12. Iowa maintained that five-point edge, and with Maddie Slagle on the service line, got to set point with an ace and a kill by Buzzerio (24-18). Monks fended off the end of the match with a kill, but Hannah Clayton put it away for Iowa, as it earned the split. Monks had four kills and four blocks in that final frame.

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Team Stats

Meredith Norris

Lauren Swartz

Alyssa Chronowski

Biamba Kabengele

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Chronowski

Jamye Cox

Celia Cullen

Lauryn Gibbs

Naya Gros

Biamba Kabengele

Emma Monks

Meredith Norris

Rebecka Poljan

Elena Shklyar

Lauren Swartz

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Chronowski

Jamye Cox

Celia Cullen

Lauryn Gibbs

Naya Gros

Biamba Kabengele

Emma Monks

Meredith Norris

Rebecka Poljan

Elena Shklyar

Lauren Swartz