Friday, August 27
7 pm
Michigan State University
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Western Michigan
0-1,0-0MAC
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Western Mich.
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Michigan St.
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31
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Spartans Take Lead, Then Rally For 3-0 Sweep of Western Michigan
8/27/2021 9:29:00 PM | Volleyball
GAME CAPSULE
Michigan State took a 2-0 match lead and then rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final frame to secure a 3-0 sweep of Western Michigan (25-15, 25-22, 31-29) in the season opener for both teams.
MSU saw big contributions throughout the lineup – setter Celia Cullen posted a double-double, guiding her team to a .299 hitting percentage. The Spartans out-blocked the Broncos 7-4 and held their visitors to a .164 hitting percentage.
The Spartans hit a combined .391 over the first two sets, but Western Michigan came out in the third on fire and built leads of four, six, and eventually seven to lead 17-10 and look like they may force a fourth set. MSU outscored their guests 21-12 over the balance of the game, with 23 digs (after a combined 22 in the first two sets) and three of its seven blocks.
PLAYER HIGHS
STATS AND STORYLINES
SET SYNOPSIS
Michigan State took a 2-0 match lead and then rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final frame to secure a 3-0 sweep of Western Michigan (25-15, 25-22, 31-29) in the season opener for both teams.
MSU saw big contributions throughout the lineup – setter Celia Cullen posted a double-double, guiding her team to a .299 hitting percentage. The Spartans out-blocked the Broncos 7-4 and held their visitors to a .164 hitting percentage.
The Spartans hit a combined .391 over the first two sets, but Western Michigan came out in the third on fire and built leads of four, six, and eventually seven to lead 17-10 and look like they may force a fourth set. MSU outscored their guests 21-12 over the balance of the game, with 23 digs (after a combined 22 in the first two sets) and three of its seven blocks.
PLAYER HIGHS
- Sarah Franklin had 13 kills, hit .321, and had eight digs.
- Celia Cullen produced 33 assists and 10 digs for a double-double.
- Biamba Kabengele had 10 digs, six kills, and a pair of service aces.
STATS AND STORYLINES
- MSU's middles Naya Gros and Rebecka Poljan had a hand in five of MSU's seven blocks. Poljan added two aces, seven kills and hit .429.
- Emma Monks had four kills, hit .571, and a pair of solo blocks.
- MSU served up seven aces,
- Talia Edmonds had seven of her 13 digs in the third set.
SET SYNOPSIS
- SET ONE: MSU ran out to a 9-4 lead on a 6-0 scoring run, with Sarah Frankliln putting down a pair of kills and Rebecka Poljan contributing a kill and an ace. The Spartans led by six at 15-9, rolling up three service aces and hitting .467 (8-1-15) to that point of the frame. Western took the first two points after the break to trim it to four, but the Spartans got the points right back on kills by Franklin and Poljan. With MSU leading 23-15, back to back errors by the visitors handed the Spartans the set, 25-15. Sarah Franklin had five kills on six swings, while Biamba Kabengele had a pair of kills and three digs. Maggie King had five of the nine kills for the Broncos
- SET TWO: MSU and the Broncos played a much tighter second set, with MSU leading by just two at the 15-point mark despite hitting .382. Western tied things up at 15-15, but the visitors committed back-to-back errors after a Kabengele termination to allow MSU to go up 18-15. The Spartans got a big solo block from Emma Monks to win the race to 20, and then Franklin gave her squad a 22-18 lead with a putback that forced the Broncos into a time out. Cecilee Max-Brown got the Spartans to set point, and Western fought it off with a Maggie King kill before Max-Brown put down set point. Kabengele and Franklin each had three kills for MSU, while Kabengele added three digs.
- SET THREE: Western Michigan ran out of the gates early, building a six-point edge at 10-4 and holding a seven-point edge at 15-8. MSU was held to just .095 in the first portion of the frame, as the visitors rolled up eight kills to build the lead. MSU caught fire and showed resolve, trimming the WMU lead to two, then one at 24-23 on a Franklin service ace; a kill by Max-Brown tied things up for MSU at 24-all. Western took the advantage but served up another error, leaving things at 25-25; MSU returned the favor with a net violation, but then tied things at 26-26 on a kill by Kabengele, her sixth. The teams went all the way to a 29-all tie, and MSU closed it out on a kill by Max-Brown and a Bronco error. MSU trailed by as many as seven points and rallied to win the set 31-29. MSU got a balanced effort up and down the lineup, getting four from Franklin, three each from Max-Brown and Poljan, and seven digs from captain Talia Edmonds. King tried to put her Broncos on her back, posting eight kills on 20 swings in the final frame, adding four digs.
Team Stats
WMU
MSU
Kills
39
43
Errors
21
11
Attempts
110
107
Hitting %
.164
.299
Points
49
56.5
Assists
37
40
Aces
6
7
Blocks
4
6.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
S
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