Spartans Fall at No. 13 BYU

GAME CAPSULE

Michigan State fell to No. 13 Brigham Young in the final match of the BYU invitational on Saturday night in Provo. MSU fell in straight sets, (14-25, 21-25, 19-25) to fall to 4-2 on the year.

The Spartans had to make some last-minute lineup adjustments, a tough pill to swallow after two strong matches on Friday that saw MSU beginning to find its mojo. Despite the short bench, MSU fought its way into the final two sets.

MSU hit negative for the first time this season (-.029, 30-25-105), with 25 hitting errors. MSU won the blocking battle 6-5.

Cecilee Max-Brown had eight kills to lead the Spartans, adding five digs and a block. Both Molly Johnson and Rebecka Poljan had six kills, as Johnson added six digs. Julia Bishop made her first start, recording 26 assists, seven digs, and four kills.

MSU's All-Tournament Team selections were Poljan and Talia Edmonds.

Michigan State is scheduled to host its next five matches, beginning with B1G/ACC Challenge matches against North Carolina and Duke next weekend at Jenison Field House.

PLAYER HIGHS

Cecilee Max-Brown led the Spartans with eight kills, and five digs
Julia Bishop made her first career start and posted 26 assists, seven digs, and added two blocks and four kills (.571, 4-0-7)
Talia Edmonds had 16 digs

STATS AND STORYLINES

Rebecka Poljan had six kills, three digs, a block, and hit .286.
Grace Danziger saw more time in the back row, coming up with five digs and one assist, recording her first service ace.
Eleanor Stothoff made her MSU debut in the third set.

SET SYNOPSIS

SET ONE: The home team took control from the start, taking an early 7-4 advantage followed by an 8-2 run that allowed for a 15-6 edge. The hosts built that commanding lead on the strength of a .400 hitting percentage, (8-0-20), despite the Spartans did their best to claw back into it. The Cougars got to set point at 24-13, and after a kill by Molly Johnson to stave it off, BYU closed it out with its 25-13 win. BYU settled in to hit .333 (12-1-33) and out-blocked MSU 2-1. Johnson and Max-Brown each had three kills in the set, and Julia Bishop had nine assists and two digs.

SET TWO: BYU raced out to a 16-6 lead in the set, but the Spartans kept chipping away, cutting the lead to eight, then four, and eventually three at 22-19. MSU improved its hitting marginally with 11 kills, and put up a pair of blocks. MSU got within a point at 22-21, but the hosts answered with three straight points to close out the set with a 25-21 win. Max-Brown compiled four kills for MSU in the frame,

SET THREE: MSU took its first lead at 6-5 when Julia Bishop won a joust at the net, went up two on a BYU error, and held the two-point edge through 10-8. BYU regained the lead on a 4-0 run, taking control and running off a 13-2 stretch to push out to a 21-12 lead. MSU fought back in yet again, trimming it to five at 21-17 with a pair of crafty kills from Monks at the net. BYU got to match point at 24-18, but a kill off the block by Gros kept MSU alive. The home team closed it out on the next play for a 3-0 sweep.

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Team Stats

Cecilee Max-Brown

Rebecka Poljan

Molly Johnson

Emma Monks

Players Mentioned

Julia Bishop

Grace Danziger

Talia Edmonds

Molly Johnson

Cecilee Max-Brown

Rebecka Poljan

Eleanor Stothoff