Friday, September 2
Annapolis, Md.
11:00 am
Michigan State University
4-0,0-0Big Ten
3
vs
0
UAlbany
0-4,0-0America East
1
2
3
F
UAlbany
18
24
10
0
Michigan St.
25
26
25
3
Spartans Sink Navy on Day One of Kristen Dickmann Invitational
9/2/2022 11:00:00 PM | Volleyball
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Michigan State volleyball team went 2-0 on Friday, opening the 10th playing of the Kristen Dickmann Invitational with wins over UAlbany (3-0; 25-18, 26-24, 25-10) and Navy (3-1; 25-10, 25-17, 18-25, 25-14) in front of a raucous Naval Academy crowd. With a pair of wins Michigan State opens its season 5-0 for the first time since 2016.
MSU out-hit UAlbany, .341 to .061 in the first match of the day, including a third set in which the Spartans hit .722 and held the Great Danes to a -.120 hitting percentage. Michigan State out-blocked UAlbany 18-to-10, led by six blocks each from fifth-year Rebecka Poljan and freshman Maradith O'Gorman.
O'Gorman was one of three Spartans to finish match one with double-digit kills (11) joining sophomore Aliyah Moore (12) and Poljan (10). The Great Dane had no answer to Poljan who hit .538 for the match. Fifth-year Zoe Nunez posted a match-high 33 assists for the Spartans, while junior Nalani Iosia, freshman Jayhlin Swain and O'Gorman each had seven assists.
Michigan State controlled the entirety of the first two sets against Navy on Friday night, holding the Mids to a -.208 attacking percentage in the first set. Freshman Nil Okur was dominant on the block with five first set block assists. The Spartans out-hit Navy .329 to .151 overall and used 17 services aces to their advantage as opposed to just two for Navy.
Freshman Evie Doezema led MSU with 11 kills in game two, hitting .316 overall. Sophomore Julia Bishop posted a season-best 15 assists while Nunez added 13. Nunez had a team-best four service aces, while Iosia, Swain and Bishop each had three. Iosia had a match-high 11 digs and Okur had a season-best eight blocks.
Michigan State vs. UAlbany
Set One: The teams went back-and-forth through the early moments of the set, but Michigan State won the race to 10 points and ran with the set from there. Three attacking errors by UAlbany and a Nunez ace gave the Spartans a 12-8 lead. Moore and O'Gorman each had four kills in the first set. Freshman Nil Okur had a pair of blocks.
Set Two: Like set one, the teams were tied early at 11-11. UAlbany took a brief 12-11 lead before the Spartans scored six of the next seven points to take a 17-13 lead. Back-to-back Spartan errors brought the score back to even at 18-18 before the Spartans rattled off three straight points. The set would be tied up as late as 24-24 before Michigan State scored the final two points of the set. O'Gorman put down the set winning kill off an assist from Nunez. Poljan had four kills in the second set for MSU.
Set Three: Michigan State dominated set three, getting out to a 7-0 lead in the set before UAlbany could get on the board. After an O'Gorman kill made it 14-9 in favor of MSU, the Spartans went on an 12-1 run to finish the set, including a 10-0 that made it 23-9 before UAlbany finally broke the MSU scoring streak. Poljan, Moore and O'Gorman each had four kills in the set, with Poljan and O'Gorman each having five blocks. Michigan State hit .722 in the set and held the Great Danes to a -.120 attacking percentage.
Michigan State vs. Navy
Set One: Michigan State controlled set one from start to finish, going on a 9-0 run to lead 19-5, before ultimately winning the set in convincing fashion, 25-10. O'Gorman led all players with four first set kills while Okur added five block assists. MSU held Navy to a -.208 attacking percentage in the first set as the Mids converted on just four kills, with nine errors in 24 total attacks.
Set Two: After the set was tied at 1-1, Michigan State never relinquished the lead in set two. Navy briefly cut the MSU lead to four points, 16-12, but the Spartans slowly built their lead back to as many as nine points, 22-13, late in the set. Moore had four kills for MSU in the second, with Doezema and Poljan each adding three.
Set Three: The Navy student body started packing into Wesley A. Brown Field House prior to the third set, and it worked in Navy's favor. Michigan State had not yet played in front of a crowd that rowdy this season and it showed as Navy took the set 25-18. The Mids led 10-6 before forcing an MSU timeout, but the Spartans brought the score back to 10-10 using a 4-0 run out of the timeout. Navy slowly built upon its lead to win the set by a seven-point difference.
Set Four: Navy briefly led, 3-1, before Michigan State would tie things up at 4-4 and later 6-6. The Spartans went on a 7-0 run after the match was tied at 6-6, growing their advantage to 13-6. Swain posted three aces during that scoring run. MSU used mini 3-0 and 4-0 runs to extend the lead, securing the set by an 11-point difference, 25-14. Doezema had three kills in the match clinching set after she had four kills in the third.
Up Next: Michigan State wraps up play at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational with a 12:00 p.m. against VCU on Saturday, September 3.
MSU out-hit UAlbany, .341 to .061 in the first match of the day, including a third set in which the Spartans hit .722 and held the Great Danes to a -.120 hitting percentage. Michigan State out-blocked UAlbany 18-to-10, led by six blocks each from fifth-year Rebecka Poljan and freshman Maradith O'Gorman.
O'Gorman was one of three Spartans to finish match one with double-digit kills (11) joining sophomore Aliyah Moore (12) and Poljan (10). The Great Dane had no answer to Poljan who hit .538 for the match. Fifth-year Zoe Nunez posted a match-high 33 assists for the Spartans, while junior Nalani Iosia, freshman Jayhlin Swain and O'Gorman each had seven assists.
Michigan State controlled the entirety of the first two sets against Navy on Friday night, holding the Mids to a -.208 attacking percentage in the first set. Freshman Nil Okur was dominant on the block with five first set block assists. The Spartans out-hit Navy .329 to .151 overall and used 17 services aces to their advantage as opposed to just two for Navy.
Freshman Evie Doezema led MSU with 11 kills in game two, hitting .316 overall. Sophomore Julia Bishop posted a season-best 15 assists while Nunez added 13. Nunez had a team-best four service aces, while Iosia, Swain and Bishop each had three. Iosia had a match-high 11 digs and Okur had a season-best eight blocks.
Michigan State vs. UAlbany
Set One: The teams went back-and-forth through the early moments of the set, but Michigan State won the race to 10 points and ran with the set from there. Three attacking errors by UAlbany and a Nunez ace gave the Spartans a 12-8 lead. Moore and O'Gorman each had four kills in the first set. Freshman Nil Okur had a pair of blocks.
Set Two: Like set one, the teams were tied early at 11-11. UAlbany took a brief 12-11 lead before the Spartans scored six of the next seven points to take a 17-13 lead. Back-to-back Spartan errors brought the score back to even at 18-18 before the Spartans rattled off three straight points. The set would be tied up as late as 24-24 before Michigan State scored the final two points of the set. O'Gorman put down the set winning kill off an assist from Nunez. Poljan had four kills in the second set for MSU.
Set Three: Michigan State dominated set three, getting out to a 7-0 lead in the set before UAlbany could get on the board. After an O'Gorman kill made it 14-9 in favor of MSU, the Spartans went on an 12-1 run to finish the set, including a 10-0 that made it 23-9 before UAlbany finally broke the MSU scoring streak. Poljan, Moore and O'Gorman each had four kills in the set, with Poljan and O'Gorman each having five blocks. Michigan State hit .722 in the set and held the Great Danes to a -.120 attacking percentage.
Michigan State vs. Navy
Set One: Michigan State controlled set one from start to finish, going on a 9-0 run to lead 19-5, before ultimately winning the set in convincing fashion, 25-10. O'Gorman led all players with four first set kills while Okur added five block assists. MSU held Navy to a -.208 attacking percentage in the first set as the Mids converted on just four kills, with nine errors in 24 total attacks.
Set Two: After the set was tied at 1-1, Michigan State never relinquished the lead in set two. Navy briefly cut the MSU lead to four points, 16-12, but the Spartans slowly built their lead back to as many as nine points, 22-13, late in the set. Moore had four kills for MSU in the second, with Doezema and Poljan each adding three.
Set Three: The Navy student body started packing into Wesley A. Brown Field House prior to the third set, and it worked in Navy's favor. Michigan State had not yet played in front of a crowd that rowdy this season and it showed as Navy took the set 25-18. The Mids led 10-6 before forcing an MSU timeout, but the Spartans brought the score back to 10-10 using a 4-0 run out of the timeout. Navy slowly built upon its lead to win the set by a seven-point difference.
Set Four: Navy briefly led, 3-1, before Michigan State would tie things up at 4-4 and later 6-6. The Spartans went on a 7-0 run after the match was tied at 6-6, growing their advantage to 13-6. Swain posted three aces during that scoring run. MSU used mini 3-0 and 4-0 runs to extend the lead, securing the set by an 11-point difference, 25-14. Doezema had three kills in the match clinching set after she had four kills in the third.
Up Next: Michigan State wraps up play at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational with a 12:00 p.m. against VCU on Saturday, September 3.
Team Stats
ANY
MSU
Kills
24
42
Errors
19
14
Attempts
82
82
Hitting %
.061
.341
Points
37
58
Assists
24
38
Aces
7
6
Blocks
6
10
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
6
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
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DS
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