Volleyball Claims Victory at Kristen Dickmann Invitational
9/3/2022 7:53:00 PM | Volleyball
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Michigan State volleyball claimed its second tournament victory of the season on Saturday, defeating VCU in five sets (3-2; 25-14, 25-12, 23-25, 22-25, 15-10) to win the 10th playing of the Kristen Dickmann Invitational. The Spartans improve to 6-0, marking the programs best start to a season since 2012 when the team started the season 12-0.
MSU out-hit VCU .250-to-.126, including an 8-to-6 advantage in services aces. VCU out-blocked the Spartans, 9-to-6. The Spartans saved their best hitting performance for the fifth set, hitting .444 on 10-2-18.
Graduate student Rebecka Poljan was named tournament MVP, while freshmen Evie Doezema and Maradith O'Gorman earned spots on the All-Tournament team.
Doezema led the Spartans with 16 kills on Saturday, followed by 13 from Poljan and 10 from O'Gorman. Poljan hit .500 for the match (13-2-22) while contributing three blocks. Sophomore Julia Bishop led the team in assists with 29 and graduate student Zoe Nunez added 18 as the team played in a 6-2 for the second consecutive match. Junior Nalani Iosia posted a career-best 26 digs.
Michigan State was dominant in the first two sets, defeating VCU by scores of 25-14 and 25-12 respectively. The Spartan defense held VCU to a .000 attacking percentage in the first set and a -.067 in the second set as MSU cruised to victory.
Just as hope looked lost for VCU, the Rams rallied back to win sets three and four by scores of 25-23 and 25-22. VCU's defense improved as the match went on, scoring six total blocks in sets three and four. Qairo Bentley led the Rams with 11 kills while Corinna Jones posted a team-best 19 assists. Crew Hoffmeier led VCU with 14 digs and Sarah Stratton had a match-high five blocks.
The Spartans used a 5-0 run in the middle of set five to take an 8-4 lead before the teams swapped sides. O'Gorman had three of her 10 kills in the fifth. A pair of kills from Doezema gave MSU a 14-8 lead before senior Emma Monks finished the match with a kill.
UP NEXT: Michigan State hits the road against next weekend, traveling to North Carolina for matches against North Carolina and Duke. The Spartans play at North Carolina at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, September 9 before meeting Duke at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 10.
MSU out-hit VCU .250-to-.126, including an 8-to-6 advantage in services aces. VCU out-blocked the Spartans, 9-to-6. The Spartans saved their best hitting performance for the fifth set, hitting .444 on 10-2-18.
Graduate student Rebecka Poljan was named tournament MVP, while freshmen Evie Doezema and Maradith O'Gorman earned spots on the All-Tournament team.
Doezema led the Spartans with 16 kills on Saturday, followed by 13 from Poljan and 10 from O'Gorman. Poljan hit .500 for the match (13-2-22) while contributing three blocks. Sophomore Julia Bishop led the team in assists with 29 and graduate student Zoe Nunez added 18 as the team played in a 6-2 for the second consecutive match. Junior Nalani Iosia posted a career-best 26 digs.
Michigan State was dominant in the first two sets, defeating VCU by scores of 25-14 and 25-12 respectively. The Spartan defense held VCU to a .000 attacking percentage in the first set and a -.067 in the second set as MSU cruised to victory.
Just as hope looked lost for VCU, the Rams rallied back to win sets three and four by scores of 25-23 and 25-22. VCU's defense improved as the match went on, scoring six total blocks in sets three and four. Qairo Bentley led the Rams with 11 kills while Corinna Jones posted a team-best 19 assists. Crew Hoffmeier led VCU with 14 digs and Sarah Stratton had a match-high five blocks.
The Spartans used a 5-0 run in the middle of set five to take an 8-4 lead before the teams swapped sides. O'Gorman had three of her 10 kills in the fifth. A pair of kills from Doezema gave MSU a 14-8 lead before senior Emma Monks finished the match with a kill.
UP NEXT: Michigan State hits the road against next weekend, traveling to North Carolina for matches against North Carolina and Duke. The Spartans play at North Carolina at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, September 9 before meeting Duke at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 10.
Team Stats
MSU
VCU
Kills
63
46
Errors
24
27
Attempts
156
151
Hitting %
.250
.126
Points
77
61
Assists
59
44
Aces
8
6
Blocks
6
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Players Mentioned
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