Saturday, October 14
Coralville, Iowa
6 PM CT
Michigan State University
12-7,4-4Big Ten
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Iowa
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Michigan St.
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Volleyball Returns to Win Column at Iowa
10/14/2023 10:42:00 PM | Volleyball
CORALVILLE, Iowa – Michigan State volleyball returned to its winning ways on Saturday night, defeating Iowa 3-1 (23-25, 25-13, 30-28, 25-23) from inside Xtream Arena. Freshman outside hitter Taylah Holdem crossed the 20-kill threshold for the third time this season and senior libero Nalani Iosia tied her career-high in digs with 27.
"I loved our gritty close," Michigan State head volleyball coach Leah Johnson said. "We've been talking about taking forceful moves and trusting what has been working at the end of sets, really leaning into our strengths. We won two close sets in side-out battles because we trusted our strengths."
The Spartans improve to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in B1G play. MSU has already matched its conference win total from a year ago with 12 matches remaining. Iowa falls to 8-12 overall and 0-8 in conference play.
"To get a road win like this, against a team that is similar to us battling-wise, I think that's huge," Johnson said. "We stayed really composed and within our game, and we have to do the same back at home on Wednesday."
Michigan State out-hit the Hawkeyes .259 to .151 and finished with 68 kills to Iowa's 45. MSU held a slight advantage in the dig column, 72 to 68, while the two sides each finished with eight blocks.
Junior outside hitter Grace Kelly nearly joined Holdem with 20+ kills, finishing with 19 to Holdem's 22. Holdem hit an efficient .432 (22-3-44) and posted a double-double with 12 digs. Kelly's eight digs were a new career best. Junior outside hitter Aliyah Moore also finished with double-digit kills, adding 11 to MSU's final tally.
Fifth year middle blocker Amani McArthur tied for the match-high with six blocks, while her two solo blocks led all players on Saturday night. Junior setter Rachel Muisenga set a new career-high in assists with 23, while junior setter Julia Bishop led the team with 26.
Neither team led by more than three points in set one as the two sides went point-for-point throughout the first. A 9-6 Hawkeye lead was the largest of the set before a 4-1 run by MSU tied things back up at 10-10 following kills by sophomore middle blocker Evie Doezema, Kelly and Holdem. Michigan State looked to take advantage of a late Iowa attacking error that tied the set at 23-23, but the Hawkeyes would score the final two points of the frame to take it, 25-23.
Michigan State got back on track in the second hitting an impressive .483 and holding Iowa to just .045 hitting. Holdem had seven of her kills in the second. MSU opened up a 6-1 lead early and never looked back, as the closest Iowa would get was three points at 6-3. A 5-0 Spartan run that featured three Holdem kills put MSU up 13-5 mid-way through the set. Both sides traded points late, but an ace by Kelly shifted momentum toward the Spartans for good at 19-9 and forced a Hawkeye timeout.
Set three was an instant classic as Michigan State came away on top 30-28. The set featured 12 ties and eight different lead changes. Iowa built a 9-4 lead early to force an MSU timeout, but the Spartans came out of the break stronger to tie the match up at 14-14 on a kill by sophomore middle blocker Nil Okur. Michigan State briefly led 15-14 before Iowa responded with a 3-0 run of its own to lead 17-15. Each side traded points until a 4-0 Spartan run put MSU in front 23-21. Iowa didn't give up, scoring three straight to go on set point before Michigan State would score two to take a 25-24 lead. The Spartans successfully defended three Hawkeye set points in the frame before Moore and Holdem came through with back-to-back kills to close things out.
Michigan State built at 10-6 lead early on in set four before Iowa forced a Spartan timeout by tying the frame up at 10-10. MSU responded well out of the break to out-score the Hawkeyes 9-5 over the ensuing 14 points and reclaimed an 18-15 advantage. Iowa wouldn't go down without a fight however, out-scoring Michigan State 6-2 after the Spartans took a 20-17 lead to find themselves leading late at 23-22. Kelly came through in the clutch, securing back-to-back-to-back kills to seal the match for MSU.
UP NEXT
Michigan State returns to East Lansing for Wednesday night's annual Battle at Breslin against Michigan. First serve from the Breslin Student Events Center is set for 6:00 p.m. Free 'Battle at Breslin' t-shirts will be available at the entry gates while supplies last.
"I loved our gritty close," Michigan State head volleyball coach Leah Johnson said. "We've been talking about taking forceful moves and trusting what has been working at the end of sets, really leaning into our strengths. We won two close sets in side-out battles because we trusted our strengths."
The Spartans improve to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in B1G play. MSU has already matched its conference win total from a year ago with 12 matches remaining. Iowa falls to 8-12 overall and 0-8 in conference play.
"To get a road win like this, against a team that is similar to us battling-wise, I think that's huge," Johnson said. "We stayed really composed and within our game, and we have to do the same back at home on Wednesday."
Michigan State out-hit the Hawkeyes .259 to .151 and finished with 68 kills to Iowa's 45. MSU held a slight advantage in the dig column, 72 to 68, while the two sides each finished with eight blocks.
Junior outside hitter Grace Kelly nearly joined Holdem with 20+ kills, finishing with 19 to Holdem's 22. Holdem hit an efficient .432 (22-3-44) and posted a double-double with 12 digs. Kelly's eight digs were a new career best. Junior outside hitter Aliyah Moore also finished with double-digit kills, adding 11 to MSU's final tally.
Fifth year middle blocker Amani McArthur tied for the match-high with six blocks, while her two solo blocks led all players on Saturday night. Junior setter Rachel Muisenga set a new career-high in assists with 23, while junior setter Julia Bishop led the team with 26.
Neither team led by more than three points in set one as the two sides went point-for-point throughout the first. A 9-6 Hawkeye lead was the largest of the set before a 4-1 run by MSU tied things back up at 10-10 following kills by sophomore middle blocker Evie Doezema, Kelly and Holdem. Michigan State looked to take advantage of a late Iowa attacking error that tied the set at 23-23, but the Hawkeyes would score the final two points of the frame to take it, 25-23.
Michigan State got back on track in the second hitting an impressive .483 and holding Iowa to just .045 hitting. Holdem had seven of her kills in the second. MSU opened up a 6-1 lead early and never looked back, as the closest Iowa would get was three points at 6-3. A 5-0 Spartan run that featured three Holdem kills put MSU up 13-5 mid-way through the set. Both sides traded points late, but an ace by Kelly shifted momentum toward the Spartans for good at 19-9 and forced a Hawkeye timeout.
Amani McArthur with the solo stuff to give us a 23-11 lead in set two!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/qYypgxmWvV
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) October 15, 2023
Set three was an instant classic as Michigan State came away on top 30-28. The set featured 12 ties and eight different lead changes. Iowa built a 9-4 lead early to force an MSU timeout, but the Spartans came out of the break stronger to tie the match up at 14-14 on a kill by sophomore middle blocker Nil Okur. Michigan State briefly led 15-14 before Iowa responded with a 3-0 run of its own to lead 17-15. Each side traded points until a 4-0 Spartan run put MSU in front 23-21. Iowa didn't give up, scoring three straight to go on set point before Michigan State would score two to take a 25-24 lead. The Spartans successfully defended three Hawkeye set points in the frame before Moore and Holdem came through with back-to-back kills to close things out.
Michigan State built at 10-6 lead early on in set four before Iowa forced a Spartan timeout by tying the frame up at 10-10. MSU responded well out of the break to out-score the Hawkeyes 9-5 over the ensuing 14 points and reclaimed an 18-15 advantage. Iowa wouldn't go down without a fight however, out-scoring Michigan State 6-2 after the Spartans took a 20-17 lead to find themselves leading late at 23-22. Kelly came through in the clutch, securing back-to-back-to-back kills to seal the match for MSU.
UP NEXT
Michigan State returns to East Lansing for Wednesday night's annual Battle at Breslin against Michigan. First serve from the Breslin Student Events Center is set for 6:00 p.m. Free 'Battle at Breslin' t-shirts will be available at the entry gates while supplies last.
Join us one week from today for the annual Battle at Breslin!
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) October 11, 2023
Pick up your free Battle at Breslin t-shirt at the gate while supplies last.
Get your tickets ⬇️
🎟️: https://t.co/VyiqhfmsaV#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/LxirDU2dTi
Team Stats
MSU
Iowa
Kills
68
45
Errors
23
21
Attempts
174
159
Hitting %
.259
.151
Points
80.0
59.0
Assists
59
39
Aces
4
6
Blocks
8
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
22
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
19
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
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