Saturday, November 18
Piscataway, N.J.
6 PM
Michigan State University
17-12,9-9Big Ten
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Rutgers
10-18,2-16Big Ten
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Michigan St.
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Rutgers
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Photo by: Brittney Kimball
Volleyball Bounces Back to Defeat Rutgers in Five
11/18/2023 9:28:00 PM | Volleyball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Michigan State volleyball trailed 2-0 in Piscataway on Saturday night but would not be denied victory, defeating Rutgers 3-2 (20-25, 17-25, 25-17, 25-13, 15-10) in a comeback effort from College Avenue Gym. Establishing a connection with the middle blockers proved to be the biggest factor in turning the tides as the Spartan middles combined for 24 total kills with 17 coming in the final three sets.
"It wasn't the start we wanted tonight, but after that second set we were able to come together as a team," Senior captain Nalani Iosia said. "Every single one of us had to step up in our roles and manage points better. When we started leaning on each other, that's when we started playing Spartan volleyball."
With a win Michigan State improves to 17-11 overall and 9-9 in B1G action. Rutgers falls to 10-18 overall and 2-16 in conference matches.
Michigan State was led by freshman outside hitter Taylah Holdem's 17 kills. Holdem added three blocks and a service ace, along with five digs to fill up the stat sheet. Junior opposite Aliyah Moore was second on the team in kills with 13 and got hot late with eight of her kills coming in sets three and four.
Starting middle blockers Amani McArthur and Zuzanna Kulig each had 12 kills for MSU. McArthur led all players with six blocks, while Kulig's 12 kills represents a new career-high for the freshman. Iosia posted a match-high 15 digs and freshman outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska added 11.
Three setters saw action for the Spartans, with junior Julia Bishop leading the charge with 32 assists and 13 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Freshman Cameron Berger helped shift the momentum, entering the match in set three and finishing with 14 assists. Junior Rachel Muisenga added six assists. Both Bishop and Berger finished the match with a pair of service aces.
A back-and-forth first set saw Rutgers pull away from the Spartans late to steal it. Michigan State led 17-16 after back-to-back kills by Holdem following the media timeout, but a 4-0 Rutgers run gave the Scarlet Knights a three-point advantage at 20-17. A kill by Doezema and a Rutgers attacking error kept the Spartans within striking distance late down 21-19, but the Scarlet Knights would finish the set earning four of the final five points.
Rutgers built an early lead in set two and didn't look back, taking it 25-17, to go up 2-0 for the match.
Michigan State bounced back in a big way to take set three, 25-17. MSU's middles started to take over the match in the third, with Kulig posting five kills and McArthur leading with six. A 7-2 Spartan run mid-way through the frame gave Michigan State a 20-11 advantage over Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights would try to make things interesting late, using a 5-1 run to pull within six at 22-16. Who else would it be other than MSU's middles McArthur and Kulig to find kills for two of MSU's final three points of the set.
The Spartan comeback continued in the fourth as MSU hit .520 as a team, led by six kills in the set from Holdem and five kills by Moore. An early 4-1 run saw Michigan State build a 12-5 advantage after a kill by Holdem. Rutgers would go on a run of its own to force a Spartan timeout however, cutting MSU's advantage to 14-10. Michigan State responded in a big way out of the timeout with a 6-0 run of its own thanks to a strong service series by Berger. With a 20-10 lead, Michigan State would outscore the Scarlet Knights 5-3 over the remainder of the set. Holdem finished things for the Spartans with back-to-back kills to force set five.
Rutgers led 8-7 at the fifth set side change after the sides traded points in the first half of the frame. Trailing by one, Michigan State turned things up a notch to score eight of the final 10 points in Piscataway.
Back-to-back Holdem kills forced Rutgers to call its first timeout of the fifth, and a block by Holdem and McArthur that put the Spartans up 13-9 caused the Scarlet Knights to call their final breather. An ace by Bishop put MSU on match point before a Rutgers attacking error ended it.
UP NEXT
Michigan State's regular season concludes next weekend at home inside the Breslin Center. Action kicks off Friday, November 24 at 1:00 p.m. when MSU meets Indiana. The Spartan seniors will be honored against Purdue on Saturday, November 25 with first serve at 6:00 p.m.
"It wasn't the start we wanted tonight, but after that second set we were able to come together as a team," Senior captain Nalani Iosia said. "Every single one of us had to step up in our roles and manage points better. When we started leaning on each other, that's when we started playing Spartan volleyball."
With a win Michigan State improves to 17-11 overall and 9-9 in B1G action. Rutgers falls to 10-18 overall and 2-16 in conference matches.
R U KIDDING ME?!
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 19, 2023
What a comeback 🤯#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/I65QhQFXuG
Michigan State was led by freshman outside hitter Taylah Holdem's 17 kills. Holdem added three blocks and a service ace, along with five digs to fill up the stat sheet. Junior opposite Aliyah Moore was second on the team in kills with 13 and got hot late with eight of her kills coming in sets three and four.
Starting middle blockers Amani McArthur and Zuzanna Kulig each had 12 kills for MSU. McArthur led all players with six blocks, while Kulig's 12 kills represents a new career-high for the freshman. Iosia posted a match-high 15 digs and freshman outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska added 11.
Three setters saw action for the Spartans, with junior Julia Bishop leading the charge with 32 assists and 13 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Freshman Cameron Berger helped shift the momentum, entering the match in set three and finishing with 14 assists. Junior Rachel Muisenga added six assists. Both Bishop and Berger finished the match with a pair of service aces.
A back-and-forth first set saw Rutgers pull away from the Spartans late to steal it. Michigan State led 17-16 after back-to-back kills by Holdem following the media timeout, but a 4-0 Rutgers run gave the Scarlet Knights a three-point advantage at 20-17. A kill by Doezema and a Rutgers attacking error kept the Spartans within striking distance late down 21-19, but the Scarlet Knights would finish the set earning four of the final five points.
Rutgers built an early lead in set two and didn't look back, taking it 25-17, to go up 2-0 for the match.
Michigan State bounced back in a big way to take set three, 25-17. MSU's middles started to take over the match in the third, with Kulig posting five kills and McArthur leading with six. A 7-2 Spartan run mid-way through the frame gave Michigan State a 20-11 advantage over Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights would try to make things interesting late, using a 5-1 run to pull within six at 22-16. Who else would it be other than MSU's middles McArthur and Kulig to find kills for two of MSU's final three points of the set.
Amani McArthur is heating up! Here's her fourth kill of the frame to put us up five in the third.#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/iZAhvzX4KL
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 19, 2023
The Spartan comeback continued in the fourth as MSU hit .520 as a team, led by six kills in the set from Holdem and five kills by Moore. An early 4-1 run saw Michigan State build a 12-5 advantage after a kill by Holdem. Rutgers would go on a run of its own to force a Spartan timeout however, cutting MSU's advantage to 14-10. Michigan State responded in a big way out of the timeout with a 6-0 run of its own thanks to a strong service series by Berger. With a 20-10 lead, Michigan State would outscore the Scarlet Knights 5-3 over the remainder of the set. Holdem finished things for the Spartans with back-to-back kills to force set five.
Holdem and Kulig coming up HUGE with the block late in set four!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/2hLzZhTSR7
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 19, 2023
Rutgers led 8-7 at the fifth set side change after the sides traded points in the first half of the frame. Trailing by one, Michigan State turned things up a notch to score eight of the final 10 points in Piscataway.
Holdem's 16th kill of the night gives us a lead in the fifth!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/3CZpwdlK6D
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 19, 2023
Back-to-back Holdem kills forced Rutgers to call its first timeout of the fifth, and a block by Holdem and McArthur that put the Spartans up 13-9 caused the Scarlet Knights to call their final breather. An ace by Bishop put MSU on match point before a Rutgers attacking error ended it.
Julia Bishop from downtown to put us on match point!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/c7qOoyTeD9
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 19, 2023
UP NEXT
Michigan State's regular season concludes next weekend at home inside the Breslin Center. Action kicks off Friday, November 24 at 1:00 p.m. when MSU meets Indiana. The Spartan seniors will be honored against Purdue on Saturday, November 25 with first serve at 6:00 p.m.
Team Stats
MSU
RU
Kills
64
46
Errors
27
20
Attempts
147
129
Hitting %
.252
.202
Points
79.0
58.0
Assists
58
45
Aces
6
2
Blocks
9
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
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/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
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