Saturday, November 25
East Lansing, Mich.
6 PM
Michigan State University
17-14,9-11Big Ten
0
vs
3
Purdue
21-8,15-5Big Ten
1
2
3
F
Purdue
26
25
25
3
Michigan St.
24
12
18
0
Photo by: Brittney Kimball
Volleyball Concludes 2023 Campaign
11/25/2023 10:02:00 PM | Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State volleyball wrapped up its 2023 campaign against Purdue on Saturday night, losing 3-0 (26-24, 25-12, 25-18) from the Breslin Student Events Center. The Spartans honored their lone graduating senior, Amani McArthur, following the conclusion of the match.
"We said good-bye to some special people in our program tonight," Michigan State head volleyball coach Leah Johnson said.
Michigan State also honored its senior student managers and athletic trainers following Saturday's match. Former student-athlete Lia Moore was also honored during the ceremony. Moore's playing career was cut short following her freshman season, but she remained close to the program throughout the remainder of her time at Michigan State.
"I'm excited for 2024, but I'm going to take a moment to reflect on how special of a year it has been for our program," Johnson said. "It's hard to do what we did coming from where we were at two years ago."
Michigan State's season concludes with an overall record of 17-14 along with a 9-11 mark in B1G play. It's the most overall wins by the program since 2018 and the most conference victories for the Spartans since 2017 as the team showed progress in its second season under Johnson.
Several Spartans conclude the season with their names in the MSU record book. Freshman outside hitter Taylah Holdem finishes the season ranked No. 3 in kills by an MSU first year (399) and kills per set (3.44). Holdem also finished No. 9 in aces by a freshman with 33. Senior libero Nalani Iosia posted 483 digs, ranking No. 8 all-time in single season digs at MSU, and her 4.16 digs per set ranks No. 9.
McArthur hit .346 this season to finish with the No. 10 hitting season in program history. Freshman setter Cameron Berger posted 6.34 assists per set to rank No. 9 a by Spartan freshman and her 374 total assists ranks No. 10.
Junior outside hitter Grace Kelly led MSU with eight kills on Saturday and was followed by seven from Holdem. Holdem added three aces and a block to her final tally. Freshman middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig had an efficient night hitting .625 with five kills and a pair of blocks. Junior setter Julia Bishop posted 19 assists and Iosia finished with a match-high 17 digs.
Neither squad led by more than three points in a closely contested first set that saw the Boilermakers come away on top, 26-24. Purdue led 11-8 in the early goings, but a 5-1 MSU run capped off by a Holdem kill gave the Spartans a 13-12 advantage. Both sides went back-and-forth until a 4-2 Spartan run gave MSU a 23-20 lead late in the set. Three consecutive Purdue points tied things up at 23-all before a Holdem kill put Michigan State on set point, 24-23. The Boilermakers closed out the frame earning three straight points.
It was a strong start to set two that inspired the Spartan crowd as Holdem rattled off back-to-back-to-back aces to give MSU an early 4-1 lead. A 17-3 Purdue swing however would be too much for Michigan State to overcome as the Spartans would trail 20-8 late. The Boilermakers would ultimately take the set, 25-12.
Set three started off as a back-and-forth affair with the Spartans trailing by just one early on, 7-6, after a kill by Kulig. Michigan State trailed by three late, 20-17, after a kill by Kelly as the Spartans looked to pull things back to even and forth a fourth set. Purdue would end the match on a 5-1 run to take set three, 25-18.
"We said good-bye to some special people in our program tonight," Michigan State head volleyball coach Leah Johnson said.
Michigan State also honored its senior student managers and athletic trainers following Saturday's match. Former student-athlete Lia Moore was also honored during the ceremony. Moore's playing career was cut short following her freshman season, but she remained close to the program throughout the remainder of her time at Michigan State.
We love our seniors 💚#GoGreen | #Honor pic.twitter.com/2pBy8TPFVr
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 26, 2023
"I'm excited for 2024, but I'm going to take a moment to reflect on how special of a year it has been for our program," Johnson said. "It's hard to do what we did coming from where we were at two years ago."
Michigan State's season concludes with an overall record of 17-14 along with a 9-11 mark in B1G play. It's the most overall wins by the program since 2018 and the most conference victories for the Spartans since 2017 as the team showed progress in its second season under Johnson.
Several Spartans conclude the season with their names in the MSU record book. Freshman outside hitter Taylah Holdem finishes the season ranked No. 3 in kills by an MSU first year (399) and kills per set (3.44). Holdem also finished No. 9 in aces by a freshman with 33. Senior libero Nalani Iosia posted 483 digs, ranking No. 8 all-time in single season digs at MSU, and her 4.16 digs per set ranks No. 9.
McArthur hit .346 this season to finish with the No. 10 hitting season in program history. Freshman setter Cameron Berger posted 6.34 assists per set to rank No. 9 a by Spartan freshman and her 374 total assists ranks No. 10.
Junior outside hitter Grace Kelly led MSU with eight kills on Saturday and was followed by seven from Holdem. Holdem added three aces and a block to her final tally. Freshman middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig had an efficient night hitting .625 with five kills and a pair of blocks. Junior setter Julia Bishop posted 19 assists and Iosia finished with a match-high 17 digs.
Neither squad led by more than three points in a closely contested first set that saw the Boilermakers come away on top, 26-24. Purdue led 11-8 in the early goings, but a 5-1 MSU run capped off by a Holdem kill gave the Spartans a 13-12 advantage. Both sides went back-and-forth until a 4-2 Spartan run gave MSU a 23-20 lead late in the set. Three consecutive Purdue points tied things up at 23-all before a Holdem kill put Michigan State on set point, 24-23. The Boilermakers closed out the frame earning three straight points.
It was a strong start to set two that inspired the Spartan crowd as Holdem rattled off back-to-back-to-back aces to give MSU an early 4-1 lead. A 17-3 Purdue swing however would be too much for Michigan State to overcome as the Spartans would trail 20-8 late. The Boilermakers would ultimately take the set, 25-12.
Make that back-to-back-to-back aces for the FRESHMAN Taylah Holdem to open set two!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/rDNDrxzFGp
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 25, 2023
Set three started off as a back-and-forth affair with the Spartans trailing by just one early on, 7-6, after a kill by Kulig. Michigan State trailed by three late, 20-17, after a kill by Kelly as the Spartans looked to pull things back to even and forth a fourth set. Purdue would end the match on a 5-1 run to take set three, 25-18.
Team Stats
Purdue
MSU
Kills
41
32
Errors
8
20
Attempts
102
111
Hitting %
.324
.108
Points
57.0
40.0
Assists
40
30
Aces
5
5
Blocks
11
3
Game Leaders
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
3
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMB
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