Saturday, September 2
East Lansing, Mich.
10 AM
Michigan State University
2-2,0-0Big Ten
3
vs
0
Belmont
2-4,0-0MVC
1
2
3
F
Belmont
17
19
7
0
Michigan St.
25
25
25
3
Volleyball Sweeps Day One of Kathy DeBoer Invitational
9/2/2023 10:28:00 PM | Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Two matches, two sweeps for the Michigan State volleyball program on Saturday, Sept. 2 at the inaugural Kathy DeBoer Invitational presented by Auto-Owners Insurance. The Spartans started the day off with a 3-0 victory over Belmont before coming back for a 3-0 win against Syracuse in the night cap.
Michigan State head volleyball coach Leah Johnson earned her 200th career coaching victory following Saturday night's win.
"We got really good production from our outsides today," said Johnson. "Taylah Holdem, I thought was excellent for us. I liked our service game. We tended to end our own runs so that's something for us to work on. Overall, we were pretty balanced, I'd like some more right-side offense, but we're using our middle-lefts well and I think that's the piece that really rounded us out."
Michigan State Athletics hall of famer and women's sports advocate Kathy DeBoer was honored prior to the match, with the head coaches of each team, along with Michigan State VP and Director of Athletics Alan Haller, presenting her with a commemorative ball. The Spartan team viewed a dedicated video alongside DeBoer pre-match.
"Kathy has been a trailblazer her whole life," said Johnson. "Her entire career she's been on the edge and pushing the agenda forward for women. She has always created opportunity and has done so many wonderful things for our sport."
Freshman outside hitter Taylah Holdem turned in two of the best performances of her young Spartan career on Saturday leading the team with 25 kills and hitting .413 on 46 swings. Sophomore defensive specialist Jayhlin Swain matched her career-best of four aces in each of Michigan State's matches to finish the day with eight.
Senior Nalani Iosia led the team in digs Saturday with 32, averaging 5.33 digs per set, while freshman Cameron Berger posted 66 assists on 11.00 per set.
Game One: Michigan State 3, Belmont 0
Michigan State kicked off the 2023 Kathy DeBoer Invitational in style, defeating Belmont in straight sets, 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-7). The Spartans held Belmont's attack to a negative hitting percentage (-.110), the first time an opponent has hit in the negatives against the Spartans since Sept. 18, 2021 against IUPUI (-.041).
Freshman Taylah Holdem paced the Spartans with 13 kills on .524 hitting while fellow first year Karolina Staniszewska joined her in double figures with 10 kills. Sophomore Nil Okur had seven kills along with a match-high six blocks in the Spartan home opener.
Making her second consecutive start, Cameron Berger led all players with 33 assists. Senior Nalani Iosia had 12 first set digs before finishing the match with 22. Sophomore Jayhlin Swain tied a career-high with four service aces on Saturday morning.
Set one was close late with Michigan State holding just an 18-15 advantage over the Bruins. The Spartans got hot late though going on a 7-2 run to close out the set, 25-17. Holdem had a pair of kills late for MSU and had five kills in the first set.
The Spartans took a commanding 12-2 to open set two but Belmont began chipping away at it to eventually tie the set at 16-16. A quick 3-0 run after the tie gave MSU some breathing room before eventually finishing the set on a 6-2 run to win 25-19. Staniszewska had five of her 10 kills in set two while Okur added four.
MSU dominated set three hitting .435 while Belmont was limited to -.318 hitting for the frame. Holdem went a perfect 6-for-6 on swings in set three to increase her total to 13. Junior Grace Kelly brought a spark off the bench with three of her four kills coming in the set. MSU recorded four of its eight blocks in set three to close out the morning match strong.
Game Two: Michigan State 3, Syracuse 0
The Spartans picked up right where they left off in game two on Saturday night, defeating Syracuse in straight sets (25-12, 25-13, 26-24). Michigan State out-hit its opponent for the fourth consecutive match, hitting .425 compared to .155 for the Orange. MSU hit a whopping .792 in set two as the team briefly flirted with a program record for single game hitting.
Holdem once again led the Spartans with a match-high 12 kills hitting .320. Holdem also added two aces and six digs to her final line. Sophomore middle blocker Nil Okur had nine kills on 13 swings to lead the team in hitting among players with 10+ attempts, swinging at a .692 clip.
Berger made her third straight start for the Spartans and had a season-high 33 assists in both matches Saturday. After a 22-dig outburst in game one, Iosia led the team with 10 digs in game two.
Syracuse pulled within three points of MSU in set one, 13-10, but it was all Michigan State from then on out with the Spartans going on a lengthy 12-2 run to close out the set. Holdem had two of her 12 kills in the final three points of set one.
Holdem would once again put on a show in set two collecting six of her 12 kills in the frame. MSU never lost the lead in set two as the Spartans scored first and led throughout. Michigan State closed the set out on a 7-2 run after a spark of energy from junior outside hitter Grace Kelly saw her terminate three consecutive kills late.
Set three was the closest frame of the day for the Spartans as it saw three lead changes and nine ties. Michigan State led by as many as five points late in the set, but a 5-1 Syracuse run forced a Spartan timeout. MSU retook a three point lead out of the break, but a 3-0 for the Orange forced Michigan State's final timeout of the set. Syracuse found themselves on match point late, leading 24-22, but a series of errors, a Holdem ace and an Okur kill allowed MSU to mount a comeback to steal the set.
UP NEXT
Michigan State will return to the court on Sunday, Sept. 3 for a 1:00 p.m. match against Delaware State to close out the Kathy DeBoer Invitational.
Michigan State head volleyball coach Leah Johnson earned her 200th career coaching victory following Saturday night's win.
"We got really good production from our outsides today," said Johnson. "Taylah Holdem, I thought was excellent for us. I liked our service game. We tended to end our own runs so that's something for us to work on. Overall, we were pretty balanced, I'd like some more right-side offense, but we're using our middle-lefts well and I think that's the piece that really rounded us out."
Michigan State Athletics hall of famer and women's sports advocate Kathy DeBoer was honored prior to the match, with the head coaches of each team, along with Michigan State VP and Director of Athletics Alan Haller, presenting her with a commemorative ball. The Spartan team viewed a dedicated video alongside DeBoer pre-match.
"Kathy has been a trailblazer her whole life," said Johnson. "Her entire career she's been on the edge and pushing the agenda forward for women. She has always created opportunity and has done so many wonderful things for our sport."
A visionary. An advocate. A Spartan.
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) September 2, 2023
We are honored to welcome Kathy back home to Michigan State this weekend for the inaugural Kathy DeBoer Invitational Presented By Auto-Owners Insurance. #GoGreen | #Honor pic.twitter.com/9BFlDNTK63
Freshman outside hitter Taylah Holdem turned in two of the best performances of her young Spartan career on Saturday leading the team with 25 kills and hitting .413 on 46 swings. Sophomore defensive specialist Jayhlin Swain matched her career-best of four aces in each of Michigan State's matches to finish the day with eight.
Senior Nalani Iosia led the team in digs Saturday with 32, averaging 5.33 digs per set, while freshman Cameron Berger posted 66 assists on 11.00 per set.
Game One: Michigan State 3, Belmont 0
Michigan State kicked off the 2023 Kathy DeBoer Invitational in style, defeating Belmont in straight sets, 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-7). The Spartans held Belmont's attack to a negative hitting percentage (-.110), the first time an opponent has hit in the negatives against the Spartans since Sept. 18, 2021 against IUPUI (-.041).
Freshman Taylah Holdem paced the Spartans with 13 kills on .524 hitting while fellow first year Karolina Staniszewska joined her in double figures with 10 kills. Sophomore Nil Okur had seven kills along with a match-high six blocks in the Spartan home opener.
Making her second consecutive start, Cameron Berger led all players with 33 assists. Senior Nalani Iosia had 12 first set digs before finishing the match with 22. Sophomore Jayhlin Swain tied a career-high with four service aces on Saturday morning.
Set one was close late with Michigan State holding just an 18-15 advantage over the Bruins. The Spartans got hot late though going on a 7-2 run to close out the set, 25-17. Holdem had a pair of kills late for MSU and had five kills in the first set.
The Spartans took a commanding 12-2 to open set two but Belmont began chipping away at it to eventually tie the set at 16-16. A quick 3-0 run after the tie gave MSU some breathing room before eventually finishing the set on a 6-2 run to win 25-19. Staniszewska had five of her 10 kills in set two while Okur added four.
MSU dominated set three hitting .435 while Belmont was limited to -.318 hitting for the frame. Holdem went a perfect 6-for-6 on swings in set three to increase her total to 13. Junior Grace Kelly brought a spark off the bench with three of her four kills coming in the set. MSU recorded four of its eight blocks in set three to close out the morning match strong.
Game Two: Michigan State 3, Syracuse 0
The Spartans picked up right where they left off in game two on Saturday night, defeating Syracuse in straight sets (25-12, 25-13, 26-24). Michigan State out-hit its opponent for the fourth consecutive match, hitting .425 compared to .155 for the Orange. MSU hit a whopping .792 in set two as the team briefly flirted with a program record for single game hitting.
Holdem once again led the Spartans with a match-high 12 kills hitting .320. Holdem also added two aces and six digs to her final line. Sophomore middle blocker Nil Okur had nine kills on 13 swings to lead the team in hitting among players with 10+ attempts, swinging at a .692 clip.
Berger made her third straight start for the Spartans and had a season-high 33 assists in both matches Saturday. After a 22-dig outburst in game one, Iosia led the team with 10 digs in game two.
Syracuse pulled within three points of MSU in set one, 13-10, but it was all Michigan State from then on out with the Spartans going on a lengthy 12-2 run to close out the set. Holdem had two of her 12 kills in the final three points of set one.
Holdem would once again put on a show in set two collecting six of her 12 kills in the frame. MSU never lost the lead in set two as the Spartans scored first and led throughout. Michigan State closed the set out on a 7-2 run after a spark of energy from junior outside hitter Grace Kelly saw her terminate three consecutive kills late.
Set three was the closest frame of the day for the Spartans as it saw three lead changes and nine ties. Michigan State led by as many as five points late in the set, but a 5-1 Syracuse run forced a Spartan timeout. MSU retook a three point lead out of the break, but a 3-0 for the Orange forced Michigan State's final timeout of the set. Syracuse found themselves on match point late, leading 24-22, but a series of errors, a Holdem ace and an Okur kill allowed MSU to mount a comeback to steal the set.
Nil Okur with the finisher to put the punctuation on tonight's 3-0 victory over Syracuse!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/DqQzSnj5K9
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) September 3, 2023
UP NEXT
Michigan State will return to the court on Sunday, Sept. 3 for a 1:00 p.m. match against Delaware State to close out the Kathy DeBoer Invitational.
Team Stats
BEL
MSU
Kills
14
41
Errors
23
12
Attempts
82
90
Hitting %
-.110
.322
Points
26.0
56.0
Assists
14
37
Aces
5
7
Blocks
7
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
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