Friday, September 8
East Lansing, Mich.
7 PM
Michigan State University
4-3,0-0Big Ten
0
vs
3
Duke
5-2,0-0ACC
1
2
3
F
Duke
25
25
25
3
Michigan St.
19
22
23
0
Photo by: Brittney Kimball
Spartans Hang Tough With Duke
9/8/2023 10:22:00 PM | Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan State volleyball program showed continued improvement as the match progressed on Friday night despite falling to Duke, 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-23) at the Breslin Student Events Center. Friday was also a night of debuts for Michigan State as it was the first match featuring the new student section, Rally Row, and the debut of the new center-hung video board that aims to enhance an already electric Breslin Center atmosphere.
Junior outside hitter Aliyah Moore made her first start of the season Friday and showed up in a big way for the Spartans posting 10 kills on 18 swings for a .500 attacking percentage. Freshman outside hitter Taylah Holdem led all players in the match with a match-high 11 kills, her fourth consecutive appearance with double-digit kills. Fellow freshman Cameron Berger led the team in assists with 20. Senior Nalani Iosia continued her strong start to the season with 16 digs, good for 5.33 digs per set.
MSU was out-hit .283 to .224 overall, but bested Duke hitting-wise in sets two and three despite the unfavorable result. The Spartans out-hit Duke .231 to .179 in set two, and .233 to .209 in set three. Duke saw success with their block on Friday night, out-blocking Michigan State 10-to-3.
Set one saw the Blue Devils lead by as many as seven as Duke hit an impressive .500 for the frame. Despite all that, the Spartans were in the set until the very end trailing by just three points late, 22-19. A 6-2 MSU run saw the score flip to 21-18 in favor of Duke, but forced a Blue Devil timeout as the Spartans held all the momentum late. Kills by junior Julia Bishop and Holdem, and an ace by Berger forced Duke's coaching staff to call time to re-group. Both sides traded kills out of the break, but back-to-back aces to end the set saved things for Duke.
A back-and-forth second set saw nine tied scores and four different lead changes. Michigan State trailed by as many as five late in the set, 20-15, but once again kept fighting and closed the gap. Trailing by four at 22-18, Michigan State came out of a timeout on a 4-1 run to pull within one. After Duke was forced to call a timeout of its own, middle blocker Jess Robinson used a pair of consecutive kills to end the set.
Michigan State found itself with its latest lead of the match in set three, taking a 15-14 lead over the Blue Devil mid-way through the set following Berger's lone kill of the night. The Spartans trailed 12-9 but were aided by a pair of kills and a block by junior Grace Kelly, who came off the bench with her patented energy. Both sides traded points late, with Duke holding a 20-19 advantage before kills by Rachel Richardson and Robinson forced an MSU timeout. A kill by Holdem brought the Spartans back within one late at 24-23, but Duke capitalized on match point.
UP NEXT
Michigan State (4-3) returns to the Breslin Student Events Center on Sunday, September 10 for a 1:00 p.m. match against North Carolina (4-2). The Tar Heels were defeated by Michigan on Friday night, 3-0.
Junior outside hitter Aliyah Moore made her first start of the season Friday and showed up in a big way for the Spartans posting 10 kills on 18 swings for a .500 attacking percentage. Freshman outside hitter Taylah Holdem led all players in the match with a match-high 11 kills, her fourth consecutive appearance with double-digit kills. Fellow freshman Cameron Berger led the team in assists with 20. Senior Nalani Iosia continued her strong start to the season with 16 digs, good for 5.33 digs per set.
MSU was out-hit .283 to .224 overall, but bested Duke hitting-wise in sets two and three despite the unfavorable result. The Spartans out-hit Duke .231 to .179 in set two, and .233 to .209 in set three. Duke saw success with their block on Friday night, out-blocking Michigan State 10-to-3.
Set one saw the Blue Devils lead by as many as seven as Duke hit an impressive .500 for the frame. Despite all that, the Spartans were in the set until the very end trailing by just three points late, 22-19. A 6-2 MSU run saw the score flip to 21-18 in favor of Duke, but forced a Blue Devil timeout as the Spartans held all the momentum late. Kills by junior Julia Bishop and Holdem, and an ace by Berger forced Duke's coaching staff to call time to re-group. Both sides traded kills out of the break, but back-to-back aces to end the set saved things for Duke.
A back-and-forth second set saw nine tied scores and four different lead changes. Michigan State trailed by as many as five late in the set, 20-15, but once again kept fighting and closed the gap. Trailing by four at 22-18, Michigan State came out of a timeout on a 4-1 run to pull within one. After Duke was forced to call a timeout of its own, middle blocker Jess Robinson used a pair of consecutive kills to end the set.
Michigan State found itself with its latest lead of the match in set three, taking a 15-14 lead over the Blue Devil mid-way through the set following Berger's lone kill of the night. The Spartans trailed 12-9 but were aided by a pair of kills and a block by junior Grace Kelly, who came off the bench with her patented energy. Both sides traded points late, with Duke holding a 20-19 advantage before kills by Rachel Richardson and Robinson forced an MSU timeout. A kill by Holdem brought the Spartans back within one late at 24-23, but Duke capitalized on match point.
S3 | MSU 14 - DUKE 13
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) September 9, 2023
Grack is fired up after this block to give us a 14-13 lead in set three!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/yITBMx2JHA
UP NEXT
Michigan State (4-3) returns to the Breslin Student Events Center on Sunday, September 10 for a 1:00 p.m. match against North Carolina (4-2). The Tar Heels were defeated by Michigan on Friday night, 3-0.
Team Stats
DU
MSU
Kills
40
35
Errors
12
16
Attempts
99
85
Hitting %
.283
.224
Points
57.0
41.0
Assists
39
31
Aces
7
3
Blocks
10
3
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
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