Thursday, October 24
Los Angeles, Calif.
11 PM ET
Michigan State University
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at
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USC
Photo by: Brittney Kimball
Volleyball Completes Reverse Sweep, Knocks Off #16 USC in Iosia Homecoming
10/25/2024 3:34:00 AM | Volleyball
LOS ANGELES – In a match that ended after 1:40 a.m. ET, the Michigan State volleyball program came back from a 2-0 deficit to upset No. 16-ranked USC on Thursday night, 3-2 (20-25, 22-25, 27-25, 25-20, 15-13) at the Galen Center.
"I'm so proud of them," said Michigan State head coach Leah Johnson. "I'm so happy for them. They've never quit. I don't care what the scores have said this team has never given up. You have to do a lot of hard in the Big Ten and eventually your hard pays off. I felt like we got better in each set tonight as the match progressed."
Michigan State improves to 8-12 (1-8 B1G) while USC falls to 14-5 (6-3 B1G). It's the first ranked win for MSU since Oct. 28, 2023, against No. 13-ranked Penn State in the Breslin Center.
Playing in front of 70 plus family members in attendance senior libero Nalani Iosia posted 10 digs, seven assists and a rare four kills, punishing the USC back court defense with pushes to the end line late in the match.
Junior opposite Akasha Anderson stole the show matching a career-high 26 kills alongside a season-best 13 digs, five blocks and two service aces. Anderson surpassed the 1,000 career kill threshold during the match.
"Kash was excellent," said Johnson. "Everyone played so hard tonight for Nalani Iosia and I felt that in particular from Kash."
Junior outside hitter Taylor Preston was the other Spartan in double-figures with 12 kills. Senior setter Julia Bishop tallied a season-high 46 assists with 13 digs to post her sixth double-double of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Taylah Holdem matched Anderson's 13 digs for a match high. Leading the Spartan block once again was sophomore middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig with six blocks. Sophomore Ky Clayton gave USC fits behind the service line all night matching a career-high three aces.
Michigan State hit .225 overall but hit an efficient .522 and .400 over the final two frames. MSU matched the Women of Troy in service aces with seven but committed just 10 service errors to USC's 22. The Spartans out-dug USC 60 to 43.
Anderson posted seven kills in set one to lead all players after the first. Anderson's fourth kill brought MSU within one at 10-9, but a 5-1 USC run saw the Women of Troy build a five-point lead at 15-10. Michigan State fought back to a two-point deficit past the mid-way point, 18-16, following a Preston kill. Preston got going late in the set forcing a USC timeout late after consecutive kills to bring the Spartans within three, 22-19. A kill from junior middle blocker Evie Doezema kept MSU within a trio at 23-20, but the Trojans took the set 25-20.
MSU trailed 5-0 early in set two but a 4-1 Spartan run highlighted by an Anderson ace pulled Michigan State back within two at 7-5. Back-to-back blocks by Kulig and Anderson saw the Spartans trail by just one mid-way through the frame, 14-13. USC used a 7-1 to pull away 21-14, but Michigan State did not back down. MSU responded with a 7-2 run of its own to trail 23-21. Preston once again got going late having a hand in four straight Spartan points on three kills and a block. Michigan State stopped one Trojan set point, but USC took the set 25-22.
The Spartans trailed by as many as five points in set three, slowly chipping away at the USC lead throughout the second half of the stanza. A 7-2 MSU run tied the set at 17-17 following a Kulig solo block, and an Anderson kill gave Michigan State a late lead, 21-20. The Trojans used a 4-1 run out of their own timeout to go on match point, 24-22, but the Spartans scored three straight on Anderson kills to go on set point. A USC service error put Michigan State ahead 26-25 before a Doezema kill completed the set three comeback for MSU, 27-25 and extended the match.
Set four was all MSU from the jump with a block by Anderson and Doezema giving the Spartans an early 11-6 advantage. USC was quick to respond however tying the frame at 11-11 to force an MSU timeout. Michigan State came out of the break strong going on an 8-3 run to force a Trojan breather up 19-14 after a Preston kill. Two late kills by Iosia on balls pushed to the back court put the Spartans on set point, 24-17. USC staved off three MSU set points before Anderson's 24th kill of the night pushed the match to five.
Michigan State opened the fifth frame with a 4-0 lead forcing USC to burn a quick timeout after a block by Anderson and Kulig. The Trojans responded well out of the break scoring three straight, but a kill by Holdem and Clayton's third ace of the night put the Spartans back up by three. Both sides traded blows until a 3-1 Trojan run cut MSU's lead to one, 12-11 and forced a timeout. Back-to-back USC service errors put Michigan State on match point before Preston sealed the deal with her 12th kill, 15-13.
"I'm so proud of them," said Michigan State head coach Leah Johnson. "I'm so happy for them. They've never quit. I don't care what the scores have said this team has never given up. You have to do a lot of hard in the Big Ten and eventually your hard pays off. I felt like we got better in each set tonight as the match progressed."
Michigan State improves to 8-12 (1-8 B1G) while USC falls to 14-5 (6-3 B1G). It's the first ranked win for MSU since Oct. 28, 2023, against No. 13-ranked Penn State in the Breslin Center.
Playing in front of 70 plus family members in attendance senior libero Nalani Iosia posted 10 digs, seven assists and a rare four kills, punishing the USC back court defense with pushes to the end line late in the match.
It's more than volleyball. Volleyball is family for Nalani Iosia and Mia Tuaniga.@B1GVolleyball #GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/yAiiDRU4lI
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) October 25, 2024
Junior opposite Akasha Anderson stole the show matching a career-high 26 kills alongside a season-best 13 digs, five blocks and two service aces. Anderson surpassed the 1,000 career kill threshold during the match.
"Kash was excellent," said Johnson. "Everyone played so hard tonight for Nalani Iosia and I felt that in particular from Kash."
Junior outside hitter Taylor Preston was the other Spartan in double-figures with 12 kills. Senior setter Julia Bishop tallied a season-high 46 assists with 13 digs to post her sixth double-double of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Taylah Holdem matched Anderson's 13 digs for a match high. Leading the Spartan block once again was sophomore middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig with six blocks. Sophomore Ky Clayton gave USC fits behind the service line all night matching a career-high three aces.
Michigan State hit .225 overall but hit an efficient .522 and .400 over the final two frames. MSU matched the Women of Troy in service aces with seven but committed just 10 service errors to USC's 22. The Spartans out-dug USC 60 to 43.
Anderson posted seven kills in set one to lead all players after the first. Anderson's fourth kill brought MSU within one at 10-9, but a 5-1 USC run saw the Women of Troy build a five-point lead at 15-10. Michigan State fought back to a two-point deficit past the mid-way point, 18-16, following a Preston kill. Preston got going late in the set forcing a USC timeout late after consecutive kills to bring the Spartans within three, 22-19. A kill from junior middle blocker Evie Doezema kept MSU within a trio at 23-20, but the Trojans took the set 25-20.
MSU trailed 5-0 early in set two but a 4-1 Spartan run highlighted by an Anderson ace pulled Michigan State back within two at 7-5. Back-to-back blocks by Kulig and Anderson saw the Spartans trail by just one mid-way through the frame, 14-13. USC used a 7-1 to pull away 21-14, but Michigan State did not back down. MSU responded with a 7-2 run of its own to trail 23-21. Preston once again got going late having a hand in four straight Spartan points on three kills and a block. Michigan State stopped one Trojan set point, but USC took the set 25-22.
Taylor Preston has her hands on our last four points with three kills and a block!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/1WRyyYyMDV
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) October 25, 2024
The Spartans trailed by as many as five points in set three, slowly chipping away at the USC lead throughout the second half of the stanza. A 7-2 MSU run tied the set at 17-17 following a Kulig solo block, and an Anderson kill gave Michigan State a late lead, 21-20. The Trojans used a 4-1 run out of their own timeout to go on match point, 24-22, but the Spartans scored three straight on Anderson kills to go on set point. A USC service error put Michigan State ahead 26-25 before a Doezema kill completed the set three comeback for MSU, 27-25 and extended the match.
We are tied at 24-24! Kash from the back row bringing the heat! 🔥#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/jL5v899JMa
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) October 25, 2024
Set four was all MSU from the jump with a block by Anderson and Doezema giving the Spartans an early 11-6 advantage. USC was quick to respond however tying the frame at 11-11 to force an MSU timeout. Michigan State came out of the break strong going on an 8-3 run to force a Trojan breather up 19-14 after a Preston kill. Two late kills by Iosia on balls pushed to the back court put the Spartans on set point, 24-17. USC staved off three MSU set points before Anderson's 24th kill of the night pushed the match to five.
The Spartans force a fifth set in Los Angeles 👀#B1GVolleyball x @MSU_Volleyball pic.twitter.com/ZO5xyDpSQA
— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) October 25, 2024
Michigan State opened the fifth frame with a 4-0 lead forcing USC to burn a quick timeout after a block by Anderson and Kulig. The Trojans responded well out of the break scoring three straight, but a kill by Holdem and Clayton's third ace of the night put the Spartans back up by three. Both sides traded blows until a 3-1 Trojan run cut MSU's lead to one, 12-11 and forced a timeout. Back-to-back USC service errors put Michigan State on match point before Preston sealed the deal with her 12th kill, 15-13.
The Spartans come all the way back to win in 5️⃣ sets and upset No. 16 USC 👏#B1GVolleyball x @MSU_Volleyball pic.twitter.com/8NnOUDqEgd
— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) October 25, 2024
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