Saturday, August 31
Fort Collins, Colo.
8 PM ET
Michigan State University
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Colorado State
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Photo by: Brittney Kimball
Volleyball Shows Resolve in Win at Colorado State (RV)
9/1/2024 12:18:00 AM | Volleyball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Michigan State volleyball entered a hostile environment on Saturday night and bounced back in a major way, defeating Colorado State, 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 25-23), from inside the raucous Moby Arena. Moby Arena is often regarded as one of the toughest buildings to play at in Division I volleyball.
A win evens MSU's overall record at 1-1 to open the 2024 season, while Colorado State drops to 0-2 following a loss to No. 11-ranked Florida on Friday. CSU received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason poll.
"I'm proud of the team, proud of the way they fought, the way they played for each other tonight," said head coach Leah Johnson. "This is the team I've been coaching all preseason. Yesterday we were a shell of ourselves, and we knew it. We're not going to let that happen again because we're not going to give up on each other, we're not going to play scared."
Junior outside hitter Akasha Anderson paced the Spartan offense with 16 kills and 19.5 points. Anderson added three aces and a block to her final tally. Sophomore middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig had a night of bests in a career-best performance, finishing with nine kills, six aces and six blocks. Kulig hit a career-high .600 (10+ attempts) and was second on the team with 19.0 points to top a previous best of 13.5.
"Zuza, freaking a, man, six aces tonight," said Johnson. "When your middle can produce points from the end line, and blocks, and kills? I was proud of how our pins battled. Akasha Anderson struggled early and battled her way back into it. Taylah wasn't at her best offensively, but her passing was nails for us."
Sophomore outside hitter Taylah Holdem finished with a team-high nine digs and added six kills. Senior setters Rachel Muisenga and Julia Bishop added 20 and 17 assists, respectively.
Michigan State hit .197 for the match, as opposed to .279 for the Rams. The Spartans finished with 52 kills to CSU's 48. MSU won the serve and pass game with 11 aces to Colorado State's four, receiving at a .952 clip compared to .869 for CSU.
Kulig started well beyond the end line for MSU in set one with back-to-back aces and a ball that put CSU out of system giving the Spartans a quick 4-0 advantage. Continued Spartan service pressure forced a Ram timeout with MSU leading 14-10. A Colorado State overpass following a Holdem serve was sent down by Kulig to force the break ahead of the media timeout. Anderson got hot for Michigan State late in the first with her consecutive kill, block and ace giving MSU a 20-14 lead. The Spartans led 23-17, but a quick 3-0 CSU run forced Johnson to call her first timeout of the set. Colorado State pulled within two, but a kill from Courtley and a double stuff by Kulig and Holdem secured the set for MSU.
Set two was controlled by CSU from the onset, building a 13-7 advantage to force Michigan State's first timeout of the frame. Kulig's then career-high setting third ace of the night brought MSU back within four at 14-10. Forced into their final timeout of the set down 20-14, the Spartans fended off five consecutive Ram set points down 24-15 to bring the set back to 24-20 and built momentum heading into the third.
"That set the tone for set three and made them start thinking about her (Kulig) when she was behind the end line for the rest of the match," said Johnson on Kulig's service run to end the second set.
Michigan State kept that momentum going with Kulig serving to start the third, rattling off four straight points to open the set. A neck-and-neck battle throughout the first half of the set saw things tied at 14-14 following a kill by junior Evie Doezema. Colorado State forced the first timeout of the third with a 3-0 run that put the Rams ahead 17-14. CSU maintained a three-point lead up 20-17 before a Holdem ace out of a Colorado State timeout tied the set at 20-20. Anderson's 11th kill of the night put the Spartans ahead 22-21. Both sides traded blows to finish the set, with a double block from Doezema and senior Aliyah Moore putting MSU on set point. Anderson continued her strong play to end the third using her 13th kill to win set three.
Neither side led by more than three points in the fourth as the teams traded four lead changes and 13 tied scores. Michigan State twice led by three at 17-14 and 21-18, with both three-point advantages leading to Colorado State timeouts. CSU's Malaya Jones' 22nd kill of the night tied set four at 22-22, but back-to-back points by Kulig (kill, ace) put the Spartans on match point, 24-22. Anderson found the final kill of the match to secure victory for MSU.
Colorado State's Jones led all players with 22 kills and 25.0 points. Emery Herman posted 41 assists and Delaney McIntosh added a match-high 11 digs. Naeemah Weathers led all players with eight blocks (one solo, seven assisted).
Up Next
Michigan State concludes its trip in Colorado with a neutral site match against No. 11-ranked Florida at 5:00 p.m. ET at Colorado State's Moby Arena. Florida is 2-0 after wins over Colorado State (3-1) and Northern Colorado (3-1).
A win evens MSU's overall record at 1-1 to open the 2024 season, while Colorado State drops to 0-2 following a loss to No. 11-ranked Florida on Friday. CSU received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason poll.
"I'm proud of the team, proud of the way they fought, the way they played for each other tonight," said head coach Leah Johnson. "This is the team I've been coaching all preseason. Yesterday we were a shell of ourselves, and we knew it. We're not going to let that happen again because we're not going to give up on each other, we're not going to play scared."
Junior outside hitter Akasha Anderson paced the Spartan offense with 16 kills and 19.5 points. Anderson added three aces and a block to her final tally. Sophomore middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig had a night of bests in a career-best performance, finishing with nine kills, six aces and six blocks. Kulig hit a career-high .600 (10+ attempts) and was second on the team with 19.0 points to top a previous best of 13.5.
"Zuza, freaking a, man, six aces tonight," said Johnson. "When your middle can produce points from the end line, and blocks, and kills? I was proud of how our pins battled. Akasha Anderson struggled early and battled her way back into it. Taylah wasn't at her best offensively, but her passing was nails for us."
Sophomore outside hitter Taylah Holdem finished with a team-high nine digs and added six kills. Senior setters Rachel Muisenga and Julia Bishop added 20 and 17 assists, respectively.
Michigan State hit .197 for the match, as opposed to .279 for the Rams. The Spartans finished with 52 kills to CSU's 48. MSU won the serve and pass game with 11 aces to Colorado State's four, receiving at a .952 clip compared to .869 for CSU.
RAMped up the energy and got the W #GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/EaGhoVOSoM
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) September 1, 2024
Kulig started well beyond the end line for MSU in set one with back-to-back aces and a ball that put CSU out of system giving the Spartans a quick 4-0 advantage. Continued Spartan service pressure forced a Ram timeout with MSU leading 14-10. A Colorado State overpass following a Holdem serve was sent down by Kulig to force the break ahead of the media timeout. Anderson got hot for Michigan State late in the first with her consecutive kill, block and ace giving MSU a 20-14 lead. The Spartans led 23-17, but a quick 3-0 CSU run forced Johnson to call her first timeout of the set. Colorado State pulled within two, but a kill from Courtley and a double stuff by Kulig and Holdem secured the set for MSU.
Set two was controlled by CSU from the onset, building a 13-7 advantage to force Michigan State's first timeout of the frame. Kulig's then career-high setting third ace of the night brought MSU back within four at 14-10. Forced into their final timeout of the set down 20-14, the Spartans fended off five consecutive Ram set points down 24-15 to bring the set back to 24-20 and built momentum heading into the third.
"That set the tone for set three and made them start thinking about her (Kulig) when she was behind the end line for the rest of the match," said Johnson on Kulig's service run to end the second set.
Michigan State kept that momentum going with Kulig serving to start the third, rattling off four straight points to open the set. A neck-and-neck battle throughout the first half of the set saw things tied at 14-14 following a kill by junior Evie Doezema. Colorado State forced the first timeout of the third with a 3-0 run that put the Rams ahead 17-14. CSU maintained a three-point lead up 20-17 before a Holdem ace out of a Colorado State timeout tied the set at 20-20. Anderson's 11th kill of the night put the Spartans ahead 22-21. Both sides traded blows to finish the set, with a double block from Doezema and senior Aliyah Moore putting MSU on set point. Anderson continued her strong play to end the third using her 13th kill to win set three.
Neither side led by more than three points in the fourth as the teams traded four lead changes and 13 tied scores. Michigan State twice led by three at 17-14 and 21-18, with both three-point advantages leading to Colorado State timeouts. CSU's Malaya Jones' 22nd kill of the night tied set four at 22-22, but back-to-back points by Kulig (kill, ace) put the Spartans on match point, 24-22. Anderson found the final kill of the match to secure victory for MSU.
Colorado State's Jones led all players with 22 kills and 25.0 points. Emery Herman posted 41 assists and Delaney McIntosh added a match-high 11 digs. Naeemah Weathers led all players with eight blocks (one solo, seven assisted).
Up Next
Michigan State concludes its trip in Colorado with a neutral site match against No. 11-ranked Florida at 5:00 p.m. ET at Colorado State's Moby Arena. Florida is 2-0 after wins over Colorado State (3-1) and Northern Colorado (3-1).
Team Stats
MSU
CSU
Kills
52
48
Errors
26
19
Attempts
132
104
Hitting %
.197
.279
Points
73.0
65.0
Assists
45
47
Aces
11
4
Blocks
10
13
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
3
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
6
Blocks
6
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
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