
Photo by: Brittney Kimball
Volleyball Cruises in Sweep of Marist
9/7/2024 6:48:00 PM | Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State volleyball earned its first sweep of the season on Saturday afternoon, taking down Marist in straight sets 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-14) on day two of the second annual Kathy DeBoer Invitational presented by Auto-Owners Insurance.
It's the first time that MSU hasn't allowed its opponent to score more than 15 points in each set since December 2, 2016 against Fairfield in round one of the NCAA Tournament. Opponents haven't scored 14 or less in every set against the Spartans since November 15, 2014 against Indiana (25-12, 25-8, 25-14).
"We used a variety of players today and got to try a few different things that I've been looking at in practice," said Michigan State head coach Leah Johnson. "Not necessarily any automatic changes, but you don't know how somebody is going to perform on game day until you give them that chance. This was a great opportunity for Carmen Waye, who got better and better as the match went on."
Michigan State improves to 3-2 overall and will conclude its home opening weekend with a 1:00 p.m. match against Loyola (Chicago) at the Breslin Center on Sunday, September 8.
Junior outside hitters Akasha Anderson and Taylor Preston paved the way on offense for the second straight day finishing with eight kills each. Preston saw career-best success from behind the service line with four aces, while Anderson added two aces and five blocks.
"I was really proud of Taylor because they called multiple timeouts during her serve rotations and she would come right back in, kept things simple and didn't try to do too much because she was on a run," said Johnson.
Anderson and junior middle blocker Evie Doezema led with a match-high five blocks as Michigan State out-blocked Marist 9-to-0. Senior Nalani Iosia was the lone player in double-figure digs with 13. Senior setters Julia Bishop and Rachel Muisenga were neck-and-neck for the lead in assists with 11 and 10 respectively.
Senior middle blocker Kaya Hood made her first career start for the Green & White. Freshman Carmen Waye saw her first extended action posting four blocks and two kills.
The Spartans hit an efficient .382 for the match including a .500 clip in set two. MSU held Marist to -.085 hitting for the match, with a -.130 mark in set one and a -.160 mark in set three. It's the first time holding an opponent to sub .000 hitting for Michigan State since September 2, 2023 against Belmont (-.110).
MSU got out to a commanding 15-2 lead in set one due in part to the tremendous serving presence of Preston, who led an 11-point serving run that forced Marist into calling each of its timeouts. Preston collected three of her career-high four aces in the set and chipped in four kills as the Spartans ran away with it, 25-10.
Marist caught the Spartans relaxing a bit to start set two taking an 8-6 lead over MSU early in the frame. A Doezema kill would look to turn the tides for Michigan State however, leading MSU on a 6-1 run to lead 12-9. The Red Foxes came within two after a kill out of their timeout, but Michigan State responded with another 4-0 run to lead 16-10. MSU out-scored Marist 9-3 over the remainder of the set as Preston continued to dominate with four more kills.
Set three was close early tied at 5-5, but a pair of kills by Waye highlighted a 5-0 Spartan run that ran the score up to 10-5. Marist closed the gap back to three points, 12-9, on a Sara Dasic kill, but Michigan State responded with a 6-1 run capped off by a double block by Doezema and senior Grace Kelly. Kelly once again brought energy off the bench for MSU on Saturday finishing with four kills on seven swings with zero errors. Leading 18-12, Michigan State ended the match on a 7-2 run, which included two Kelly kills and an ace from sophomore libero Ky Clayton.
Up Next
Michigan State wraps up its home opening weekend with a 1:00 p.m. match against Loyola (Chicago) on Sunday, September 8. Loyola is 1-1 this weekend and 2-3 overall with wins over Marist (3-0) and Loyola Marymount (3-0).
It's the first time that MSU hasn't allowed its opponent to score more than 15 points in each set since December 2, 2016 against Fairfield in round one of the NCAA Tournament. Opponents haven't scored 14 or less in every set against the Spartans since November 15, 2014 against Indiana (25-12, 25-8, 25-14).
"We used a variety of players today and got to try a few different things that I've been looking at in practice," said Michigan State head coach Leah Johnson. "Not necessarily any automatic changes, but you don't know how somebody is going to perform on game day until you give them that chance. This was a great opportunity for Carmen Waye, who got better and better as the match went on."
Michigan State improves to 3-2 overall and will conclude its home opening weekend with a 1:00 p.m. match against Loyola (Chicago) at the Breslin Center on Sunday, September 8.
Junior outside hitters Akasha Anderson and Taylor Preston paved the way on offense for the second straight day finishing with eight kills each. Preston saw career-best success from behind the service line with four aces, while Anderson added two aces and five blocks.
"I was really proud of Taylor because they called multiple timeouts during her serve rotations and she would come right back in, kept things simple and didn't try to do too much because she was on a run," said Johnson.
Anderson and junior middle blocker Evie Doezema led with a match-high five blocks as Michigan State out-blocked Marist 9-to-0. Senior Nalani Iosia was the lone player in double-figure digs with 13. Senior setters Julia Bishop and Rachel Muisenga were neck-and-neck for the lead in assists with 11 and 10 respectively.
Senior middle blocker Kaya Hood made her first career start for the Green & White. Freshman Carmen Waye saw her first extended action posting four blocks and two kills.
The Spartans hit an efficient .382 for the match including a .500 clip in set two. MSU held Marist to -.085 hitting for the match, with a -.130 mark in set one and a -.160 mark in set three. It's the first time holding an opponent to sub .000 hitting for Michigan State since September 2, 2023 against Belmont (-.110).
Outfoxed 'em 😌#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/Vp0xoMQVmF
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) September 7, 2024
MSU got out to a commanding 15-2 lead in set one due in part to the tremendous serving presence of Preston, who led an 11-point serving run that forced Marist into calling each of its timeouts. Preston collected three of her career-high four aces in the set and chipped in four kills as the Spartans ran away with it, 25-10.
Marist caught the Spartans relaxing a bit to start set two taking an 8-6 lead over MSU early in the frame. A Doezema kill would look to turn the tides for Michigan State however, leading MSU on a 6-1 run to lead 12-9. The Red Foxes came within two after a kill out of their timeout, but Michigan State responded with another 4-0 run to lead 16-10. MSU out-scored Marist 9-3 over the remainder of the set as Preston continued to dominate with four more kills.
The Spartans take a commanding 2-0 lead over Marist 💪#B1GVolleyball x @MSU_Volleyball pic.twitter.com/imqVDcKTbG
— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) September 7, 2024
Set three was close early tied at 5-5, but a pair of kills by Waye highlighted a 5-0 Spartan run that ran the score up to 10-5. Marist closed the gap back to three points, 12-9, on a Sara Dasic kill, but Michigan State responded with a 6-1 run capped off by a double block by Doezema and senior Grace Kelly. Kelly once again brought energy off the bench for MSU on Saturday finishing with four kills on seven swings with zero errors. Leading 18-12, Michigan State ended the match on a 7-2 run, which included two Kelly kills and an ace from sophomore libero Ky Clayton.
Michigan State secures their first sweep of the season in front of the home crowd 🤩#B1GVolleyball x @MSU_Volleyball pic.twitter.com/XBN6xmyUpY
— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) September 7, 2024
Up Next
Michigan State wraps up its home opening weekend with a 1:00 p.m. match against Loyola (Chicago) on Sunday, September 8. Loyola is 1-1 this weekend and 2-3 overall with wins over Marist (3-0) and Loyola Marymount (3-0).
Team Stats
Marist
MSU
Kills
16
33
Errors
22
7
Attempts
71
68
Hitting %
-.085
.382
Points
22.0
54.0
Assists
16
32
Aces
6
12
Blocks
0
9
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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