Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Iowa
Volleyball Loses To Iowa In Five
10/8/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 8, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Spartan volleyball team suffered its third-straight loss after battling to five games with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday night in Jenison Field House on Friday, Oct. 8. Michigan State fell to 11-6 overall, 1-4 in the Big Ten Conference with the 15-3, 11-15, 7-15, 18-16, 12-15 loss. Iowa is now 4-8 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten.
Junior middle Sarah Gustin set her career high with 31 kills on .407 hitting to go with a team-high 10 digs. Sophomore Erin Hartley and junior Jessica Sanborn added 18 and 14 kills, respectively. Hartley also set career highs with seven assists and seven blocks.
The Spartans dominated in game one, cruising to a 15-3 win. Sanborn and Gustin each recorded five kills as MSU hit .462 as a team. Game two saw the Hawkeyes dominate, as MSU hit just .083 to the Hawkeyes? .269. Julie Williams, who went on to have a career match with 37 kills, nine digs, five assists and four blocks, tallied six kills in the game as Iowa won, 15-11. The third game was much of the same with Iowa winning 15-7 behind nine kills from Williams.
The Spartans came back to life in the fourth game, rallying from an early deficit to take 9-4 lead. The Hawkeyes stormed back and tied the game at 11-11. Tied at 12-12, MSU scored two points on a Vicki Basil service ace and a block solo by Hartley. With the Spartans serving for game point, Williams earned the Hawkeyes a reprieve with a timely kill. Iowa won the next point and then MSU sided out and tied the score at 15 after a Hawkeye hitting error. After more seesawing, and the score tied again at 16-all, the Spartans earned a point on a botched Iowa play, and surviving another sideout, ended the game with block assists by Hartley, Gustin and Angela Morley, 18-16.
In the rally-scored fifth game, the Spartans fell into an early 2-6 hole but played catchup to get to within 6-7. Iowa pulled away but MSU got close again at 10-11 on a Sanborn kill. Then the Hawkeyes took off and used two Williams kills for two of its last three points to win the game and the match, 15-12.
?We were very disappointed with the loss,? said Michigan State head coach Chuck Erbe. ?Iowa played better than us tonight and we had no answer for Julie Williams.?
?We work hard to win and it?s our night to win, that?s how I feel,? said Iowa head coach Rita Buck-Crockett. ?Julie has really stepped it up (this year). She?s leading the Big Ten in aces. Her serve was off tonight, but everything else was very good, so that?s okay. She?s a really good player who was just overlooked for a few years.?
The Spartans return to action on Saturday, Oct. 9 in Jenison Field House against Minnesota in a match that will be televised for tape-delayed broadcast by espn2. The game will air on Oct. 13 at 1 p.m.
