Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Cal Poly
Volleyball Beats Cal Poly To Advance To NCAA Second Round
12/3/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Dec. 3, 1999
MALIBU, Calif. - Michigan State overcame road jitters to defeat Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 10-15, 15-10, 15-10, 15-13, on Friday, Dec. 3 in Firestone Fieldhouse on the campus of Pepperdine University.
Junior middle Sarah Gustin overcame a horrendous first game that included seven hitting errors, to notch a match-high 27 kills, tying her second-best effort of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Erin Hartley added 16 kills, four service aces and a career-high tying 21 digs and redshirt freshman Angela Morley had eight kills and three blocks. Setter Vicki Basil tallied 58 assists, 11 digs and two kills.
?We battled hard,? said MSU head coach Chuck Erbe. ?We came out in the first game and really struggled. We have had problems on the road all season and we were really road warriors tonight. One of our major goals of this season was to get past the first round. I?m proud of the kids and the way they represented tonight.?
Cal Poly got off to a 5-0 lead in game one, forcing MSU head coach Chuck Erbe to call a timeout. The Spartans used it to rally back, scoring four straight points. A Mustang hitting error allowed MSU to tie the game for the first time at 6-6 and open up a three-point lead at 9-6. Cal Poly stormed back and reclaimed the lead, scoring five-straight points. The Spartans scored only one more point during the match as the Mustangs won, 15-10.
The Spartans got off to another slow start in the second game as Cal Poly took a commanding 8-1 lead. The team regrouped, however, and mounted an amazing comeback, outscoring the Mustangs 14-2 over the duration of the game, including nine straight points, to take the game 15-10. Hartley keyed part of the rally, holding serve for five points including two service aces. Gustin rebounded with the team in this game with nine kills.
Cal Poly scored the first point in the third game and it looked as if the game would unfold like the first two. But then Hartley rotated to serve and scored two more aces as the Spartans opened up an 8-2 lead. A Cal Poly timeout settled the Mustangs and they came back to score three straight to get within 8-5. A kill and a service ace by Gustin and a Maren Witzel kill gave the Spartans an 11-5 cushion. Cal Poly countered again behind the domination of middle Kari DeSoto, scoring five consecutive points for just a 10-11 deficit. An MSU timeout changed the momentum, however, as Hartley sided out for the Spartans with a kill and the team went on to score the next five points for a 15-10 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Michigan State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth game but the Mustangs tied it up, again behind the strong hitting of DeSoto. The game was tied again at five, six and eight before the Spartans opened up a three point lead behind service aces from Sanborn and Basil and a Mustang hitting error. A Cal Poly timeout was followed by a Spartan point but then the Mustangs scored three points of their own to get to breathe down MSU?s neck at 12-11. Michigan State called its second timeout of the game after which the Spartans sided out to stop the run and went on to score another point. Down 11-13,Cal Poly then called its second timeout of the game. MSU used a Mustang hitting error to get to game point and survived Cal Poly?s late run in which it clawed to within one at 14-13, to seal the game and match on an Angela Morley kill.
?This is a great win,? said Spartan setter Vicki Basil. ?We overcame that first game loss and showed we?re ready to start our season over and make up for what we didn?t do in the Big Ten.?
DeSoto led Cal Poly with 23 kills and 15 blocks. The Spartans outhit Cal Poly .225-.211 but were outblocked 18-10. MSU is now 4-0 in four-game matches and 7-0 on neutral floors.
The Spartans raise their record to 21-12 overall this season while Cal Poly falls to 20-9. Michigan State plays Pepperdine on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in second round action.
