Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
South Florida - MSU Invitational
Balanced Attack Propels MSU over South Florida
9/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 2, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
MSU vs. USF Box Score
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In front of 1,347 Spartan faithful, the Michigan State volleyball squad captured its third win of the 2005 season, sweeping South Florida 3-0 Friday Sept. 2 in State's second match of the 2005 Spartan Invitational tournament (30-22, 30-18, 30-22). The win marked the Spartans third sweep of the season, improving its record to 3-0, while the Bulls fell to 0-2 on the year. Senior Megan Wallin and sophomore Katie Johnson combined for 33 kills while leading MSU to a .400 hitting percentage for the match, State's highest mark thus far in 2005.
Out-hitting the Bulls .405 to .175 in the 30-22 game-one victory set the tone for the entire three-set match. MSU dominated both offensively and defensively, posting 20 kills and 2.0 blocks for the game, compared to the 14 kills and zero blocks by the USF front court. Johnson continued her stellar play, tallying a game-high seven kills, while Wallin added six kills and senior setter Mickey Davis added 14 assists in the game-one victory.
Jumping out to a quick 18-9 lead in the second set, senior Marley Bellwood served two straight points for MSU extended its lead to 22-11. The USF offense had no answer for the dominating 3.0 total blocks by the Spartan defense, while two Spartan aces from the service stripe solidified the game-two victory. Johnson added six kills to her total during the second set, while junior libero Nicole Colaluca led the floor with 11 digs during the first two sets of the match.
Although MSU had its lowest hitting percentage of the night during the third set with a .371 mark, the Spartan defense added 2.0 blocks for a 7.0 block total for the match. The Bulls struggled offensively, posting just a .083 hitting percentage for the night, while the Spartans managed 53 kills, six aces, 33 digs and 47 assists in the non-conference match-up.
"We played extremely well tonight, and we continue to see our team get better every match we play in 2005," head coach Cathy George said. "Our fans and supporters are such a great asset for our team, and they really gave us the home-court advantage tonight. We look forward to a tough match-up with Ball State tomorrow in our final contest of the Spartan Invitational."
Davis finished the sweep with 39 assists, while Johnson posted 19 kills, two aces, five digs and three block solos in the victory. Colaluca led the floor with 11 digs for the night, while Wallin posted a season-best 14 kills in the Spartan victory.
MSU concludes play in the 2005 Spartan Invitational Saturday night when it faces Ball State at 7 p.m. in Jenison Field House. USF and Wichita State opens Saturday's play with a 4:30 p.m. non-conference match-up.
