Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Wichita State - MSU Invitational
Spartans Sweep Wichita State In Tournament Action
9/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 1, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State volleyball squad (2-0) extended its winning streak to two games tonight when it defeated Wichita State 3-0 (30-27, 30-24, 30-26), in the opening contest of the 2005 Spartan Invitational Tournament. Leading the way for the Spartans was sophomore outside hitter Katie Johnson, who set a career-high with 27 kills on the night, averaging 9.00 kills per game average in the victory. First-year head coach Cathy George won her second consecutive match at the helm of the Spartan program as MSU captured its second non-conference sweep of 2005.
The Spartans controlled the contest from the start, taking a solid 30-27 first-game victory. The two squads battled point-for-point until MSU took an 11-9 lead that the WSU offense would never match. Leading the way for MSU in the first set was Johnson with eight kills, while senior setter Mickey Davis added 12 assists and one service ace.
Taking the 1-0 advantage into game two, the Spartans took a dominating 20-11 lead behind the service of outside hitter Jessica Hohl, who served five straight from the charity stripe. The Shockers managed to hit just .190 compared to the solid .312 effort by the Spartans during the second set, while WSU also tallied three service aces compared to no service errors by the Spartan offense. Johnson added eight kills in the game-two victory, while Brooke Langston added four kills and Hohl added two aces and four digs.
WSU took the floor starting game three with a sense of urgency posting the quick 2-1 lead, behind the service of Andee Hartig and a Sara Lungren kill. MSU continued its dominate style of play however, as Johnson added 11 kills in the 30-26 game-three victory, adding one dig and one block assist defensively for the Spartans. Davis managed 17 assists in the third set, 39 for the match, adding six digs and one kill from the setter position.
"Tonight we played our style of play and we saw very good sequences in our win," George said. "We need to continue to work hard throughout the non-conference portion of our schedule; which will be a great preparation for our Big Ten conference season in 2005. Our team has worked very hard throughout the pre-season and first week of regular-season play, and we look forward to the rest of the Spartan Invitational tournament."
MSU tallied eight blocks compared to the six blocks of the Shockers, while for the match, MSU hit .288 and WSU tallied just a .178 hitting percentage. A career night for Johnson, she also posted three solo blocks, hitting .426 for the contest. Leading the way for WSU were Jen Ray and Angela Jakubov, who each tallied eight kills in the loss, while setters Kelly Broussard and Abby Harsh added 21 and 19 assists, respectively.
MSU continues action when it faces South Florida Friday night at Jenison Field House at 7 p.m. Spartan Invitational action continues Friday morning when Ball State battles South Florida at 10:30 a.m., followed by BSU vs. WSU at 4:30 p.m.
