Michigan State University
Ohio State
Spartans Fall to Ohio State, 3-0
10/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 20, 2006
Columbus, Ohio - The Michigan State volleyball team fell to 13-6, 4-5 in Big Ten play with a 3-0 loss to Ohio State on Friday night at St. John Arena in Columbus. The Buckeyes won by scores of 30-28, 30-22, and 30-22. Ohio State improves to 14-5, 4-5 against conference opponents with the win.
Katie Johnson paced the Green and White with her 17th double-digit kill match of the season, posting 10 kills and four digs in the loss. Freshman outside hitter Vanessa King contributed 10 kills, while Ashley Schatzle and Jessica Hohl added seven and five, respectively. Setter Allison Ianni spread out 33 assists, adding four digs and one block solo at the net.
Both teams managed 7.0 total blocks in the match, while Ohio State held a slight edge with 44 digs compared to 42 by the Spartan backcourt. Libero Nicole Colaluca extended her double-digit dig streak to 11 matches with 14 for the night, while defensive specialist Miken Trogdon contributed six for the Green and White.
Ohio State out-hit the Spartans .328-.211, as Buckeye outside hitters Danielle Meyer and Anna Szerszen posted 13 and 17 kills, respectively for the match. Setter Marisa Main contributed five kills and seven digs, adding 43 assists for the Scarlet and Gray.
The Buckeyes trailed 10-15, but scored four straight to pull within one of the Spartan lead at 14-15 midway through the opening set. State scored four of the next five to push its lead to 18-15, but Ohio State put together a 5-2 run to knot the score at 20-20. Trailing 25-28, MSU used its final timeout of the set and connected on consecutive swings out of the break to pull within one at 28-27. Despite the rally, Buckeye setter Marisa Main placed a ball over the outstretched hands of the Spartan defenders to close game one, 30-28. Johnson led the Spartan offense with four kills, while Ianni spread out 10 assists in the set.
Michigan State trailed 16-22 late in game two before Ohio State put together an 8-6 run to take a 30-22 win. State committed five attack and three service errors in the set, while the Buckeyes hit .378 compared to the .294 effort by the Green and White. Colaluca tallied a floor-high seven digs, while King and Heather McDaniel added five and three kills, respectively.
Trailing 19-15, Michigan State used a 3-1 run to pull within one at 19-18, but OSU scored four of the next five to push its lead to 23-19 in the third set. State scored just three points the remainder of the match, as the Buckeyes clinched the sweep with a 30-22 game-three victory. Johnson managed four kills and one block solo in game three, while King added three kills for the Green and White.
The Spartans conclude weekend play at No. 2 Penn State, Saturday night at 7 p.m.
