Michigan State University
Ohio State
Spartans Suffer 3-0 Setback To No. 19 Ohio State
11/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 18, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State fell in its second consecutive Big Ten match, suffering a 3-0 setback to No. 19 Ohio State on Saturday night at Jenison Field House. The Buckeyes won by scores of 30-26, 30-25, and 30-13. Michigan State falls to 17-11, 8-10 in conference play, while OSU improves to 21-7, with an 11-7 mark against Big Ten opponents.
Outside hitter Katie Johnson paced the Spartan offense with 12 kills, while Ashley Schatzle added 11, and middle blockers Jessica Hohl and Vanessa King each contributed five for the Green and White. Allison Ianni posted four kills on seven attempts (.571), adding 33 assists, and five digs in the loss.
The Buckeyes won the defensive battle, posting 9.0 total blocks against 8.0 by the Spartan defenders. King led Michigan State at the net with two block solos and three block assists, while freshman middle blocker Whitney Tremain added three, and Hohl and Ianni each contributed two blocks in the match. Michigan State libero Nicole Colaluca managed just seven digs, marking the first time in her Spartan career that she has failed to register double-digit digs in consecutive matches after posting eight against Penn State on Friday night.
Ohio State out-hit MSU .400 to .173, and tallied 52 kills against just 41 by the Spartan offense. Michigan State was plagued by unforced errors in the match, committing 23 attack and nine errors at the service stripe. Buckeye outside hitter Danielle Meyer led all hitters with 14 kills in the match, while middle blocker Anna Szerszen contributed 12. Setter Marisa Main spread out 44 assists, adding five kills, and three digs in the Buckeye backcourt.
Trailing 16-20 in game one, Michigan State scored four of the next five points to pull within one of the Buckeye lead at 20-21. Ohio State answered with two straight points and ended the set on a 6-3 run for a 30-26 game-one victory. Johnson led the Green and White with six kills on 10 attempts in the set, while Ianni spread out 13 assists, adding four digs, and two block assists at the net.
Johnson placed a ball over the Buckeye defenders to give Michigan State its first lead of the match at the 20-19 mark in game two. Ohio State scored six of the next seven behind the service of Ashley Kiel and connected on consecutive swings to take a 2-0 match advantage with a 30-25 win in game two. Schatzle tallied five kills and three digs in the set, while Johnson added five kills and one block solo for the Green and White. Each team managed 15 kills in game two, however, State committed nine attack and five service errors, compared to just six attack and one service error by the Buckeye offense.
Ohio State carried its momentum into game three, taking a dominating 21-11 lead midway through the set. State managed just two points the remainder of the match, tying the lowest single-game (Oct.. 21, 2006 vs. PSU) point total by a Spartan team with a 30-13 loss in the set. Hohl paced MSU with three kills, while Colaluca contributed three digs in the Spartan backcourt.
Michigan State hosts Michigan in the final home game of the 2006 season on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at Jenison Field House. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
