Michigan State University
Eastern Michigan
Spartans Sweep Eastern Michigan To Open Tournament Play
9/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 1, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State volleyball team improved to 4-0 on the year with a 3-0 win (30-24, 30-24, 30-21) against Eastern Michigan (1-4) in the opening match of the 2006 Spartan Invitational, Friday afternoon at Jenison Field House.
"We struggled to find our rhythm early in the match today," Spartan head coach Cathy George said. "Defensively, we felt much more comfortable at the net in games two and three, and our offense really began to come together to close out the victory. We are continuing to build on our strategy and game plan throughout the non-conference portion of our schedule and I am excited to get back on the court tonight against Villanova."
Offensively, outside hitter Ashley Schatzle tallied a match-high 16 kills to lead the Green and White, while setter Allison Ianni posted six kills, 41 assists, four digs, and four block assists. Jessica Hohl added nine kills and Katie Johnson tallied 11 kills on 18 attempts for a match-high .556 hitting percentage.
"Going into the game we knew that EMU would be a tough opponent to start the tournament," Spartan outside hitter Ashley Schatzle said. "I am really proud of the way our team adapted to their style of play and made changes to our game plan to get the win."
Eastern Michigan won the battle at the net, posting 7.0 total blocks compared to 5.0 blocks by the Spartans. EMU tallied just 34 digs, compared to 49 by the Spartan backcourt where libero Nicole Colaluca tallied a match-high 17 digs and defensive specialists Miken Trogdon and Melany Rarey added eight and six digs, respectively.
The Spartans held a 17-14 lead after scoring four consecutive points midway through the opening set. EMU scored six of the next nine points to knot the score at 20-20 before consecutive kills by Schatzle and a Trogdon service ace gave the Spartans a 23-20 advantage. State scored seven of the final 11 points to take game one, 30-24. Ianni spread out 15 assists and posted one block assist, Schatzle added a game-best eight kills and Tracy Bellwood added two aces and two digs for the Spartan defense.
MSU scored 12 of the first 16 points capped by a Mischell Nelson kill to take a 12-4 lead early in game two. Momentum turned in the way of the Eagles as they scored five of the next six points to pull within four at 13-9. Schatzle and Hohl connected on back-to-back swings to push the Spartan lead to 26-18 before EMU took its final timeout of the set. Out of the break, EMU scored four of the next six points before Johnson connected on three swings late in the match to secure a 30-24 win. Ianni posted 15 assists, two block assists and one kill for the set, while Johnson tallied six kills on nine attempts for a game-best .667 hitting percentage.
Game three proved the most exciting of the match as the score stood at 15-13 in favor of the Spartans at the midway point. The teams matched points six times before Hohl served six consecutive points to push the lead to 23-16. State clinched its third sweep of the season scoring five of the last seven points for a 30-21 win. Hohl, Ianni, Schatzle and Nelson each tallied three kills for the set, while Trogdon and Colaluca tallied four and three digs, respectively.
Michigan State continues tournament play against Villanova, Friday night at 7 p.m.
