Michigan State University
Indiana
Spartan Volleyball Downs Indiana In Conference Action
9/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 23, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State volleyball team improved its record to 10-2, 1-1 in Big Ten action with a 3-1 win against Indiana on Saturday night at Jenison Field House. State won by scores of 23-30, 30-23, 30-26, and 30-26. Indiana falls to 10-4, 1-1 in conference action with the loss.
A trio of Spartans tallied double-digit kill totals, led by Ashley Schatzle and Katie Johnson with 19 each, while freshman Vanessa King added a career-high 16 kills on 23 attempts (.652) in the win. Senior setter Allison Ianni spread out 56 assists, and directed the offense to a .298 hitting percentage, while Jessica Hohl added eight kills for the Green and White.
"Indiana is a quality team, and we really had to compete and play well at the end to win this match tonight," Spartan head coach Cathy George said. "Both teams played five-game matches last night, and I am proud of the way our team found a way to get the win."
Indiana dominated at the net, posting 11.0 total blocks compared to just 4.0 by the Spartan defenders. Hohl and Ianni each posted two block assists, while Johnson and King each added one block for the match. Libero Nicole Colaluca anchored a strong Spartan backcourt, where MSU out-dug the Hoosiers, 74-48, and Colaluca tied a season high with 25 digs. Ianni recorded her second double-double in as many nights, adding 10 digs to her assist total, and defensive specialist Miken Trogdon added 13 digs for MSU.
Indiana opened the first set with a 9-4 lead, but Michigan State answered with a 5-0 run to knot the score at 9-9. The teams matched points three times before IU went on a 3-0 run to push its lead to 15-12 midway through game one. State never recovered, as the Hoosiers scored eight of the final 13 points to win game one, 30-23. Hohl, Schatzle and King tallied four kills each, while Trogdon and Colaluca posted five and six digs, respectively.
After matching points early, State went on a 5-0 run to take a 12-11 lead early in game two. The Hoosiers answered with consecutive points, but MSU scored four of the next five to extend its lead to 21-14. Trailing 26-18, IU used it final timeout and went on a 4-2 run to pull within four at 28-22, but Schatzle and Johnson connected on consecutive swings to even the match with a 30-23 game-two win. Schatzle tallied a game-best six kills, while Ianni added 13 assists and directed State to a .368 attack percentage for the set.
Johnson connected on an Ianni assist to tie game three, 14-14. Michigan State took its first timeout of the set trailing 18-16 and scored three straight out of the break to take a 19-18 advantage. State scored four of the next six points to push its lead to 23-20 and finished the set on a 3-1 run to take game three, 30-26. Schatzle tallied seven kills and five digs in the set, while Colaluca and Ianni added eight and five digs, respectively.
Both teams went on runs of two and three points early in game four before matching points three times for a 15-15 tie at the midway point. Rarey served the Spartans to three straight to knot the score at 21-21 and MSU went on a 6-3 run to take a dominating 27-24 upperhand. Ianni tipped a Trogdon pass over the Hoosier defenders, as MSU clinched the 3-1 match victory, and evened its Big Ten record to 1-1. In the 30-26 game four win, Johnson tallied a game-best seven kills on 12 attempts (.417), while Ianni and King each added three for the Spartan offense.
Michigan State continues conference action when it travels to face Wisconsin next Friday at 8 p.m. ET before traveling to face Minnesota, Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.
