Michigan State University
Penn State
Spartans Battle Top-Ranked Nittany Lions, But Fall 3-0
11/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 10, 2007
East Lansing, Mich. - The Michigan State volleyball team fought hard tonight against No. 1 Penn State, but ended up dropping the contest 3-0 (27-30, 21-30, 24-30) in front of 2,023 fans at Jenison Field House. The Spartans fall to 16-12 overall and 7-9 in the Big Ten, while Penn State wins their 16th straight match to remain unbeaten in the league at 16-0 and improve to 24-2 overall.
Seniors Katie Johnson (Brooklyn, Mich./Columbia Central) and Ashley Schatzle (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) again led the Spartans up front. Johnson poured in 15 kills, while Schatzle added 14. Freshman Lauren O'Reilly (Langley, British Columbia/Pacific Academy) dished out 38 assists and senior Miken Trogdon (Lisle, Ill./Wheaton St. Francis) led the defense with nine digs.
The Spartans went toe-to-toe with the top-ranked Nittany Lions in game one, but PSU would eventually squeeze out a 30-27 opening game win. MSU had a three point lead as late as 19-16, but Penn State took five of the next six points to open up their first lead of the game at 21-20. Michigan State briefly retook the lead at 22-21, but two kills by Christa Harmotto highlighted a 4-0 run by Penn State, which held on to the lead for good. The Green and White hit .375 in the first game behind seven kills by Schatzle and four each by Johnson and freshman Jenilee Rathje (Mount Pleasant, Mich./Mount Pleasant).
Michigan State again led early in the second game, opening up a 11-8 advantage. However, Penn State would use three runs of four consecutive points or more to pull away from the Spartans for a 30-21 game two victory. MSU was held to a .071 hitting percentage in the second game.
The third and final game featured 10 ties in the early rotations, the last of which was at 13-all. PSU followed with five unanswered points to take the momentum and eventually the match, closing out the game at 30-24. Johnson had six kills and O'Reilly had 15 assists in the third game.
The Spartans close out the road portion of their 2007 regular season this upcoming weekend with trips to Minnesota and Iowa. First serve on Friday in Minneapolis is set for 8 p.m. ET.
