Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
0-2
Cal Poly
1-1
Spartans Drop Heartbreaker to No. 10 Cal Poly
8/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 29, 2008
NORMAN, Okla. - Looking to rebound from a disappointing opening to the 2008 season, the Michigan State volleyball squad squared off against No. 10 Cal Poly in its second game of the Nike Sooner Legends Invitational at the McCasland Field House in Norman, Okla. The Spartans gave Cal Poly all that they could handle, but the Mustangs experience would prove to be too much for MSU as they took the match 3-2 (25-21, 25-27, 27-25, 16-25, 8-15.)
Set one began with the 10th-ranked Mustangs galloping out to an 11-4 lead on the heels of their great outside attack. A side-out and two straight attack-errors by the Mustangs kept the Spartans within reach at 11-7. The Mustangs would then be called for a service violation, swinging the momentum back to the Spartans. Rathje would go on to tally two straight kills giving the Spartans a 15-14 lead, capping an 11-3 run.
The Spartans would go on to outscore the Mustangs 21-10 to close out the set, winning 25-21 giving them a 1-0 lead in the match. Vanessa King (Spring Lake, Mich.) led the way with a monster set for the green and white, posting five kills while hitting .667. She also led MSU with four assists. Both Carli Weiler (Oak Lawn, Ill.) and Becca Zlabis (Wheaton, Ill.) kept the Spartans alive during their sluggish start, each tallying four digs in set one, many of which were while the Spartans were making their run. MSU also proved to be much more efficient than the Mustangs in game one as they only committed two errors to Cal Poly's nine. The Spartans, as a team, hit .333 to Cal Poly's .128, the difference in the set.
With the score at 23-22 in favor of Cal Poly in the second set, a long rally was capped by a King kill, tying the set at 23. The long rally was kept alive on two spectacular digs by Weiler on back-to-back attacks from Cal Poly. Weiler came from nowhere twice to set up the tying point, keeping the Spartans alive. Senior Heather McDaniel (Madison Heights, Mich.) would put the next serve into the net, giving the Mustangs their first shot at set point. The Spartans would fend off that chance and the next, but ultimately dropped the second set, 27-25, knotting the match at one set apiece.
Rathje tallied six kills in the second set while King added another four. Weiler would go on to corral seven digs in the second game, helping to keep MSU in striking distance.
The Spartans and Mustangs would once again go back and forth in the third set. MSU trailed throughout much of the set but would once again come back to knot the score at 23. Weiler, who tallied some amazing digs to keep points alive, teamed with Rathje and King, rallied the Spartans. A kill by freshman Kyndra Abron (Livonia, Mich.), the first of her career, gave the Spartans the lead at 25-24. Despite a brief rally by Cal Poly, the Spartans would take the third set, 27-25, giving them the edge 2-1 heading to the fourth set.
The Spartans, who had just two team blocks in the first contest of the day against Oklahoma, tallied 13 through the first three games. Rathje and Zlabis led the way in the third set as Rathje totaled seven kills, extending her total to 16 through three. Zlabis tallied four, moving her total to 10, giving her the first double-double of her collegiate career.
Cal Poly dominated through much of the fourth set, winning 25-16, giving the Spartans their first five-set match of the season.
The decisive fifth set was a game of runs. Once again playing from behind, the Spartans found themselves trailing 12-7 late in the set. The Spartans were never able to regain their composure and dropped the final set 15-8. The Spartans fall to 0-2 on the season with the loss and will look for their first win tomorrow against Wichita State at 11 a.m. ET. Live stats and streaming audio will be provided.
