Spartans Trip No. 6 Ohio State 3-0

Oct. 21, 2015

WATCH: Highlights vs. Ohio State

SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
A fourth straight victory for the Michigan State volleyball team was particularly sweet, as the Spartans upset No. 6 Ohio State , 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 26-24) at Jenison Field House on Wednesday night. MSU now owns a 14-6 overall record, and is 6-3 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes fall to 18-3, 7-2 in Conference play. The Spartans snapped a seven-match winning streak for OSU, which entered the game in a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten.

The win over the sixth-ranked Buckeyes was the highest-ranked team defeated by MSU since an upset of No. 1 Penn State in the opening game of the 2013 Big Ten schedule. A raucous crowd of 2.545 were treated to MSU's straight-set victory.

SET ONE: Big swings were the name of the game in the early part of the first set, as the teams were hitting .800 (4-0-5, OSU) and .857 (6-0-7, MSU) when Ohio State called the first timeout trailing 7-4. Out of the break, the Buckeyes got four quick scores with Taylor Sandbothe at the service line, as she served up three consecutive aces before her service error got MSU the sideout, tied 8-8. Both teams were hitting .750 or better with MSU holding a slim 13-12 edge, and fought to build a three point edge at 20-17, forcing the visitors into their second timeout. A thunderous ternination from Garvelink pushed MSU's lead to four at 22-18, and at set point, the sophomore came up with a fortuitous spin off the tape for her second service ace of the night, and a first-set victory for the Spartans. MSU had a total of six aces in the opening frame (two each from Garvelink and Toliver), while the Buckeyes had the three, all from Sandbothe. MSU hit .526 (12-2-19), while the Buckeyes countered with .526 (14-2-23).

SET TWO: OSU gained its largest lead to that point in the match at 7-4 in the frame, and MSU took its first timeout to regroup. The result was five straight points out of the break to pull MSU ahead 9-7. With the score tied 9-9, Toliver stepped in to serve, held it with an error by OSU, and served up back-to-back aces. After MSU pulled ahead 17-11, the Buckeyes battled back with three straight points to cut MSU's lead to four, but Reinig got a kill off the block to re-establish a four-point edge. A 3-1 run from the Spartans - with two kills from Reinig and one from Toliver - gave the Spartans a 20-15 edge, and the Buckeyes called a timeout. A swing off the pin and a block by Garvelink and Kranda pushed MSU's advantage to 22-15. The Buckeyes battled back with consecutive points, but Kranda got MSU to set point with a kill into the back right corner. The Buckeyes fought off set point twice with a Randall kill and a Spartan error, but Kranda closed it out to give MSU a 2-0 lead with a 25-19 set two win.

SET THREE: The teams were engaged in a point-for-point battle, as neither team could pull away until the visitors took a 19-16 edge. MSU scored four of the next six points and seven of the next nine, battling back to take a 23-22 lead, when the Buckeyes called timeout. Spartan middle Allyssah Fitterer became the weapon of choice as MSU was making its run, with five of her nine kills to that point of the match coming in the third frame. A Reinig kill gave MSU match point at 24-23, but the visitors countered with a kill by Luisa Schrimer to knot it at 24-24. Garvelink got MSU back to set point with her 10th kill of the match, and then combined with Kranda for a block on a Ashley Wenz attempt to close it out for the Spartans and seal the upset victory.

QUOTABLE:
"We wanted to come out and set the tone. Our players did a nice job of executing our game plan, and I think that we're seeing our team not only improve, but mature as we work our way through the schedule. We'll enjoy this tonight, but its a quick turnaround as we get ready to host Penn State on Saturday. "

- Head Coach Cathy George

TOP PERFORMERS

Alyssa Garvelink had a match-best 10 kills, adding a pair of blocks, two digs, and a career-best two service aces.
Allyssah Fitterer hit tied Garvelink with a .467 hitting percentage, with nine kills kills and a solo block to her credit.
Holly Toliver established a new career best with four service aces, and also added six kills and five digs.
Rachel Minarick recorded 31 assists, four digs, four kills, hitting .571 (4-0-7), and added two aces.
Chloe Reinig and Brooke Kranda each had five kills, as Kranda led the team in blocks (one solo, two assists).
Abby Monson had 11 digs, as MSU recorded a season-low 31 as a team.

STATS AND STORYLINES

MSU is now 30-45 all-time against the Buckeyes, and has won three of the last four in the series after a 3-2 loss in Columbus last season. Each of MSU's last three wins in the series have come by a 3-0 margin. Ohio State entered Wednesday's match with a seven-match winning streak after a Big Ten-opening loss to Minnesota.
The Spartans are now 2-4 against ranked teams this season. The win over the No. 6 Buckeyes is the highest-ranked team MSU has defeated since opening the 2013 Big Ten season with a win over No. 1 Penn State in State College.
The Spartans had six service aces in the opening set and a season-best total of 10 in the match MSU had eight in the match at North Carolina on Sept. 18.
The Spartans were out-blocked by a 10-5 margin. MSU is3-3 when being out-blocked this season.
MSU had just 31 digs in the set, their season low - but Ohio State had just 25, the lowest total for any MSU opponent this season.
MSU improves to 11-1 in three-set matches this season, and is now 14-3 when taking a first-set victory in 2015. All three losses are in Big Ten matches to No. 20 Purdue, No. 23 Michigan, and No. 4 Nebraska .
The Spartans conclude a four-game homestand on Saturday with No. 5 Penn State. 2015 graduate Kori Moster will have her All-America banner lifted into the Jenison Field House rafters prior to the match against the Nittany Lions.

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Team Stats

Alyssa Garvelink

Allyssah Fitterer

Holly Toliver

Chloe Reinig

Players Mentioned

Allyssah Fitterer

Alyssa Garvelink

Brooke Kranda

Rachel Minarick

Abby Monson

Kori Moster

Chloe Reinig

Holly Toliver