Michigan State University
1-1
Arkansas-Little Rock
0-2
Spartans Sweep Little Rock to Even Record
8/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
Michigan State downed Little Rock 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-20) at the Bluegrass Invitational at Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans improve to 1-1 overall, while Little Rock falls to 0-2 on the year. The Trojans were among teams receiving votes in the pre-season AVCA poll.
- The Spartans took the first set 25-22, paced by six kills from Allyssah Fitterer.
- In the second set, MSU trailed by as many as six points, but the trio of Fitterer , Brooke Kranda, and Alyssa Garvelink turned up the heat, combining for 17 kills and five blocks in the frame to bring MSU back and take the second set 26-24, despite hitting .167 with 12 errors.
- The Spartans led wire-to-wire in the third and final frame, its largest lead five points. Little Rock cut it to a two-point game at 18-16 and 20-18, but the Spartans got kills from four different players to close out the frame and the match.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Rachel Minarick had her second straight double-double, with 45 assists, 11 digs, and two blocks.
- Allyssah Fitterer just missed a double-double, with 17 kills and nine digs. She also added four blocks, hitting .344.
- Alyssa Garvelink contributed a game-high seven blocks and added nine kills, hitting .333.
- Redshirt sophomore Megan Tompkins earned her first start, and had eight kills, hitting .500, and added two digs.
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- Brooke Kranda posted 10 kills, a second straight double-digit kill effort.
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KEY STRETCH
Trailing by six in the second set (15-9), the Spartans went on an 11-2 run to pull ahead by a 20-17 margin. The Trojans countered with a run to knot the score at 21-all, and MSU ultimately closed it out with back-to-back kills by Garvelink and Kranda to seal the second-set victory.
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QUOTABLE
"I'm really encouraged by this morning, because we had some people that we needed to step up and step into some new roles.It was important for us to bounce back after losing last night. I think we've got some versatility because of our players learning to step in and play different positions on a moment's notice last year, and we saw some of the benefits of that today. However, we now have a quick turnaround and take on a good IUPUI team that's looking to keep a good start going. "
-- Head Coach Cathy George.
STATS AND STORYLINES
- This was the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
- MSU out-blocked their hosts by a 8-6 margin in the match.
- With 17 kills against Little Rock, Allyssah Fitterer had her fourth double-digit kill game in Memorial Coliseum in five tries over her career. She had 15 vs. Kentucky and 18 vs. Penn State in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, and 15 kills against the Wildcats Friday night.
- Rachel Minarick, who led the Spartans with six double-doubles in 2014, had her second straight to start the 2015 season with 45 assists and 11 digs She also added three blocks and three kills.
- Megan Tompkins had eight kills, one shy of the career-best nine she had against Duke last September.
- Brooke Kranda posted a second-straight double-digit kill game, with 10 vs. Little Rock. Kranda, a redshirt sophomore, had two attack attempts last season in one match played.
- MSU has one more Saturday afternoon match - at 5:30, the Spartans tangle with IUPUI, a 20-game winner in 2014.
