MSU Downs North Carolina, 3-1

Sept. 18, 2015

SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
Rachel Minarick recorded just the 11th triple-double in school history and Michigan State downed host North Carolina, 3-1, in Chapel Hill on Friday evening. MSU also got a double-double from Halle Peterson and double-digit kill efforts from Alyssa Garvelink and Brooke Kranda in the victory.

Both teams were receiving votes in the most recent AVCA poll after starting the season in the Top 25 - UNC at No. 7, and MSU at No. 19. MSU is now 7-3 overall on the season, while UNC falls to 2-6, with three losses coming to Big Ten teams. The Tar Heels took a 3-0 win in East Lansing last season, and MSU returned the favor with the Friday win at Carmichael Arena.

SET ONE: The Spartans jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead, extended it to a five-point advantage at 9-4, and built its lead to eight, 15-7, forcing the hosts into a timeout. MSU reeled off four straight points after the break, forcing UNC to take its second and final break of the set. The Tar Heels put together a 4-1 run to trim MSU's lead down to nine (22-13), but a big swing by Holly Toliver got the sideout. At set point, a long rally came to an end with a Garvelink kill. Brooke Kranda had five kills to lead MSU, while Toliver posted four on seven swings.

SET TWO: The Tar Heels , who had just one block in the opening set, came out with two early stuffs for a slight 4-3 deficit. MSU opened it up a bit as a 7-4 lead became a six-point edge as Rachel Minarick delivered three consecutive service aces. A 6-2 run for the home team, cut the Spartan lead to three (16-13), and an MSU error brought the Heels to their smallest deficit in the match, 17-15, as MSU called its first timeout of the night. A kill by Fitterer and ace by Kranda extended the lead back to four out of the break, and maintained it through a 21-17 lead before a big kill by Tar Heel senior Paige Neuenfelt, a Michigan native. With MSU leading 22-18, UNC called its final time out, and the Spartans returned to the court with three straight points to take the set - a block and a kill by Alyssa Garvelink, and a kill by Kranda to take the 2-0 lead.

SET THREE: Carolina took its first lead of the match at 7-3, thanks to a 3-0 run fueled by a pair of aces from Neuenfelt. A pair of big blocks later pushed the lead to five (15-10), but a 12-5 run for the Spartans put them back in control. UNC called its final timeout as MSU moved ahead 21-18, and stormed out of the break with three of the next four points to pull within one. (22-21). After Minarick gave MSU a 23-22 edge, the hosts reeled off three straight points to get back into the match.

SET FOUR: The Spartans methodically built their lead by three, five, and eventually seven points at 16-9, as Minarick secured her double-double with her 10th dig of the match. With MSU leading 19-10, a 5-1 run by the Heels got the home team back in the game and within five points, 20-15. Another small run of three points brought the Heels to within three at 21-18, forcing MSU into a time out. The Spartans bent but refused to break, getting a kill from Kranda for match point and her classmate Megan Tompkins to polish off the 3-1 victory.

QUOTABLE:
"We're a week away from our Big Ten schedule, and we're treating this trip as we would our league games. UNC is a good team that has taken on an incredibly ambitious and challenging non-conference schedule. For us, we have really seen improvement from week to week, and I am proud of our players for the way that they have handled the things thrown at us so far this season. We saw the multiple facets of Rachel Minarick that makes her so dangerous, and she posted a triple-double, which is certainly not an easy feat. Halle Peterson, who has overcome injury after injury, is finally having an opportunity to compete and the results are just outstanding. We're still a work in progress, but we're going to take some pleasure in the strides that we're making." ."
- Head Coach Cathy George

TOP PERFORMERS

Rachel Minarick had 25 assists, and also added 11 kills, 10 digs and a career-best four service aces,. It was her first career triple-double and the first for Michigan State since Allison Ianni in 2006.
Alyssa Garvelink had 14 kills and shared the match lead with four blocks, hitting .360.
Brooke Kranda led all scorers with 16 kills, and added two blocks and a service ace .
Halle Peterson had a pair of career-bests with 30 assists, and 16 digs for her second double-double of the season.

STATS AND STORYLINES

Rachel Minarick delivered three straight service aces in the second set and finished with four, her career best and the most aces in a match for any Spartan player this season.
Minarick's triple-double was the first for MSU since Allison Ianni's vs. IPFW on Aug. 25, 2006, when she had 11 kills, 55 assists, and 10 digs in the opening match of the season.
Holly Toliver contributed a season-best nine kills, added four blocks and an ace.
Abby Monson established a new season-best with 19 digs, the second straight game she had a new career high. She had 16 digs vs. Delaware on Sept. 12.
UNC entered the match as the fifth-ranked blocking team in the country, and out-blocked MSU by a 9-6 margin.
MSU completes its final non-conference weekend when it takes on Duke Saturday at 6:30 pm at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

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Team Stats

Brooke Kranda

Alyssa Garvelink

Rachel Minarick

Holly Toliver

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Garvelink

Brooke Kranda

Rachel Minarick

Abby Monson

Halle Peterson

Holly Toliver

Megan Tompkins