MSU Sweeps Indiana in Big Ten opener

Friday, September 25

East Lansing, Mich.

7:00 PM

Michigan State University

9-3, 1-0B1G

Indiana

10-3, 0-1B1G

Indiana

Michigan State

9/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score

Sept. 25, 2015

SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
Michigan State opened up Big Ten play on Friday night with a 3-0 sweep (25-21, 25-20, 25-20) of Indiana at Jenison Field House. The Spartans won their sixth straight match in front of a crowd of 2,795 fans, who also helped celebrate the 20th anniversary of MSU's 1995 Final Four team. MSU got 10 kills from Brooke Kranda, while classmate Megan Tompkins hit .700, posting seven kills and a match-high five blocks. The Spartans are now 9-3 overall and win their third straight Big Ten opener, while Indiana falls to 10-3 overall.

Box Score | MSU-Indiana Photo Gallery
Highlights: MSU vs. Indiana

The Spartans welcomed back the 1995 MSU team that advanced to the Final Four with a dramatic come-from behind win over previously unbeaten Hawaii in the regional final. In addition to the entire 1995 team, several other alumnae joined in the alumni weekend festivities, which will include a football tailgate on Saturday morning.

SET ONE: Tied at 6-6 MSU went on a 9-4 run, pulling ahead by a 15-9 margin. The Hoosiers countered with a run of their own, tying the set at 20-20. Back-to-back Kranda kills and a Halle Peterson dump over the net gave MSU the lead back at 24-20, and despite the Hoosiers fighting off set point, Megan Tompkinsgot the decisive termination to seal the opening-set win. Kranda hit .462 with six kills in the frame, while Garvelink had four kills and hit .571 (4-0-7).

SET TWO: IU held a two-point lead at 10-8, but MSU stormed back into it with a 5-1 run, helped by by a pair of blocks by Megan Tompkins and a third by Garvelink and Rachel Minarick. The Hoosiers got their first block of the night to pull within a point at 16-15, but MSU came back at IU with a 4-1 run to take its largest lead of the set, 20-16. A 5-0 Spartan run gave MSU the 2-0 match lead, closing out the set with a 25-20 win as Garvelink delivered the decisive kill. MSU hit just .050 in the frame, but Indiana was at a -.030 - the Spartans had just seven kills, but stayed aggressive with four blocks.

SET THREE: After a rough second set, MSU's attack improved greatly in the third frame, amassing 16 kills and just one error on 29 swings (.483) MSU took its largest lead of the set at 16-10, and MSU's offense kept coming, maintaining a four to five point lead. Up 23-19, Indiana called its final time out; but was unable to overcome the Spartans who went on to take a 25-20 win in the final set.

QUOTABLE:
"Getting off to a good start in the Big Ten was important to us. We had built up some momentum in the last two weeks, but we also know that we're in the part of our schedule where you have to be on your game every night. I thought that we got out of rhythm a bit, but we recovered well and were able to close it out in three sets. Now, we're turning around quickly and getting a really good Purdue team to close out the weekend, and we're looking on cleaning up some things and being ready to go tomorrow."
- Head Coach Cathy George

TOP PERFORMERS

Brooke Kranda led all scorers with 10 kills and one block assist, contributing 10 points to the Spartans while hitting .435.
Megan Tompkins and Alyssa Garvelink each added seven kills to the Spartans' 39 total. Tompkins led MSU's effort at the net for the third time in the last four matches, finishing with a match-high five blocks and adding seven kills and hitting .700.
Rachel Minarick had 15 assists, while Halle Peterson added 13 and also had 5 digs.
Abby Monson had double-digit digs for the seventh straight match (10), and also added three assists.

STATS AND STORYLINES

MSU has won six straight matches dating back to a title at the Holly Young Invitational in New Hampshire (Sept. 11-12). MSU has won 18 of 19 sets in that stretch.
The Spartans win their opening Big Ten match for the third straight season, and are now 9-26 all-time in Conference openers.
Indiana had just 28 digs in the match, a season-low for MSU opponents. However, the Hoosiers recorded seven service aces as compared to just three for MSU.
The Spartans move to 48-29 all-time against the Hoosiers, winning eight of the last nine meetings. The Spartans have won seven straight sets against IU.
MSU out-blocked Indiana by by a 7-3 margin.
The Spartans are a perfect 9-0 when winning the first set this season, including seven 3-0 decisions.
MSU welcomed back all of its program alumni on Friday night, and honored its 1995 Final Four team with a pre-game reception as well as recognizing the team on the floor between the second and third sets. The team will also be honored on the field at the MSU-Central Michigan football game on Saturday afternoon.