Michigan State University Athletics
Friday, September 20
Kalamazoo, Mich.
5 PM ET
Michigan State University
8-1
3
vs
1
IUPUI
4-8
1
2
3
4
F
Michigan State
23
25
25
25
3
IUPUI
25
12
18
17
1
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Team Stats
MSU
IUPUI
Kills
48
34
Errors
16
29
Attempts
115
124
Hitting %
.278
.040
Points
66.0
45.0
Assists
45
31
Aces
7
5
Blocks
11.0
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills
18
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
Short-Handed Spartans Recover to Down IUPUI, 3-1
9/20/2019 7:15:00 PM | Volleyball
Kalamazoo, Mich. – Michigan State improved to 8-1 on the year with a 3-1 win over IUPUI (23-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-17). MSU won its fourth straight match.
MSU started slow for the second straight match – down one starter in the morning match vs. Auburn and three total in the nightcap against the Jaguars – MSU had to find its rhythm, as freshmen Biamba Kabengele and Emma Monks stepped in. Kabengele followed up her 15-kill performance from the morning with 1 8 in the nightcap, hitting .306. Naya Gros also tied her career best with 10 blocks, while Lauren Swartz had a career-best 18 digs and five assists to go with her five kills. Maggie Midgette posted a career best five blocks to go with her 21 assists, a season-high for the senior.
The teams combined for 25 service errors – 15 for MU and 10 for the Jaguars – but the Spartans were able to overcome a shaky first set (23-25) to hit .278 in the match, (48-16-115). The Jaguars hit .040 overall (34-29-124). MSU also had an 11-6 advantage in blocks and 56-45 lead in digs on the night.
Hannah Oehlberg had 11 kills and 10 digs to post a double-double for the Jaguars (4-8). Rebecca Schlechte finished with 24 assists and four digs.
MSU finishes up the Western Michigan tournament when it takes on the host Broncos on Saturday at 5 pm.
PLAYER HIGHS
- Biamba Kabengele posted had 18 kills and hit .306.
- Naya Gros tied her career high with a season-best 10 blocks (four solo) and also contributed nine kills, hitting .400.
- Molly Johnson had 10 kills and three digs.
QUOTABLE
"I'm proud of the way our team fought through today. New lineups that we hadn't necessarily practiced, or even remotely planned for – so the fact that we weathered the storm in the first set of both matches is a very good sign. We've been pleased with the growth we've seen, and this is another step for a good number of our players as they were executing new roles or even seeing their first collegiate action. We have stressed that continually growing and getting better is going to be the keys to our success, and that is going to have to continue tomorrow when we play a very good Western Michigan team."
- Head coach Cathy George
STATS & STORYLINES
- Lauren Swartz established a new career high with 18 digs (bettering her previous high of four) and added five assists and five kills.
- Molly Johnson's 10 kills is her season best.
- Jamye Cox finished with 11 digs, two aces, and two assists to extend her double-digit dig streak.
- Emma Monks had four kills, three digs, and a block in her collegiate debut.
- Maggie Midgette set a new career best with five blocks, and she led the Spartans with 21 assists.
SET SYNOPSIS
- SET ONE: Faced with some lineup challenges – the Spartans started two freshmen in MB Emma Monks and OH Biamba Kabengele - the teams traded points early. Naya Gros entered the match with consecutive kills to give MSU a 6-5 lead, but IUPUI stormed back with two kills and an ace to go up 8-6. Maggie Midgette came up with a big block at the pin and dumped it over on consecutive plays to keep MSU close. The struggles from the first match of the day carried over for the Spartans, who fell behind 12-9 and had to call a time out. MSU was trying to find a rhythm as it had in the morning with lineup tweaks, and kept chipping away – MSU was hitting .217 with three errors (two coming on IUPUI blocks). After trailing by as many as five (17-12), the Spartans climbed within two at 18-16, and stayed big at the net with four team blocks – all involving Gros. MSU rallied to tie things at 22-all on a kill by Monks, but a kill by Kailyn Johnson and a block by Corrissa Remter got the Jaguars to set point . Midgette and Monks posted a big block to fend it off, but the Jags came back with a kill by Hannah Oehlberg to take the opening frame 25-23. Kabengele had four kills, while Gros had four of MSU's five blocks and one termination. Oehlberg led her squad with five kills.
- SET TWO: MSU went up 4-2 early, then made it 10-4 as the Jaguars piled up five hitting errors. MSU kept the pressure on with big swings, and earned the largest lead of the day for either team, taking a 16-6 edge after a pair of kills from Lauren Swartz and a block from Midgette and Gros. The wall of Gros continued as she picked up block after block, helping MSU to a 20-8 edge; the teams traded points the rest of the way, with MSU taking the 25-12 win. MSU hit .333 (10-2-24) and put up three blocks; the Jaguars hit -.212 with 12 errors against five kills on 33 swings. Kabengele had six kills, and Gros had three blocks (one solo) in the set.
- SET THREE: The Green and White led by three points, up 11-8 after consecutive kills from Kabengele and Gros. IUPUI battled back into it with a 4-1 run to tie things at 13-all, as the Jaguars hit 8-1-16 (.438) to keep things close. Molly Johnson put up back to back kills, followed by an ace for Emma Monks to get MSU back on top, and MSU made it a five-point edge on a block by Gros and Johnson (19-14). MSU closed it out by a 25-18 margin behind four kills each from Gros and Kabengele. Swartz had four digs for the second straight set to push her total to 11.
- SET FOUR: The Spartans ran out to a 12-8 lead as Johnson picked up her ninth kill of the match, tying her career best, and a block by Midgette and Gros – Gros's 10th, Midgette's fifth – followed by an ace from McLean made it a seven-point edge at 15-8. Consecutive aces for Cox made it 20-9, but the Jaguars countered with a 5-0 run to trim it down to six points. After an MSU time out,the Spartans regained control and closed it out 25-17. Both Kabengele and Johnson had four kills in the frame, as MSU hit .265 (14-5-34).
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