Sunday, November 17
Iowa City, Iowa
3 PM ET
Michigan State University
11-16,4-12Big Ten
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Iowa
10-18,4-12Big Ten
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Michigan St.
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Photo by: Brittney Kimball
Volleyball Dominates Hawkeyes in Road Sweep
11/17/2024 7:12:00 PM | Volleyball
CORALVILLE, Iowa – After a tight first set, Michigan State volleyball dominated sets two and three in a 3-0 (27-25, 25-13, 25-14) sweep over Iowa on Sunday afternoon at Xtream Arena.
"We stayed composed in a tight first set and continued to execute our gameplan," said Michigan State head coach Leah Johnson. "That allowed us to really break things open in sets two and three. We've invested in being better as a group these last two weeks and you're seeing that pay off in the results."
MSU increases its winning streak to three, improving to 11-16 (4-12 B1G) while Iowa falls to 10-18 (4-12 B1G). The Spartans are back in action at the Breslin Center next week with home matches against Oregon (Thursday, Nov. 17) and Maryland (Saturday, Nov. 23).
Michigan State got career-best blocking performance from junior opposite hitter Akasha Anderson and junior middle blocker Evie Doezema who each tallied seven in a 12.5-block team effort. Sophomore middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig added five blocks of her own and led the team with a pair of service aces in set two.
Junior outside hitter Taylor Preston paced the Spartan offense with 11 kills followed by Anderson's 10. Senior libero Nalani Iosia posted 12 digs to lead all players on Sunday. Fellow senior Julia Bishop's 14 assists was a team high.
MSU held Iowa to -.020 hitting, the second-lowest opponent hitting output of Michigan State's season. The Hawkeyes finished with 28 hitting errors on 98 swings. After hitting .023 in set one, Iowa hit -.033 and -.083 over the remaining two frames. Michigan State hit .230 for the match including .357 in the match-clinching third set. MSU out-blocked Iowa 12.5-to-4 and held a 6-to-2 advantage in aces.
Iowa's -.020 hitting is the first sub-zero hitting performance by a B1G opponent against MSU since 2019 (Rutgers, -.012) and the worst B1G hitting performance against the Spartans since 2014 (Indiana, -.075).
A gritty first set performance saw Michigan State take a 1-0 match lead after going to extra points. The Spartans blocked six Hawkeye attacks in set one with Anderson posting four along with three each for Kulig and Doezema. Iowa built a 6-2 lead early and led 15-12 at the media timeout, but a 3-0 Spartan run out of the break tied the set at 15-15. A Spartan timeout trailing 21-18 ignited a spark with MSU scoring four straight to lead for the first time, 22-21 on a block by Anderson and Doezema. Both sides traded points into extras where a kill by Kulig put Michigan State on set point before a double block by Anderson and Doezema sealed the set 27-25.
After both sides traded scoring runs to open the second, Michigan State pulled away using a 10-1 run to lead 17-9 over the Hawkeyes. Kulig was masterful behind the service line during the run serving seven straight points with two aces. Preston picked up her game with four kills and a block in that stretch. MSU ended a dominant second set on a 7-1 scoring run that featured aces from Iosia and Muisenga as well as a pair of Anderson kills.
Set three was nearly a carbon-copy of set two with the stanza tied at 9-9 before an 11-1 Spartan run opened the floodgates and forced Iowa to call each of its two timeouts. MSU got aces from Bishop and Preston in the run, but the Hawkeyes committed six hitting errors over the stretch to help the Spartans. Kulig earned kills on three of Michigan State's final five points, including the last two kills of the match to secure victory for MSU.
"We stayed composed in a tight first set and continued to execute our gameplan," said Michigan State head coach Leah Johnson. "That allowed us to really break things open in sets two and three. We've invested in being better as a group these last two weeks and you're seeing that pay off in the results."
MSU increases its winning streak to three, improving to 11-16 (4-12 B1G) while Iowa falls to 10-18 (4-12 B1G). The Spartans are back in action at the Breslin Center next week with home matches against Oregon (Thursday, Nov. 17) and Maryland (Saturday, Nov. 23).
On a different level 🟢⚪️#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/EaovlzE0c7
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 17, 2024
Michigan State got career-best blocking performance from junior opposite hitter Akasha Anderson and junior middle blocker Evie Doezema who each tallied seven in a 12.5-block team effort. Sophomore middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig added five blocks of her own and led the team with a pair of service aces in set two.
Junior outside hitter Taylor Preston paced the Spartan offense with 11 kills followed by Anderson's 10. Senior libero Nalani Iosia posted 12 digs to lead all players on Sunday. Fellow senior Julia Bishop's 14 assists was a team high.
MSU held Iowa to -.020 hitting, the second-lowest opponent hitting output of Michigan State's season. The Hawkeyes finished with 28 hitting errors on 98 swings. After hitting .023 in set one, Iowa hit -.033 and -.083 over the remaining two frames. Michigan State hit .230 for the match including .357 in the match-clinching third set. MSU out-blocked Iowa 12.5-to-4 and held a 6-to-2 advantage in aces.
Iowa's -.020 hitting is the first sub-zero hitting performance by a B1G opponent against MSU since 2019 (Rutgers, -.012) and the worst B1G hitting performance against the Spartans since 2014 (Indiana, -.075).
A gritty first set performance saw Michigan State take a 1-0 match lead after going to extra points. The Spartans blocked six Hawkeye attacks in set one with Anderson posting four along with three each for Kulig and Doezema. Iowa built a 6-2 lead early and led 15-12 at the media timeout, but a 3-0 Spartan run out of the break tied the set at 15-15. A Spartan timeout trailing 21-18 ignited a spark with MSU scoring four straight to lead for the first time, 22-21 on a block by Anderson and Doezema. Both sides traded points into extras where a kill by Kulig put Michigan State on set point before a double block by Anderson and Doezema sealed the set 27-25.
Spartans within one after Taylor Preston's cross-court kill!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/0m2u3lvbel
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 17, 2024
After both sides traded scoring runs to open the second, Michigan State pulled away using a 10-1 run to lead 17-9 over the Hawkeyes. Kulig was masterful behind the service line during the run serving seven straight points with two aces. Preston picked up her game with four kills and a block in that stretch. MSU ended a dominant second set on a 7-1 scoring run that featured aces from Iosia and Muisenga as well as a pair of Anderson kills.
Rachel Muisenga's ACE gives us set two!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/H5bkAIJSbu
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 17, 2024
Set three was nearly a carbon-copy of set two with the stanza tied at 9-9 before an 11-1 Spartan run opened the floodgates and forced Iowa to call each of its two timeouts. MSU got aces from Bishop and Preston in the run, but the Hawkeyes committed six hitting errors over the stretch to help the Spartans. Kulig earned kills on three of Michigan State's final five points, including the last two kills of the match to secure victory for MSU.
Dual new career-high blocks for Akasha Anderson and Evie Doezmea!#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/FmQ9Nq4HaT
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) November 17, 2024
Team Stats
MSU
Iowa
Kills
36
26
Errors
13
28
Attempts
100
98
Hitting %
.230
-.020
Points
54.5
32.0
Assists
31
25
Aces
6
2
Blocks
12.5
4
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
2
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
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