Monday, September 16
Ypsilanti, Mich.
6 PM
Michigan State University
5-3,0-0Big Ten
3
at
0
Eastern Michigan
4-7,0-0MAC
1
2
3
F
Michigan St.
25
25
25
3
Eastern Mich.
21
21
20
0
Photo by: Brittney Kimball
Volleyball Earns 3-0 Sweep Over Eastern Michigan
9/16/2024 10:13:00 PM | Volleyball
YPSILANTI, Mich. – Michigan State volleyball was back in action Monday night, defeating Eastern Michigan on the road, 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-20), at the Gervin GameAbove Center. Junior outside hitter Akasha Anderson matched her season-high 17 kills to pace the Spartans offensively, while senior setter Julia Bishop collected her 10th career double-double with 17 assists and 12 digs.
"I liked our fight and I liked how we kept pressing tonight," said Michigan State head coach Leah Johnson. "I loved how aggressive we were throughout the match. Akasha Anderson finished with 17 kills hitting over .400 with four stuff blocks and finished one dig shy of a double-double, she earned us a lot of our points throughout the match."
MSU improves to 5-3 overall entering Tuesday night's 6:00 p.m. home match with Purdue Fort Wayne. The Spartans will honor hometown heroes throughout Tuesday's match offering complementary admission to first responders, educators, active military and veterans with ID.
Anderson's team-high 17 kills came at an efficient clip as the junior hit .414 on 29 attempts. Junior Taylor Preston contributed eight kills after making her first start of the season on the right side. Sophomore outside hitter Taylah Holdem and junior middle blocker Evie Doezema also had efficient nights with Holdem posting six kills on .556 hitting and Doezema's six kills coming on .714 swinging.
Doezema's three blocks ranked second on the team Monday behind Anderson's four. Bishop's 12 digs led the team, and her 17 assists were second to senior setter Rachel Muisenga's 20. Muisenga and Anderson were each one dig off a double-double with nine apiece. Senior libero Nalani Iosia added eight digs, and eight assists as Eastern made an effort to target the Spartan setters with their attacks.
Michigan State got better as the match progressed hitting .406 in set three to hit .257 for the match. The Spartans held Eastern Michigan to .176 hitting and led in kills 50-to-33. MSU also held advantages in digs (52-to-31) and service aces (4-1), while EMU out-blocked Michigan State 9-to-6.
After a back-and-forth start to set one Michigan State pulled ahead 15-10 at the media timeout following a kill from sophomore outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska, who made her first start of the season on Monday. A 7-3 Eagle run out of the break pulled Eastern Michigan within one point of the Spartans, 18-17, but two kills and a block by Anderson put MSU back ahead 21-18. Seven of Anderson's 17 kills came in the first as she hit .600.
Michigan State saw success closing out sets all night. MSU dug deep in the first out-scoring EMU 4-2 to close out the frame. The Spartans cumulatively out-scored Eastern Michigan 15-9 after point 20 throughout the match.
MSU forced an early break in the second getting out to a quick 4-0 lead after a Staniszewska service ace. The timeout swung momentum in Eastern Michigan's favor momentarily, allowing the Eagles to take an 11-9 lead over MSU nearing the mid-way point of the set. Trailing by two at 11-9, Michigan State rattled off six-straight points capped off with a service ace from Bishop.
The Spartans were once again forced to find another gear late in set two, needing to close it out tied at 21-21. MSU ended the set on a 4-0 run with Bishop behind the service line, utilizing Bishop's second ace of the set to go on set point.
Eastern Michigan held a slight 13-12 advantage over MSU in set three, but the Spartans charged back with a 3-0 run into the media timeout behind kills from Holdem and junior middle blocker Nil Okur, and an Anderson ace. Holdem's strong third set continued out of the break as she found the floor for three of her six kills in a seven-point span that saw Michigan State pull ahead 20-16. After a two-point EMU spurt Michigan State found its footing to close the match on a 5-2 run. Kills by Preston and Anderson finished the match.
Up Next
Michigan State returns to action inside the Breslin Student Events Center on Tuesday, September 17 for a match against Purdue Fort Wayne at 6:00 p.m. The Mastodons arrive in East Lansing on Tuesday with an overall record of 4-5 in 2024. MSU will honor hometown heroes throughout Tuesday's match offering complementary admission to first responders, educators, active military and veterans with ID.
"I liked our fight and I liked how we kept pressing tonight," said Michigan State head coach Leah Johnson. "I loved how aggressive we were throughout the match. Akasha Anderson finished with 17 kills hitting over .400 with four stuff blocks and finished one dig shy of a double-double, she earned us a lot of our points throughout the match."
MSU improves to 5-3 overall entering Tuesday night's 6:00 p.m. home match with Purdue Fort Wayne. The Spartans will honor hometown heroes throughout Tuesday's match offering complementary admission to first responders, educators, active military and veterans with ID.
Flying high after a win over the Eagles 🤩#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/thwRlWfIUi
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) September 17, 2024
Anderson's team-high 17 kills came at an efficient clip as the junior hit .414 on 29 attempts. Junior Taylor Preston contributed eight kills after making her first start of the season on the right side. Sophomore outside hitter Taylah Holdem and junior middle blocker Evie Doezema also had efficient nights with Holdem posting six kills on .556 hitting and Doezema's six kills coming on .714 swinging.
Doezema's three blocks ranked second on the team Monday behind Anderson's four. Bishop's 12 digs led the team, and her 17 assists were second to senior setter Rachel Muisenga's 20. Muisenga and Anderson were each one dig off a double-double with nine apiece. Senior libero Nalani Iosia added eight digs, and eight assists as Eastern made an effort to target the Spartan setters with their attacks.
Michigan State got better as the match progressed hitting .406 in set three to hit .257 for the match. The Spartans held Eastern Michigan to .176 hitting and led in kills 50-to-33. MSU also held advantages in digs (52-to-31) and service aces (4-1), while EMU out-blocked Michigan State 9-to-6.
After a back-and-forth start to set one Michigan State pulled ahead 15-10 at the media timeout following a kill from sophomore outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska, who made her first start of the season on Monday. A 7-3 Eagle run out of the break pulled Eastern Michigan within one point of the Spartans, 18-17, but two kills and a block by Anderson put MSU back ahead 21-18. Seven of Anderson's 17 kills came in the first as she hit .600.
Michigan State saw success closing out sets all night. MSU dug deep in the first out-scoring EMU 4-2 to close out the frame. The Spartans cumulatively out-scored Eastern Michigan 15-9 after point 20 throughout the match.
MSU forced an early break in the second getting out to a quick 4-0 lead after a Staniszewska service ace. The timeout swung momentum in Eastern Michigan's favor momentarily, allowing the Eagles to take an 11-9 lead over MSU nearing the mid-way point of the set. Trailing by two at 11-9, Michigan State rattled off six-straight points capped off with a service ace from Bishop.
The Spartans were once again forced to find another gear late in set two, needing to close it out tied at 21-21. MSU ended the set on a 4-0 run with Bishop behind the service line, utilizing Bishop's second ace of the set to go on set point.
Eastern Michigan held a slight 13-12 advantage over MSU in set three, but the Spartans charged back with a 3-0 run into the media timeout behind kills from Holdem and junior middle blocker Nil Okur, and an Anderson ace. Holdem's strong third set continued out of the break as she found the floor for three of her six kills in a seven-point span that saw Michigan State pull ahead 20-16. After a two-point EMU spurt Michigan State found its footing to close the match on a 5-2 run. Kills by Preston and Anderson finished the match.
Up Next
Michigan State returns to action inside the Breslin Student Events Center on Tuesday, September 17 for a match against Purdue Fort Wayne at 6:00 p.m. The Mastodons arrive in East Lansing on Tuesday with an overall record of 4-5 in 2024. MSU will honor hometown heroes throughout Tuesday's match offering complementary admission to first responders, educators, active military and veterans with ID.
📍Ypsilanti, Michigan #GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/xDhaGr9ywX
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) September 16, 2024
Team Stats
MSU
EMU
Kills
50
33
Errors
22
14
Attempts
109
108
Hitting %
.257
.176
Points
60.0
43.0
Assists
48
29
Aces
4
1
Blocks
6
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
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