Match Stats
- #21 Michigan State def. #14 Ohio State 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-23)
- Michigan State moves to 14-3 (3-2 Big Ten); Ohio State falls to 12-5 (2-3 Big Ten)
- Jenison Field House, East Lansing, Michigan (Michigan State hosted)
In their first match since a stunning dethroning of then-unanimous-#1 Nebraska on Sunday, the Ohio State Buckeyes have fallen to #21 Michigan State in one of four top-25 vs. top-25 matchups on this week’s NCAA schedule.
The game was a sloppy one early, with both teams hitting under .100 in the first set. Michigan State led most of the set, but almost gave away their opportunity at 21-13 when they hit three balls long to allow Ohio State to move the score to 22-17. The Spartans withstood 5 kills on 10 swings from the defending AVCA National Player of the Week, Ohio State’s Taylor Sandbothe, to pull out the first set.
Sandbothe would finish with 12 kills and a .207 average to lead all Buckeye scorers.
In set 2, Michigan State had another early advantage, and took control when, at 15-12, Holly Toliver delivered back-to-back aces – part of a whopping 7 on the day for the Buckeyes.
In set 3, both teams exploded with their best offensive performances of the night. Ohio State had 15 kills on .344 hitting and Michigan State scored 17 kills on .394 hitting.
The Buckeyes took an early 3-0 lead in the set, taking advantage of the chance to regroup as they did several times on the night out of timeouts, but a 5-1 run by Michigan State swung the momentum.
The teams traded points and leads until late in the set, and while Sandbothe got hot again late, a final kill by Gerri Idos, who served very well (3 aces) but didn’t have the hitting numbers to match (5 kills, 4 errors, 14 swings, .071) sealed the night.
Ohio State will have to regroup before heading to Ann Arbor, Michigan on Sunday for a showdown against their arch-rivals – the Michigan Wolverines. That’s part of a stretch of four-straight top 25 battles for the Buckeyes.
Video Recap
Press Releases
Courtesy Michigan State Athletics:
SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
No. 21 Michigan State swept visiting Ohio State on Friday night at Jenison Field House, downing the No. 14 Buckeyes 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-23). The Buckeyes fall to 12-5 and 2-3 in Big Ten play, while the Spartans improve to 14-3, 3-2 in Conference action.
The Spartans overcame a slow start (hitting just 0.88 in the first set) and got 14 kills and eight digs from Autumn Bailey, and added eight kills on .533 hitting (8-0-15) from Allyssah Fitterer with two blocks. Senior Chloe Reinig had a match -high six blocks and added five terminations, while Alyssa Garvelink had seven kills and four blocks on the night. OSU standout Taylor Sandbothe had 12 kills for the Buckeyes, who hit .198.
MSU had another strong night from the service line, getting seven aces – three from redshirt junior Brooke Kranda, tying her career best for the fourth time this season. Holly Toliver also added a pair along with her five digs. The Spartans also out-blocked their guests 8-6.
The Spartans wrap up the weekend with a Saturday match at home vs. Maryland. First serve from Jenison Field House is at 8 pm. Admission is free for football ticket holders who present their MSU-BYU football ticket stub at the door.
SET ONE: MSU was out to a quick 8-3 lead, but out of an OSU time out, the Buckeyes used a 3-1 run to cut it to 9-6. Fitterer ended the run with a kill, and proceeded to push its lead out to seven point s at 16-9, despite hitting less than .200 (180) to that point of the frame – but the Buckeyes were struggling as well, hitting just .069. With a 21-13 lead, the Spartans hit a trio of balls long, allowing the Buckeyes to get back within five at 22-17, and MSU called a time out. The Spartans straightened it out coming out of the break, and the teams traded big kills – Reinig’s off the block got the Spartans to set point, and a long serve by the Buckeyes handed MSU the first set, 25-18. Autumn Bailey had four kills for the Spartans, while Chloe Reinig had three kills and three blocks, sharing the team blocking lead with Alyssa Garvelink.
SET TWO: As it did in the first, MSU got out to a 10-6 edge in the second set, and with a 15-12 advantage, Holly Toliver stepped in to serve and delivered consecutive aces to push it out to a five-point lead. The Spartans got it up to six on a shot out of bounds by OSU, which had five kills to five errors in the set at that point. With a 21-15 Spartan advantage, the Buckeyes called time out and scored the first three points out of the hiatus, trimming their deficit down to three (21-18.) MSU countered with a Garvelink kill and a Bailey solo block to make it 23-18, but OSU got the side out with a kill off the block to cut it back to four. A Bailey shot down the left line into the corner gave MSU set point, and an OSU service error gave the Spartans the set win – for the second straight set. Garvelink led the Spartans with five kills, and added her fourth block, while Bailey had three kills and a solo stuff.
SET THREE: Ohio State came out of the intermission with a renewed energy and jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but MSU stormed back with five of the next six points, and tied the frame at 5-5. MSU pulled out by three points and maintained that lead until 16-13, when OSU put together back to back points to pull within one on a kill off the block by Madison Smeathers, and then tied it 1t 17-17 on back-to-back MSU miscues. MSU called time out, and a long serve for the Buckeyes gave MSU back the lead, 18-17. A point-for-point battle ensued, until a kill from Bailey and a block by Reinig and Fitterer allowed MSU to win the race to 20 and take a two-point lead. Taylor Sandbothe and Chloe Reinig traded big swings for their teams, and a Spartan blocking error made it a one point match once again, 21-20. Tied at 21-all, a block by Minarick and Bailey followed by a Kranda kill gave MSU a 23-21 advantage, and Ohio State called time out. Sandbothe got the kill out of the time out, but Fitterer countered for the Spartans to get to match point. A kill off the Spartan block brought OSU to within a point, but Kranda’s fifth kill of the night ended any hope of a fourth set for the Buckeyes.
Quoteable:
— Head Coach Cathy George
TOP PERFORMERS
Autumn Bailey led all players with 14 kills and added eight digs.
Alyssa Garvelink had seven kills , hit .400 (7-1-15) and added a four blocks.
Rachel Minarick recorded 32 assists and seven digs.
Allyssah Fitterer had eight kills, hit a match-best .533, and added a pair of blocks and an ace.
STATS AND STORYLINES
MSU hit .237, rebounding from a first-set .088. Ohio State hit .198 in the match, which included .069 in the opening set.
MSU is now 12-2 in three-set matches, and 2-2 in matches against Top-25 teams.
Chloe Reinig had five kills, a season-best six blocks, and added a pair of digs.
Brooke Kranda contributed five kills and added three service aces, tying her career best for the fifth time this season.
Abby Monson had seven digs and added six assists.
Courtesy Ohio State Athletics:
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The No. 14 Ohio State University women’s volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision (25-18, 25-20, 25-23) to the 21st-ranked Spartans of Michigan State on Friday (Oct. 7) night. Thirteen different Buckeyes saw action in the road conference match-up.
Taylor Sandbothe paced the squad with 12.5 points, followed by Luisa Schirmer’s nine tallies. Taylor Hughes got in on four blocks (1s, 3a) and Valeria León topped the digs column, picking up eight balls.
SET 1: A pair of setting miscues for Ohio State opened the evening, giving the Spartans a 2-0 edge they wouldn’t relinquish en route to the 25-18 triumph. While Sandbothe buried five kills on 10 attempts, the remaining Buckeyes struggled offensively in set number one, allowing Michigan State to escape victorious despite a .088 MSU hitting percentage.
SET 2: The second stanza started and finished much the same as a pair of Buckeye errors handed Michigan State a 2-0 lead the Spartans would maintain throughout. Both offenses picked it up a bit, but MSU’s .231 offensive rate proved to be enough in a 25-20 winner.
SET 3: An upward offensive trend continued in the third. Ohio State totaled 15 kills and attacked .344 while Sparty came in at .394 on 17 terminations. Schirmer killed four of her eight errorless attempts for a .500 clip and simultaneously led OSU with four digs in the third set. This time it was the Buckeyes grabbing an upper hand early, running out to a 3-0 gap on a Madison Smeathers kill, Bia Franklin ace and Smeathers-Kylie-Randall stuff. The Spartans then quickly responded to even the score at 4-4, marking the first of 10 total tied scores in the set. The final stalemate came at 21-21 when MSU rattled off four of six points to seal the deal, 25-23.
The Scarlet & Gray takes Saturday off before returning to action in Ann Arbor for a Sunday showdown with the No. 23 Michigan Wolverines in a 1 p.m. national broadcast aired live on ESPN2.
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