Big Ten: Stivrins Registers Perfect Hitting Effort, Ranked Teams Sweep

Big Ten Conference Roundup

• Sept. 28, 2018

All four ranked teams came out on top via sweep as No. 4 Illinois remained undefeated at 14-0, No. 5 Nebraska won its 12th straight, No. 12 Penn State recorded its first Big Ten win of the year and Michigan stayed perfect at home (9-0).

The standout performance of the night came as Nebraska’s Lauren Stivrins went a perfect 10-for-10 hitting at a 1.000 clip, becoming the third player in Husker history to do so with at least 10 putaways.

• Tracy Stalls, Nebraska (13-0-13) vs. Texas Tech, 11/24/07
• Megan Korver, Nebraska (10-0-10) vs. Iowa State, 9/25/98

She is the sixth Big Ten player to do so and just the second to do in a Big Ten match, joining:

• Debbie McDonald, Purdue (13-0-13) vs. N.C. State, 9/25/87
• Cara Smith, Penn State (11-0-11) vs. Army, 9/14/02
• Meghan Macdonald, Illinois (12-0-12) vs. Indiana, 11/17/06
• Kristen Arthurs, Purdue (10-0-10) vs. Ball State, 8/28/09
• Samantha Throwers, Indiana (15-0-15) vs. Buffalo, 9/3/11

Results

#4 Illinois def. Iowa 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-20)

#5 Nebraska def. Northwestern 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-23)

#12 Penn State def. Michigan State 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 26-24)

#15 Michigan def. Rutgers 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 26-24)

#5 Nebraska at Northwestern 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-23)

• Nebraska 11-1; 2-0 Big Ten; Northwestern 10-4, 0-2 Big Ten
• Evanston, Illinois
• Box Score
• Nebraska Recap / Northwestern Recap

Nebraska edged the Wildcats in every statistical category, spoiling Northwestern’s home opener.

The Huskers outhit NU .265 to .143 buoyed by Lauren Stivrins 1.000 effort. Nebraska also piled up 11 more kills (40-29), three more aces (8-5) and two more blocks (9-7).

Jazz Sweet paced the Husker offense with 12 kills on a .346 hitting effort to go with five blocks. Stivrins followed with 10 kills and three blocks, while Mikaela Foecke and Lexi Sun added eight putaways apiece. Callie Schwarzenbach put up a match-high six blocks, while Nicklin Hames turned in a 32-assist, 15-dig double-double.

Abryanna Cannon and Alana Walker notched six kills apiece to lead the Wildcats. Walker hit at a .357 clip and added four blocks. Olivia Viscuso hit .667, tallying five kills in six swings.

Northwestern shot out of the gates in Set 3, building a four-point edge at 8-4 with kills by five different players. Nebraska caught up and took a 13-12 lead of its, own but the Wildcats answered with a 6-1 run to vault ahead 18-14 on an ace by Sarah Johnson. Down 23-20, Nebraska spoiled any hope of an upset with five straight points, including two kills and a block by Sweet, to steal away the 25-23 win.

#12 Penn State def. Michigan State 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 26-24)

• Penn State moves to 10-3, 1-2 Big Ten; Michigan State falls to 12-4, 0-3 Big Ten
• East Lansing, Michigan
• Box Score
• Penn State Recap / Michigan State Recap
• Attendance: 3,510

After suffering their first 0-2 start since 2000, the Nittany Lions bounced back with a road win at Michigan State on Friday, handing the Spartans their third conference loss.

Seven aces and an efficient offensive effort lifted Penn State to victory. The Nittany Lions outhit MSU .296 to .082 and posted 10 more kills (38-28). Both teams managed 10 blocks.

Kaitlyn Hord led the way for PSU with nine kills on an errorless .818 hitting performance (9-0-11). Taylor Leath also added nine putaways, a team-high three aces and three blocks. Jonni Parker turned in eight kills and four blocks, followed by Nia Reed (7 kills). Serena Gray paced the team at the net with six stuffs. Bryanna Weiskircher notched a double-double with 31 assists and 10 digs.

Alyssa Chronowski posted a match-high 10 kills to guide the Spartan offense. Maddie Haggerty followed with nine putaways, but neither hit better than .222 and three players hit in the negative percentages. Nya Gros managed just one kill, but put up a match-leading eight blocks.

After winning the first two sets handily, the Nittany Lions jumped out to a 5-1 lead in Set 3, including an ace by Jenna Hampton. Down 10-8, Michigan State used a 4-0 run including three blocks by Gros, to take the lead at 12-10. PSU worked its way back to a three-point advantage at 19-16 on a kill and a block by Gray. MSU countered with a 5-1 run including two Penn State service errors and two more Gros stuffs. Another 3-0 run, this time by the Nittany Lions followed. After a knot-up at 23, a service error gave PSU its first match point try. Another serving miscues tied it up again, before a Parker kill and a solo stuff by Leath ended the night.

#4 Illinois def. Iowa 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-20)

• Illinois moves to 14-0, 3-0 Big Ten; Iowa falls to  9-5, 1-2 Big Ten
• Champaign, Illinois
• Box Score
• Iowa Recap / Illinois Recap

The Illini move to 32-6 all-time against the Hawkeyes in Champaign and 62-14 overall with a quick sweep.

Illinois outdid Iowa in every way, nearly doubling the team’s offensive output (51-27 in kills), outhitting the Hawkeyes .321 to .105 and boasting a 4-2 lead in aces and 10-5 edge in blocks.

The Illini punctuated the win with a .429 hitting effort in Set 3, while the Hawkeyes also hit at their best clip of the night, managing a .275 effort.

Jacqueline Quade registered a 12-kill, 12-dig double-double to lead the Illini, while Ali Bastianelli added 11 putaways and four blocks. Both players hit better than .400, but Ashlyn Fleming one-upped them with an errorless .692 effort, including nine kills, and five blocks. Megan Cooney also notched nine putaways. Jordyn Poulter turned in 46 assists, 15 digs and a team-leading five blocks.

Cali Hoye downed nine kills for Iowa, but hit -.025 for the match (9-10-40). Taylor Louis followed with seven putaways and two blocks. Hannah Clayton put up a team-best three stuffs. Brie Orr posted a 22-assist, 10-dig double-double.

Illinois started Set 3 with a 9-5 run, including three straight kills by Bastianelli. The Hawkeyes narrowed the gap to one at 11-10, but could not break through as the Illini answered with five of the next six points. Iowa called timeout and cut the margin to two at 20-18, forcing Illinois to talk things over. The chat worked as the Illini scored five of the last seven, all on kills, with four different players getting involved. A Louis putaway kept the match going, thwarting the first Illinois match point try at 24-19, before Bastianelli closed out the victory.

#16 Michigan def. Rutgers 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 26-24)

• Michigan moves to 13-1, 2-1 Big Ten; Rutgers falls to 6-10, 0-3 Big Ten
• Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Box Score
• Michigan Recap / Rutgers Recap

Rutgers boasted an 11-7 advantage on the blocks, but Michigan was too strong offensively in a home sweep.

The Wolverines hit better than .300 in the first two sets and .295 for the match, while Rutgers started with an .033 effort and ended at .110 on the night. Michigan piled up 49 kills, while allowing 28.

Carly Skjodt put down 15 kills on a .316 hitting effort to go with eight digs and four blocks. Sydney Wetterstrom followed with a double-double (11 kills, 10 digs). Paige Jones chipped in seven putaways and a team-best 12 digs.

Rutgers played offense by committee with six players notching four or more kills. Sahbria McLetchie and Tali Marmen led the way with six apiece, but neither hit better than .100. Jasmine Stackhouse added four putaways and a team-leading six blocks.

The Scarlet Knights jumped ahead 7-3 in Set 3 with help from five blocks, three by Stackhouse. Down four at 10-6, Michigan began its comeback, scoring eight of the next 10 points to surge ahead in 14-12. Three Rutgers miscues and two Cori Crocker kills highlighted the rally. The Scarlet Knights called timeout and managed a 6-2 run of their own to grab an 18-16 edge. After five ties, Rutgers led 23-22, but Michigan closed out the set on a 4-1 run, including two kills and a final solo stuff by Skjodt.

Standings