UPSET- #14 Michigan State Takes Down #3 Minnesota Gophers

MATCH STATS

• #14 Michigan State overpowers #3 Minnesota in 5 (12-25, 25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 15-13)
• Michigan State (16-4, 5-3), Minnesota (14-3, 6-2)

No. 14 Michigan State upset No. 3 Minnesota in 5 (12-25, 25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 15-13) Saturday night at home to take another Big Ten and Top 10 win.

Spartan Alyssa Garvelink earned a new career-best night with 19 kills, and season-high 10 blocks and career first double-double.

Michigan State faced a rough first set, falling 12-25 against the Gophers. However, the Spartans managed to pull together and defeat Minnesota in the second and third sets by tight margins. The Spartans’ 14 team blocks really helped them out in the fourth set, gaining a 7-point lead. Garvelink had 5 kills and 3 blocks in the fourth set alone, as Michigan State took game 25-18.

The Spartans took the fifth set by just two points to claim the upset.

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy of Michigan State Athletics

SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
No. 14 Michigan State battled back from a 25-12 loss in the opening set to take a five-set victory over No. 3 Minnesota on Saturday night at Jenison Field House. MSU won the second and third sets, then took a two-point win in the fifth and deciding frame to secure the victory (12-25, 25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 15-13).

Alyssa Garvelink had a a career-best with 18 kills and added a season-high 10 blocks finishing just hy of her career bests of 11 and recording her first career double-double. Rachel Minarick finished one assist shy of her career best with 54 helpers, adding six digs and three blocks, and Abby Monson was one shy of her career best with 21 digs, adding a pair of assists.

MSU hit just .201 on the match, recovering from a .059 hitting percentage in the opening set and .150 in the second, and held Minnesota to .268. MSU had its most blocks since last November by posting 15, while Minnesota is just the second Big Ten team to reach double-digits against the Spartans with 10. MSU also had eight service aces to five for the Gophers.

Sarah Wilhite had a double-double for Minnesota, with 20 kills and 19 digs.

MSU rebounded not only from a rough first set, but also a 3-0 setback on the road at No. 24 Illinois on Wednesday. Minnesota was coming off a three-set sweep of No. 1 Wisconsin in Madison on Wednesday, and falls to 14-3, 6-2 Big Ten. MSU is now 16-4 overall and improves to 5-3 in Conference play.

The Spartans return home for a Wednesday night match against Rutgers at Jenison Field House. The match will be televised live on Big Ten Network at 6 pm, and will be MSU’s Breast Cancer Awareness match. Fans are encouraged to wear pink.

• SET ONE:Minnesota raced out to a 5-1 lead in the opening frame, getting consecutive kills from Hannah Tapp to open the match. MSU called time out as the Gophers pulled ahead 9-3. Minnesota‘s front row kept swinging, building to leads of seven, nine, and eventually 12 at 24-12, posting three blocks and hitting .483 in the frame. A roll shot by the Spartans at set point sailed long, and the Gophers earned a 25-12 win. Alyssa Garvelink had three kills, while Allyssah Fitterer had a hand in each of MSU’s blocks (one solo, one block assist). Hannah Tapp had five kills on seven swings for Minnesota. 
• SET TWO: MSU held early 4-2 and 9-5 leads in the set, getting seven kills on their first 11 swings with just one error (.545). A big solo block by Fitterer on Sara Wilhite gave MSU that 9-5 advantage, and MInnesota called time out. Brooke Kranda delivered an ace out of the break, and MSU methodically continued to build its lead by serving tough and getting big at the net – Fitterer posted two more blocks and Garvelink a third to push MSU’s lead out to seven, 15-8 – and Minnesota called its second time out. With the Spartans leading 19-10, Minnesota scored back-to-back pooints to trim MSU’s advantage back down to seven points, but MSU came back with a kill from Bailey. The Gophers kept chipping away, until they trimmed it down to three at 23-20. A shot long by Minnesota gave the Spartans set points, and a block by Bailey and Garvelink sealed a 25-20 victory. Bailey, fitterer and Garvelink each had three kills, while Garvelink added three blocks in the frame. 
• SET THREE: Trailing 7-2, MSU called time out to regroup – and promptly went off on a 6-2 run to trim Minnesotas lead to a single point at 9-8. MSU tied it at 11-11 on a kill by Garvelink and 13-13 with a block by Garvelink and Reinig. Tied at 16-16, Minnesota scored the next three points to try to regain control of the set, and maintained the lead through 20-17 – but Bailey trimmed it back down with a crosscourt shot , and Toliver delivered an ace to bring MSU back within one, 20-19. Minneota called a time out to try to stop MSU’s momentum, but it was all for naught – Toliver tied the score with her second straight ace, and MSU got a pair of kills from Fitterer, one from Reinig, and a block by Fitterer and Minarick to close out the set win, 25-21. Both Garvelink and Bailey had four kills in the frame, while Garvelink posted another three blocks. 
• SET FOUR: Tied at 5-5, Minnesota put up a service ace and won a long rally to pull ahead by two points, but Bailey stopped it from going further with a kill from the left pin. The teams engaged in a heated battle – the Spartans were excelling at altering shots and continued to put up blocks, getting to 14 team blocks by the time the frame was tied 13-13. Minnesota scored three of the next four points to take a 17-14 lead, and MSU called time out to stop the run – but the Gophers scored three of the next four out of the break to pull ahead 21-15. Toliver stopped the run with a kill, but the Gophers won consecutive jousts at the net to push their lead to seven, 23-16. Reinig’s roll shot out of the break made it a six-point game, and despite Garvelink’s 15th kill of the night staving off set point once, the Gophers took it 25-18. Sarah Wilhite had eight kills for the Gophers in the set, while Garvelink had five kills and three blocks. 
• SET FIVE: Tie Spartans jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Reinig kill and Minarick ace, but then once again began trading points with their guests. A Reinig kill made it 7-6, nd a Garvelink termination – her 18th of the match – gave MSU an 8-6 lead at the crossover. Out of the timeout, Reinig tooled one off the block, and Megan Tompkins delivered a service ace to make it 11-6 – and the Gophers called their second and final time out. The Gophers got three straight back – on a kill and a block by Wilhite and and one MSU error – to trim it down to 11-9, and forcing the Spartans to call a time out. Another Spartan error got Minnesota within one at 12-11, but Reinig came back with a kill to re-establish a two-point lead. Kills by Hannah Tapp and Alexis Hart sandwiched around a termination byBrooke Kranda left the Spartans with a two point lead and set point, and Bailey polished it off to secure the upset win for the Spartans.Quoteable:
  “I was very happy with how we kept our heads in it after they pretty much took it to us in the first set. We showed a lot of mental toughness, a lot of fight in battling back to take the next two sets. Our message to the team was to stay the course – we felt strongly about our game plan, and despite being maybe a step slow or behind in the first set, we shored up a couple of small things and were able to get right back in the match.”

  — Head Coach Cathy George

  TOP PERFORMERS

• Alyssa Garvelink had 18 kills, hit .364 (18-6-33) and had 10 blocks, establishing a new season high. It was her first career double-double.
• Allyssah Fitterer had eight kills, tied for a match-high hitting percentage (.368) and added a season-best five blocks (two solo).
• Chloe Reinig posted 14 kills, added four blocks, and a pair of digs.STATS AND STORYLINES
• MSU had a season-best 15 team blocks, and have double-digit blocking totals the last three matches.
• The victory snapped a four-match losing streak to Minnesota, and is MSU’s first victory this season over a top-five team (in two tries).
• Tonight was just the fifth time MSU played more than three sets in 2016 The Spartans are 2-1 in five-set matches this season, and 2-0 in four-set affairs. .
• Abby Monson had a season-high 21 digs, one shy of her career best.
• Rachel Minarick recorded 54 assists, one shy of her career best, and also had three blocks, six digs, and a pair of kills.
• Autumn Bailey had her fifth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs, along with two blocks and two assists.

What’s Next: The Spartans will face Rutgers at home Wednesday at 6 p.m., and will travel to Ohio to face the Buckeyes on Friday night at 6 p.m.

Spartan Stats

Alyssa Garvelink (18 kills, 2 digs, 10 blocks)
Chloe Reinig (14 kills, 2 digs, 4 blocks)
Autumn Bailey (11 kills, 11 digs, 2 blocks)
Allyssah Fitterer (8 kills, 1 dig, 5 blocks)

Keep up with Michigan State on Facebook, Twitter @MichStVb and Intsagram @michstvb

Courtesy of Minnesota Athletics

The No. 3 University of Minnesota volleyball team fell to No. 14 Michigan State in five sets, tonight, in East Lansing, Mich. With the loss, the Golden Gophers fall to 14-3 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten. MSU improves to 16-4 overall and 5-3 in league action.

Minnesota was led by Sarah Wilhite who had 20 kills and tied a career-high 59 attempts. She finished off the double-double tying a career-high 19 digs. Alexis Hart had 15 kills and hit .303, while Hannah Tapp had 13 kills and hit .321.Paige Tapp also had eight kills and hit .368. Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 50 assists and 13 digs.

As a team, the Gophers hit .268 to MSU’s .201. MSU tacked on 15 blocks to Minnesota‘s 10. The Gophers also held a 65-56 dig advantage.

Minnesota is on the road again next weekend when it travels to Iowa and No. 2 Nebraska, Friday and Sunday. Friday’s match is in Iowa City, Iowa at 6 p.m., while Minnesota plays in Lincoln, Neb., Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches are on BTN.

Set Breakdown

Set 1: The Gophers hit a stifling .483 and 84 sideout percent to take a 25-12 first set win. Minnesota opened the match with a 5-1 lead. A Hart kill put Minnesota up, 9-3, which forced MSU to burn its first timeout of the set. A Wilhite tip later put the Gopher lead to 12-5, while a H Tapp kill put the deficit to 17-8. A Lohman/P Tapp block pushed the score to 19-11, while Hart added Minnesota‘s 20-12 point. After an MSU ball handling error, the Spartans used their second timeout of the set. The Gophers, however, came out of the break and had a kill from Wilhite, a P Tapp/Seliger-Swenson block, a P Tapp kill put it at set point, while an MSU attack error gave the Gophers a 1-0 lead.

Set 2: MSU had five blocks in the set to win, 25-20. Minnesota hit just .061 in the set to MSU’s .150. Michigan State opened up the second set with a 9-5 lead which forced Minnesota to call a timeout. The Spartans came out of the break and delivered an ace for a 10-5 lead. After a Spartan kill and a block, the Gophers called a timeout at 15-8. The Spartan lead was as large as 19-10 before the Gophers started chipping away. Minnesota went on a 4-1 run to cut the lead to 21-17 off a Wilhite kill as the Spartans called a timeout. The Gophers came within three at 23-20 off a Hart kill, but the Spartans finished off the set on a Gopher attack error and a Spartan block to tie up the match, 1-1.

Set 3: The Spartans rallied to take the third set, 25-21. Minnesota opened the third set with a 5-1 lead. The Gophers pushed the lead to 7-2 off a P Tapp kill, which led MSU to call a timeout. MSU responded out of the timeout and rattled off three-straight for a 7-5 Gopher lead. As the Gophers led 9-5, MSU added another three-straight as Minnesota called a timeout at 9-8. MSU tied the set at 11-11 off a kill. Minnesota had a two-point lead at 13-11 and 15-13 before MSU came back to tie both times before the Spartans took their first lead of the set at 16-15. The Gophers responded with three-straight on a Hart kill, a MSU attack error and a Rosado ace for an 18-16 lead. With a 20-17 Gophers lead, MSU came back and had a kill and an ace as Minnesota called a timeout. As the two teams tied it at 21, MSU finished off the set on a 4-0 run for a 25-21 set win.

Set 4: The Gophers tied up the match with a 25-18 fourth set win. Minnesota hit .316 in the set to MSU’s .225. Minnesota took a narrow 9-6 lead off a P Tapp ace, but MSU came back to tie the set at 9-9 and take a 10-9 lead off a kill. After the two tied it up at 11-11, MSU took a 12-11 lead as the Gophers called a timeout. The Gophers went on a 4-1 run and took a 17-14 lead as the Spartans called a timeout. The Minnesota lead increased to 21-15 when MSU had two errors, one service, one attack, while Wilhite added two kills. With kills from Seliger-Swenson and Wilhite, Minnesota led 23-16 as MSU used its last timeout. Wilhite finished off the set with two kills as the Gophers pushed game five.

Set 5: MSU finished off the match with a 15-13 set win. Despite Minnesota hitting .389 in the set to MSU’s .368, the Spartans took home the win. The two teams traded points through 6-6 before MSU had two kills for an 8-6 lead. MSU added a block for a 9-6 lead as Minnesota called a timeout. The Spartans added to their lead when they added a kill and an ace to take an 11-6 lead. The Gophers used their second timeout of the set. Minnesota responded and cut the Spartan lead to two off a Wilhite kill, a MSU attack error and a Wilhite block. MSU went up 13-11 off a kill. As MSU led 14-12, Hart provided a kill, but MSU finished off the match with a kill for the five-set win.

Up Next: The Gophers will face Iowa Friday at 6 p.m. on the road and will travel to Nebraska to face the Huskers on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Minnesota Stats

Sarah Wilhite (20 kills, 19 digs, 1 block)
Alexis Hart (15 kills, 7 digs, 2 blocks)
Hannah Tapp (13 kills, 3 blocks)
Dalianliz Rosado (13 digs)

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