Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
No. 10 Michigan State
Hoosiers Take Down No. 10 Michigan State
10/26/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 26, 2013
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Indiana volleyball team put together an impressive performance this evening at Jenison Field House to help them to a 3-2 win over No. 10 Michigan State (25-17, 18-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-12) in East Lansing, Mich. The win brings Indiana to 9-12 on the season and helps Indiana to its first victory in Big Ten play (1-9), while the Spartans fall to 17-5 and 6-4 in conference action.
Tonight’s win is the first over the Spartans since the 2010 season where the Hoosiers topped MSU 3-2 in Bloomington. The win is also the first over a ranked opponent since IU defeated No. 17 Purdue on Oct. 16, 2012 and the first over a top-10 squad since the Cream and Crimson upset No. 4-ranked Penn State in U-Gym on Oct. 9, 2010.
The Hoosiers had three members reach at least 10 kills in the match with Jordan Haverly paving the way with a season-high 19 on the evening. She reached double-digit kills for the eighth time this season and the third time against B1G opponents. Morgan Leach tallied 15 kills in her fifth double-digit effort in the past seven matches, while Amelia Anderson added 10 kills on the attack. Megan Tallman handed out 52 assists, while Taylor Lebo recorded a career-high 17 digs to go along with Caitlin Hansen’s 22 in the contest.
As a team, IU hit .237 with 60 kills on 152 attempts, while the Spartans recorded 55 kills with a .189 clip.
Indiana’s attack was impressive in the opening set, committing just two attack errors while hitting at a .429 clip with three different Hoosiers earning three or more kills. The Hoosiers opened the frame with a 5-0 run and maintained a lead they would never surrender to help them to a 25-17 final in the opener. Haverly paced IU with her six kills on 12 swings (.417), while Morgan Leach and Awele Nwaze terminated three apiece. Megan Tallman dished out 12 assists while Caitlin Hansen led IU with her five digs in set one.
The Spartans would respond with a 25-18 final in set two after taking and maintaining the lead through the entire frame. With set point within reach for the Spartans at 24-15, IU refused to go quietly and clawed back to within six on kills from Haverly and a block by Nwaeze, but MSU would eventually find the floor to even the match at 1-1. Haverly again led IU’s attack with six kills. Leach and Nwaeze chipped in with three in set two, while Tallman tallied 10 assists and Hansen accrued six digs.
A 5-0 run at 20-all would cap off the Hoosiers 25-20 win in set three. Indiana outhit Michigan State .382-.161 with Haverly and Leach leading the way with five kills. Amelia Anderson added four terminations in the third set and Tallman contributed with 12 assists.
After MSU jumped out to a 4-1 lead in set four, the Hoosiers answered with a 5-1 run to take its first lead in the frame at 6-5. From there, a continuous battle for the lead ensued with the Hoosiers and Spartans sitting deadlocked on six different occasions and the lead changing 11 times throughout the set. With the score drifting to a 24-19 MSU advantage, Indiana again fought to keep the set alive with two quick points, but a kill by the Spartans would send the contest into a match-deciding fifth set.
Another closely contested set arose in the fifth, but Indiana would pull out the win with a 15- 12 fifth set victory.
IU will return to Bloomington when it continues B1G action hosting Wisconsin at University Gym. Opening serve is slated for 7 p.m. ET.
Players Mentioned
