Bloomington, Ind. - Behind dominating performances in the first and fourth games Friday, the Spartan volleyball team downed the Indiana Hoosiers 3-1.
The Spartans (11-3, 4-3 Big Ten) got a season-high 22 kills from senior outside hitter Erin Hartley, who also finished with a .405 hinting percentage.
Outside hitter Christina Archibald led the Hoosiers (4-11, 1-6) with 16 kills, and middle blocker Melissa Brewer added 14 kills in the losing cause. Both players finished with 10 digs, giving them each a double-double for Indiana.
In the match‘s first game, the Spartans never trailed and only tied the Hoosiers twice at 1-1 and 2-2.
After a kill from junior middle blocker Angela Morley made the score 3-2 in the Spartans‘ favor, Indiana had to play catch-up for the remainder of the game.
The Hoosiers couldn’t compete with a Spartan team which out hit Indiana .500 to .147. The Spartans grabbed the 1-0 lead by winning game one 30-16.
Neither team could manage to take control in game two, - neither team led by more than two points, until an MSU net violation gave Indiana the 24-21 advantage.
The Hoosiers hung on to that lead and won the second game 30-26.
With momentum and a home crowd behind them, the Hoosiers looked to capitalize and win game three. And for a majority of the game, it appeared they would. Winning virtually every long-rally, the Hoosiers had the Spartans reeling, down 18-13 after a service error by junior middle blocker Jenny Rood.
But the Spartans fought back - Rood teamed with junior outside hitter Kyla Smith for a block on Indiana outside hitter Monique Pritz. The block got the Spartans within one at 26-25.
The teams traded points and Indiana got a two-point lead back on two separate occasions, the last coming after a Smith service error, making the tally 28-26 Hoosiers.
But the Spartans rallied to steal game three from Indiana with a 4-0 run to close out.
With a 2-1 lead, the Spartans headed into game four with confidence and purpose, looking to finish an opponent on the road for only the second time all year.
And questions about how the Spartans would respond were answered when a service error by sophomore setter Nikki Colson left the Spartans in a quick 5-2 hole.
Indiana went up 6-2 on a kill, and than MSU freshman Kim Schram recorded one of her 14 kills and started a five-point run that tied the score at six
The Spartans soon took control of the game by putting together several three and four point scoring runs.
Hartley, the best player on the floor Friday, ended the Hoosiers on a kill.
The Spartans head to Champaign, Ill., to face the Illinois at 7 p.m. today.
