The MSU volleyball team’s nine-game home winning streak screeched to a halt this weekend, as the Spartans continued to search for consistency, losing 3-0 to No. 11 Penn State on Friday and 3-1 to No. 10 Ohio State on Saturday.
“How we can go out and play like one of the best teams, like a team that could beat anyone, and then not play like that at other times is the big question,” freshman outside hitter Kim Schram said. “It’s unexplainable.”
The inconsistencies may not have been as noticeable if the Spartans (11-6, 4-6 Big Ten) hadn’t excelled as much as they did in the second game against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State (17-1, 9-1) won the match 30-24, 24-30, 30-18, 30-26, but the Spartans controlled game two virtually from start to finish.
As a team, the Spartans hitting percentage was .389 in game two, almost .150 better than their percentages in any other game Saturday.
“When we’re on fire I think we show what we’re capable of and that we’re capable of winning,” Schram said. “When all six people on the floor are on their game, there’s no doubt we can beat any one of these teams.”
Schram was particularly “on fire” in game two slamming home seven kills. She finished the night with a career-high 20 kills while hitting a team-leading .441.
Head coach Chuck Erbe used a new starting lineup Saturday, after his team lost to the No. 11 Nittany Lions (14-4, 7-3) on Friday.
Instead of starting with junior defensive specialist Emily Engel in the rotation, he put in freshman Diana Steplyk. Freshman outside hitter Michelle Kopka also replaced junior outside hitter Kyla Smith.
The changes yielded mixed results, Erbe said.
“I thought Diana really stepped up and showed she can really follow a game plan,” he said.“ (She) served well, passed well and had some nice ball control for us.”
But Kopka struggled in the third and fourth game, after hitting six kills in 11 chances with only one error in the first two games.
Erbe said the Buckeyes keyed on Kopka in the later games.
“In the fourth game they really went after her,” he said. “They served her tough and they hit right at her.”
The team’s troubles began Friday evening as Penn State swept them 30-23, 30-24 and 30-25. The Spartans said the inconsistency was the root of the problem.
“We didn’t have enough consistency passing to use all of our hitters,” Erbe said. “We made a few great plays, but that’s not enough to win a game or enough to win a match.”
Sophomore setter Nikki Colson said Penn State’s leveled play contrasted the Spartan fluctuations.
“They seemed to play on the same page the entire match and we didn’t at all,” she said. “Not all six of us were really playing together throughout the match.
“We need that type of consistency if we want to be a great team.”
