Ann Arbor - After two hours and four games of volleyball Wednesday at the Cliff Keen Arena, the Michigan Wolverines and the MSU Spartans were right where they started - tied.
After taking the match’s first two games 30-19 and 30-28, the Spartans dropped the next three 26-30, 23-30 and 9-15, giving the Wolverines the 3-2 conference win.
“I told our kids all week that if both teams play well, which they did, it’s going to be a very intense battle,” Michigan head coach Mark Rosen said.
Outside hitter Chantel Reedus and middle blocker Erin Moore led the Wolverines (6-5, 3-2 Big Ten) with a match-high 16 kills each.
The Spartans (9-3, 2-3) got 15 kills from junior middle blocker Angela Morley and 13 kills each from senior outside hitter Erin Hartley and junior Kyla Smith.
Game one of the intrastate battle was all MSU.
After trailing for the game’s early points, kills from freshman outside hitter Kim Schram and Smith gave way to solid serving runs from junior defensive specialist Emily Engel, sophomore middle blocker Jenny Rood and sophomore setter Nikki Colson.
A thunderous Hartley kill closed out the match at 30-19.
Game two began with another Wolverine scoring spurt, but the Spartans managed to push back and take a 5-4 lead on a Rood kill.
But neither team could pull away as they traded sideouts until Moore’s service ace gave U-M the first two-point lead of the match at 8-6.
The Wolverines continued to control the game, but were unable to pull away. Two Engel aces tied the game at 18 and shifted the momentum back to the visiting Spartans.
A sweeping set from U-M setter Shannon Melka reached middle blocker Katrina Lehman, who put the perfect assist away to grab the 19-18 lead for the Wolverines.
After two sideouts, Michigan scored two straight points on an ace by outside hitter Jennifer Gandolph and a Hartley wide attack. MSU took its first time-out of the match, trailing 25-23.
After the time-out, the Spartans overtook the Wolverines.
A huge kill from Smith crossed the court from left to right and carried the Spartans into the locker room with a 30-27 win in game two and a 2-0 lead in the match.
But the Wolverines rebounded to sweep the next three games in similar fashion.
MSU played catch-up the rest of the way as U-M controlled the pace of the next three games and hit shots the Spartans could not dig.
“I think that Michigan just kept working,” Smith said. “They just kept pushing and pushing, and we need to learn how to push back.”
The loss leaves the Spartans with questions that need answering before they go to Purdue on Saturday.
“This is not something I can fix,” Spartan head coach Chuck Erbe said. “We have got to solve the road.”
The loss drops the Spartans to 0-3 away from Jenison Field House.
Hartley said the loss was frustrating, especially because of the schools’ rivalry.
“I’m very disappointed because it’s Michigan,” she said. “But at the same time I feel like we are learning, and this is making us stronger.
“I know we have the ability to win and in a way that’s reassuring.”
