It’s the trip no volleyball team wants to make - traveling to No. 9 Ohio State and No. 13 Penn State on consecutive nights.
Only three teams have ever survived the weekend with two wins.
Last year’s NCAA runner-up Wisconsin did it. The 1995 Spartans did it during their run to the NCAA tournament semifinals.
And, after two great matches, the current Spartan volleyball team added its name to the list with 3-1 wins over both the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions.
“Going on the road to Ohio State and Penn State is the toughest road trip in the Big Ten,” Spartan head coach Chuck Erbe said. “It’s just an indication of what we’re capable of doing.”
On Friday, the Spartans (18-7, 11-7 Big Ten) upset the Buckeyes (23-3, 15-3) in a four-game match, 30-25, 24-30, 30-23 and 30-24.
Despite a lowly .051 hitting percentage in game two, the Spartans hit over .393 in the other three games.
Senior outside hitter Erin Hartley conducted the MSU attack with 14 kills. The Spartans also got double-digit kills from freshman outside hitter Kim Schram (13) junior outside hitter Kyla Smith (11) and junior middle blocker Angela Morley (10).
OSU outside hitters Stacey Gordon and Anne Botica finished with 23 kills and 21 kills, respectively.
Morley proved to be the most efficient player on the floor as she finished with a .526 hitting percentage with no attack errors.
If the offensive numbers weren’t gaudy enough, the Spartan defense carried a heavy load against the Buckeyes as well.
Whether it was blocking or digging, sophomore defensive specialist Emmy Miller said the Spartans had all the answers for the Ohio State attack.
“We just did an awesome job of picking up balls that looked like they should have been on the floor,” Miller said. “They were stunned at some of the amazing digs we had, and they almost stopped playing a couple of times because they thought the point was over.”
And a lot of shots didn’t even make it to the back row - Spartan blockers shoveled them back.
Morley finished with nine of the team’s 15 blocks contrasted by only three blocks for the Buckeyes. Sophomore setter Nikki Colson equaled her career best by adding five blocks.
Erbe said the Spartans knew what they had to do to be successful against Ohio State, and they did it.
“We were very well prepared and our players followed the game plan,” he said. “We won the serve-pass-defense parts of the game, which Ohio State usually dominates.
“We just played great volleyball from start to finish.”
And then, the Spartans did it again.
Behind an offensive explosion from Morley, the Spartans stunned Penn State (19-7, 12-6) 30-21, 32-30, 28-30 and 30-28 on Saturday evening.
Morley slapped a career-high 21 kills, hitting at a .576 attack percentage. Hartley added 18 kills and Schram chipped in with 16 kills in the victorious effort.
Colson finished the evening with 63 assists, tying her career best. Morley also added seven more blocks.
As a team, the Spartans finished with a season-high 81 kills.
“Penn State wasn’t going to roll over - when we pushed, they pushed back, and when we fought they fought back a little harder,” Miller said. “But we stayed in it, kept our composure and we ended up on top.”
But the Spartans didn’t fold under the pressure.
“I think we played with a lot of consistency, a lot of heart and a belief in each other,” Colson said. “I thought we did a terrific job persevering, especially at Penn State.”
And it was the consistent effort that allowed the Spartans to pull the upsets - along with the best volleyball Morley has ever played.
“She had the best weekend of her career,” Erbe said. “She was a huge force at the net and her blocking was just outstanding.”
