Once the MSU women’s volleyball team shed its nervousness, the rest seemed easy.

The No. 15 Spartans defeated Georgetown in three games by scores of 30-25, 30-13 and 30-24 at Jenison Field House in the first match of the Coca-Cola/MSU Volleyball Classic.

Coming out of the gates, the Spartans seemed a little timid against the Hoyas. Georgetown jumped out to a 11-9 lead in game one, but that’s where the turnaround began.

“I think we had some jitters in the beginning,” junior outside hitter Sara Villwock said. “But we got them out real quick, which is good.

“It was kind of a shock at first, but once we got some digs and some kills, we just relaxed.”

Spartan head coach Chuck Erbe didn’t see the negative sounding “jitters” in his team, he saw something more positive.

“I wouldn’t say we were jittery,” head coach Chuck Erbe said. “I would call it nervous excitement, because when we took the floor, I knew we were ready to play.

“We got off to a great start this year,” he added. “Hitting over 40 percent, that’s very impressive.”

For the first match of the year, Erbe was pleased to see 1,086 fans fill the Jenison stands.

MSU slowly put points on the board, and when senior outside hitter Kyla Smith painted the sideline with a mammoth kill, the energy shifted for not only the rest of the game, but for the duration of the match.

The 30-13 score indicated Spartan domination during the second game and they followed that with a solid performance in game three. After a 12 minute intermission, the Hoyas still couldn’t break through the Spartan wall.

The Spartans came out with fire and finished the match off quickly.

Senior defensive specialist Emily Engel showed why she is a captain, landing four service aces in the match. Villwock and sophomore outside hitter Kim Schram also made their contributions known, drilling 14 and 11 kills, respectively.

“I had so much fun,” junior setter Nikki Colson said. “Once we got into our game plan we played really well.”

MATCH TWO: MSU vs. Oakland

Chuck Erbe put in some of his reserves in for the morning match of the tournament and it gave him a little scare.

Oakland, who the No. 15 Spartans on paper are considered to overmatch in nearly all offensive and defensive categories, came into game one with nothing to lose. Playing with heart, the Spartans were up against all they could handle.

It also didn’t help that the Golden Grizzlies were very feisty, while the Spartans started off sluggish at the 10 a.m. start.

“I figured in game one we were going to struggle just because we had four new players in the lineup,” Erbe said. “Also, you never know what skeletons are lurking in the mind when they enter the court.

“I mean, the fact we hit .297 in game one, .310 in game two and then all of a sudden everything fell apart in game three - we hit .522,” he added. “It was just a constant improvement when they began feeling more comfortable.”

The Spartans took their first lead of the game at 14-13, but just as quick as they grabbed the lead, they gave it right back. However, it was only a matter of time before MSU caught fire.

With a mammoth service ace, senior defensive specialist Emily Engel started a four point run that turned out to give MSU a 22-21 lead, one they’d have the rest of the game en route to a 30-24 win.

Game two was traditional Spartan volleyball. MSU jumped out to a 7-2 lead and never looked back, defeating the Grizzlies, 30-20.

“We just overpowered them,” junior outside hitter Sara Villwock said. “They had good defense but our height helped us out tremendously.”

Freshman middle Megan Wallin stole the spotlight in game two, hitting a perfect 7-for-7.

“She is just tenacious when she plays,” Erbe said. “She is going to be one fine player.”

After the intermission, the Spartans made quick work of the Grizzlies, taking game three 30-18 and winning their second consecutive match, 3-0.

Villwock, Wallin and sophomore outside hitter Kim Schram led the Spartans vicious attack with 16,11 and 10 kills, respectively. Senior defensive specialist Emily Engel chipped in three services aces while junior setter Nikki Colson had 43 setting assists.

“I was very please with how they played,” Erbe said. “Now, the test will be coming tonight.”

The Spartans will be taking on South Carolina to decide the championship of the tournament at 8 p.m. tonight.