After suffering its second consecutive loss, the MSU volleyball team rallied back to win the next two matches and leave the South Florida Adidas Invitational with a record of 7-2.
With its 2-1 record in the tournament, the No. 19 Spartans finished in a tie for first with Georgia Tech (9-2) and South Florida (7-3). No. 24 Kansas State, the only other ranked team at the tournament, finished 0-3.
The first match against Georgia Tech proved to be MSU’s worst of the tournament. The Spartans fell 22-30, 32-30, 28-30 and 25-30, while playing arguably its poorest volleyball of the year.
In MSU’s first action of the tournament, they were out-hit by Georgia Tech .425 to .111, while losing the kill battle 20 to 12.
For the match, the Spartans hit a dismal .215 while the Yellow Jackets hit .299, the highest for an MSU opponent all season. The Spartans also committed 11 service errors, while only managing three service aces.
“We played close games with them, and we were playing our worst volleyball,” senior outside hitter Kyla Smith said. “If we played out best, it should have been an easy win.”
The two hour and 20 minute contest could have killed MSU’s hope for a great weekend, but that’s when the Spartan turnaround began.
“We came out pretty dead Friday, and afterward we exchanged some words in the locker room,” Smith said. “We decided that’s not the way we want to be seen as a team.”
Junior setter Nikki Colson agreed the talk was needed and it was the team’s regrouping tool.
“After the match, we had to re-evaluate why we were out there,” said Colson, who had 58 assists in the match and 175 over the weekend. “Then on Saturday, we came out and played with so much more fire and desire.
“We had so much more fun Saturday.”
The level of enjoyment showed on the floor. MSU came out ignited against Kansas State.
The Spartans went to extra points to win the first game 31-29, and won the second game 30-25. Kansas State took game three 22-30, but MSU bounced back in game four to secure the match with a 30-27 win.
“Our middles did a great job of tracking their middles,” Smith said. “We didn’t do that against Georgia Tech and that hurt us.
“Against K-State the middles didn’t leave us by ourselves to go up against their best attackers. They tracked who was hot and shut them down.”
Senior middle Angela Morley had 12 kills and 12 block shots in the match. The 12 blocks tie her for fourth best in MSU history, two behind her own record.
Sophomore outside hitter Kim Schram had 19 kills and finished with an impressive .432 killing percentage. Junior outside hitter Sara Villwock and junior middle Jenny Rood added 13 and 11 kills, respectively.
Match three against host South Florida was the biggest challenge for the Spartans and half of the challenge wasn’t even on the floor.
“The atmosphere was crazy and the fans were so obnoxious and out of control,” Colson said of the South Florida faithful. “That is the most competitive and rowdy match I’ve ever played in.”
MSU and South Florida were evenly matched for most of game one. However, six service aces helped the Bulls squeak out the 30-27 win.
The Spartans fought back in game two, in what proved to be a barn burner. No team led by more than four the entire way. The game was tied in extra points at 33 before MSU picked up the 35-33 win thanks to back-to-back kills from Morley and Smith.
The Spartans never trailed in game three, cruising to a 30-23 victory. Game four was much of the same, with MSU pulling ahead late, picking up the 30-24 win.
“The fans were just booing and screaming at us and the other team was even talking through the net,” Colson said. “By them being obnoxious, our goal was to shut them up.”
“That just drove us to beat them even more.”
The Spartans finished the tournament in second place, behind the Yellow Jackets. Even though Georgia Tech, MSU and South Florida all had 2-1 marks, the Yellow Jackets got the tiebreaker because they won more games throughout the tournament.
MSU was put in second, ahead of South Florida because the Spartans won the head-to-head match.
“I’m very pleased with the entire weekend,” MSU head coach Chuck Erbe said.
“And I thought Saturday was a vastly superior effort compared to Friday. We played Michigan State volleyball the last two matches.”
Two Spartans were named to the All-Tournament team. Smith was named following a weekend of 38 kills, 32 digs and five service aces. She was joined by Morley who had 20 blocks in the invitational to go along with 30 kills and a pair of service aces.
