There was an outside shot at getting into the NCAA Tournament when the MSU volleyball team began play Saturday against No. 12 Minnesota. Halfway through the fourth set it looked almost possible. The Spartans needed to win both of this weekend’s matches and have Indiana lose both of its matches to slide into the sixth spot in the Big Ten and have a shot at getting into the NCAA Tournament.
MSU did its part Friday, defeating Iowa 3-1. The team looked strong, as senior defensive specialist Heather McDaniel, playing her last weekend at MSU, recorded a career-high 12 kills and 14 digs on Friday to earn the first double-double of her career. MSU pulled away in the fourth set behind two monster blocks by freshman outside hitter Becca Zlabis, who also led the team with 15 kills on the night.
With Indiana losing to Michigan on Friday, the door was left open for a shot at the Big Dance on Saturday, even if it didn’t look feasible it at the beginning of the match.
The Spartans stumbled out of the gate against Minnesota, committing nine attack errors in the set, falling behind 12-6 and never catching up, losing the set 25-18.
However, the team was resilient and fought back in the second set. After trailing 9-5 early on, the team went on a 13-4 rally to take a commanding 18-13 lead. The Spartans would ride the momentum into the break to win the set 25-20.
The third set was worse for MSU, as Minnesota showed the home team why it was so highly ranked. The Golden Gophers jumped out to a huge lead that they never relented, going up 24-9. The Spartans rallied off four straight points to make the set look respectable, losing 25-13, their second lowest point output of the season.
That’s when MSU looked like it would take over. The Spartans dominated the first half of the fourth set and took a commanding 13-5 lead. At the same time, Indiana was down to Ohio State, having lost the first set of its match. Everything was lining up.
And then it fell apart.
“I think (Minnesota) just started serving very well,” head coach Cathy George said. “We were having problems getting the ball in system and really using our offense. They did a nice job blocking and it created difficulties for us.”
Errors again plagued the Spartans, as Minnesota climbed back into the game, tying the match at 18 and briefly taking the lead one point later. The teams battled and MSU took the lead at 22-20 behind two strong plays by McDaniel, but the strength of the Gophers overpowered the Spartans and Minnesota took the set 25-23, and the match 3-1.
Alas, Indiana also won its match 3-1, effectively ending MSU’s season. The Spartans finished the year 15-16 overall and 7-13 in the Big Ten.
“I think we had a lot of adversity that came our way this season and I think there was a lot of positive things that came through the year,” George said. “Yet, it was a hard year for us because its not easy to not win as much as you would like to.”
McDaniel, who finished her final game with 10 kills and nine digs, said she was proud of the way the team handled itself throughout the season.
“We’re a young team which has kind of been in the back of our heads all season,” McDaniel said. “I was proud to have led this team and I know they’re going to do great things in the future.”
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