History was made on the hardwood on Friday, as the MSU volleyball team beat No. 10 Minnesota to earn back-to-back wins over top 10 teams since 1995.
The Spartans (21-7 overall, 9-7 Big Ten) knocked off No. 4 Nebraska in a five-set thriller the previous weekend, giving MSU enough momentum beat the Golden Gophers (20-7, 11-5) in four sets (25-20, 17-25, 25-21, 25-20).
The match started off with Spartan dominance, as MSU had a hitting percentage of .357 while holding the Golden Gophers to a .167 clip.
The match then appeared to be a flashback, as the Spartans later jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the match. More than a month ago, the Spartans had a 2-1 lead over Minnesota, but squandered it to give the Golden Gophers the five-set victory.
This time, however, it was a different story, as the Spartans closed out a competitive fourth set, winning 25-20.
Head coach Cathy George, who saw her team fall behind at points during the match, said that one of the highlights of the match is how calm and collected the team was in the win.
“I could see a real strong look of composure at the end of the fourth set,” George said. “There were moments where we weren’t doing things really well, but I’m glad we regrouped and kept coming back.”
Junior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski led the attack with 13 kills, while junior and sophomore middle blockers Kelsey Kuipers and Jazmine White fronted the defense with five blocks.
The madness at Jenison Field House, however, was not done for the weekend, as MSU welcomed Wisconsin on Saturday.
The Badgers, who lost six of their last seven matches before coming into East Lansing, did not find the spark to the season they needed, as MSU swept the match in three sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-20).
“It was mature of us to come out after a big win last night and to come out tonight and take care of business,” junior setter Kristen Kelsay said. “We didn’t play air-free volleyball, we had some slumps there, but I think we were in control the whole night.”
Wicinski had déjà vu, as she once again led the attack with 13 kills on a .296 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Alexis Mathews was the leader of the block party with her six blocks.
Now that the Spartans have a four-game winning streak, their longest since mid-September, Wicinski believes they are poised to avenge two losses this upcoming weekend.
“We have two really hard games next week, Northwestern and Illinois and we’re going to avenge our losses, because we lost them both at home (earlier in the season),” Wicinski said. “It’s going to be tough beating them at their house, but we’re up to the challenge.”
The Spartans begin their quest of redemption against Illinois at 8 p.m. Friday in Champaign, Ill.
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