George addressed the media at a press conference Tuesday and commended the way her players performed at the Hokie Invitational at Virginia Tech.

Junior outside hitter Taylor Galloway suffered an injury against Pacific last Saturday, and joined sophomore setter Halle Peterson and freshman outside hitter Chloe Reinig on the inactive list.

The setback cost the Spartans (3-1 overall) the game against Pacific, which they lost, 3-0. However, the injury caused George to place players into positions and situations they weren’t accustomed to. The team handled the rotation adjustments admirably, as the Spartans won three straight to take down Virginia Tech, 3-2, in the last game of the invitational after falling behind 0-2.

“The way our team responded was just great,” George said at the press conference Tuesday.

“I’m really excited about the play of some of our young players, who came in and played positions that they hadn’t played or worked on in over a season.”

The young players who rose to the occasion were freshman middle blocker Allyssah Fitterer, who posted nine blocks against Virginia Tech, and freshman middle blocker Autumn Christenson, who filled in for Galloway at the outside hitter position.

George compared Christenson’s transition from middle blocker to outside hitter to moving a wide receiver to the running back position at game time, and noted Christenson did a nice job at responding to the demands of playing middle blocker.

Junior defensive specialist Ryian Hubbard also was moved to setter, a position she hadn’t played since high school.

“It was their real fight-back that made it possible, and it was exciting to see we have three different (players) that made major contributions for us this weekend,” George said.

Fitterer and Christenson are part of a recruiting class that ranked fifth in the nation. Their performance potentially might have won them long-term spots in the rotation for the season.

George indicated at the beginning of the season that Reinig, Fitterer and Christenson most likely would be the freshmen to crack the rotation. Although Reinig’s spot no longer is promised after suffering from an illness that has robbed her of some of her strength, Fitterer and Christenson are living up to — and perhaps even exceeding — expectations.

“It’s those types of experiences that make you strong because it’s a tough road,” George said. “Our job is to get them better and better throughout the year, and we’re doing just that.”

MSU will play national championship runner-up Oregon on Friday and Oregon State Saturday.