The MSU volleyball team (3-1) had a solid performance at the Hokie Invitational this weekend as they opened up their season at Virginia Tech.
It started with a near-dominating 3-0 win over St. Francis Friday morning (25-8, 25-8, 25-21). After cruising to victory in the first two sets, St. Francis woke up and went toe-to-toe with the Spartans in the third set before ultimately falling short.
MSU limited the Red Flash to 37 points overall and narrowly missed the school record for fewest points allowed an opponent by 2 points. The record of 35 was set last season against Dartmouth.
Senior middle blocker Alexis Mathews led the team with 11 kills, five blocks, and hit .625 for the match. Senior setter Kristen Kelsay had 21 assists and seven digs, and senior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski had six kills, five blocks, and four digs in the two sets that she played.
The good fortune continued for the Spartans Friday evening, sweeping Towson 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-18) in the second game of the invitational.
Mathews continued her strong play, tying her career high by hitting .667 (11k/15att, 1 error) against the Tigers. Kelsay added 39 assists and Wicinski posted a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs.
The victory made it 18 consecutive non-conference match wins for the Spartans, a streak dating back to the 2011 season.
Despite the hot start, the Spartans couldn’t carry the momentum into early Saturday as they fell to Pacific 3-0 (21-25, 17-25, 23-25) Saturday.
The match not only broke their 18-game winning streak against non-conference teams, but marked the first time since 2010 that MSU has lost a three-set decision to a non-conference team.
Wicinski and freshman middle blocker Autumn Christenson both posted eight kills for the Spartans. Junior libero Kori Moster added 15 digs and Kelsay had 24 assists.
The Spartans fell down 2-0 to Virginia Tech before rallying to win, 3-2 in the fourth and last game of the invitational
Virginia Tech started the match by scoring three straight, but the Spartans answered with a 5-0 run, forcing a Hokie timeout. The match stayed close before MSU edged Virginia Tech out for the comeback win.
Mathews capped off a strong weekend performance with a career high-tying 15 kills. Wicinski totaled 20 kills and Kelsay added 28 assists.
Head Coach Cathy George planned to use the weekend to help finalize her rotation, and that seemed to be the case as dug deep into her rotation throughout the invitational.
Freshman outside hitter Chloe Reinig, who was initially slated to start and was listed as day-to-day going into the weekend, missed all four games.
Freshman middle blocker Allyssah Fitterer and Christenson saw time in all four games. This could be an indicator on which recruits George is leaning towards penciling into her rotation during the season.
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