Redshirt senior outside hitter Brooke Kranda (13) and teammates look at the referee after Michigan makes an out-of-bounds call during the game against Michigan on Oct. 18, 2017 at Jenison Fieldhouse. The Spartans secured a 3-1 win against the Wolverines.
Volleyball’s historic postseason run has come to an end, as they were swept, 3-0, by the No. 1 seed Penn State Nittany Lions in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament Saturday night. This is the third time this season MSU has lost to PSU, with both previous games ending in a 3-1 score.
The Spartans started off strong, barely losing the first set, 25-23, and went point for point for most of the set. In the second set, MSU would fall to Penn State, 25-17, and was beaten in the third set, 28-26.
Even with this loss, Spartan history was made as senior setter Rachel Minarick became the all-time leader in assists with 34 assists on the night, making her career assist total 4,581.
MSU was also led by redshirt senior outside hitter Autumn Bailey, who had a double-double with 18 kills and 12 digs. The Spartans only had a kill rate of 14.9 percent on the evening.
Cathy George's team finished 24-9 on the season, ranking as high as No. 8 in the nation. The Spartans also had four All-Region honorees, with Bailey, Minarick and senior middle Alyssa Garvelink earning first-team honors, while senior outside hitter Holly Toliver was selected as an honorable mention.
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