Sophomore outside hitter Aliyah Moore(13) spikes the ball at the Ohio State v. MSU game held at the Breslin Center on November 5, 2022. The Spartans fell to the Buckeyes 3-0.
Michigan State battled until the very end during its 3-2 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday afternoon to clsoe out the season.
It looked as though the Spartans were going to take the match near the end of the fourth set, but the Hawkeyes’ late rally was enough to force a fifth, and eventually take the match.
The Spartans narrowly lost the first set to Iowa after going back and forth almost the entire time. Set one saw 14 ties and seven lead changes, and the Spartans eventually fell 25-23.
During the second set, junior libero Nalani Iosia hit 1,000 career digs, and Michigan State took the set 25-16. The transfer from Texas logged 467 digs this season and is now 9th all-time for single-season digs at MSU.
The third set went very similarly to the second with the Spartans dominating and winning 25-17, but it was the fourth set that shook the Spartans.
Over the course of the match, Michigan State clocked 12 service errors in comparison to just five from Iowa, and those lost points really hurt the Spartans. MSU lost matches one and four only lost by two points each, both 25-23. In those two sets, the Spartans combined for nine service errors while Iowa combined for just three.
The Hawkeyes were able to commandeer the fifth set early and defeat the Spartans quickly 15-9.
Despite the loss, Michigan State players were putting up impressive numbers across the board.
Sophomore outside hitter Aliyah Moore had 17 kills, one block and a .520 hitting percentage to lead the Spartans on Saturday.
Fifth-year middle blocker Rebecka Poljan followed close behind in her last game as a Spartan putting up 14 kills, five blocks and a .321 hitting percentage.
Michigan State closed out its season with a 13-18 record. The Spartans struggled on the road winning just three of 10 games, but were able to hold their own significantly better on home turf going 8-8 at the Breslin Center.
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