Freshman Taylah Holdem spikes the ball during MSU's matchup against Wisconsin on Oct. 27, 2023 at the Breslin Center.
Michigan State volleyball fell short to Wisconsin with a 3-0 loss this Friday night.
MSU opened up the first set with a 4-0 run, keeping Wisconsin from putting points on the board early. The Spartans continued to dominate with a 3-0 run, leading the score 7-1.
Following the Spartan's dominant start, Wisconsin came striking back with a 3-0 run of their own, bringing the score to 7-4. The Badgers continued to pressure the Spartans, bringing the score to 15-14 with MSU leading by just one point. Both teams tied at 18-18 and continued trading off points.
Midway through set one, MSU was feeling the pressure, so head coach Leah Johnson used both timeouts back to back, but Wisconsin ultimately clinched the set 25-23.
Starting off the second set, Wisconsin and MSU were scoring back and forth, much like the end of the first. Wisconsin began pulling ahead with a 3-0 run, leading the score 6-3. The Spartans spent the second set trailing after the Badgers before Wisconsin took the second set 25-17.
Wisconsin opened the scoring in the third set with a 2-0 run, but the Spartans, coming off of their second-set loss, came back on the floor more aggressively. Unfortunately for MSU, the team continued to let Wisconsin get point runs, which caused them to fall behind with a score of 9-13. Wisconsin continued to dominate with a 7-2 run, winning the third and final set 25-16.
Amani McArthur and Aliyah Moore trying to swing the momentum with a big block! Spartans showing fight in set three.#GoGreen | #SetTheStandard pic.twitter.com/NUUqPx3OeS
— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) October 28, 2023
Despite the loss, MSU had some standout players that contributed to the team keeping up with the No. 2 team early on in the match. Sophomore outside hitter Aliyah Moore and sophomore middle blocker Evie Doezema recorded nine kills each, and fifth year middle blocker Amani McArthur ended with a high of seven kills and four blocks.
Following the match, Johnson said she liked how her team had a set goal coming into the match.
“I like that we came out with our game plan, and usually it takes us a set and a half to get into a game plan, and I thought we executed from the very beginning,” said Johnson. “So, we have a harder second-half quote on quote with more ranked opponents, we’ll say, than we do the first half. So, it’s going to be harder for that to work every time but I’m so proud of the team. I thought we did a lot of great things.”
The Spartans will take on Penn State this Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Breslin Center.
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