Spartans Improve to 11-1 With Win Over Penn State Volleyball

Michigan State picked up a marquee non-conference win over Penn State on Sunday afternoon at the Breslin Events Center, taking down the Nittany Lions in four sets. The Spartans improved to 11-1 with the victory, while Penn State dropped to 9-3.

The first set was tight early, with Penn State jumping out to a lead behind kills from Kennedy Martin. But Michigan State answered with a run fueled by setter Malayah Long, who piled up assists and a service ace during a stretch that saw Hayley Ogden and Alanna Bankston convert kill after kill. The Spartans pulled away down the stretch and closed the set 25-19 on back to back service aces from Ky Clayton.

Set two followed a similar arc. Penn State built an early cushion and led by as many as five points in the middle of the set behind kills from Whitney Lauenstein and Gabrielle Nichols. Michigan State chipped away, got key blocks from Carmen Waye and Bankston, and used a service run from Long, including a pair of aces, to erase the deficit. Zora Hardison's kill off a Long assist closed out the 25-21 set win for the Spartans, putting them up 2-0.

Penn State would not go away in set three. Michigan State actually jumped out to an early 7-1 lead behind Clayton's serving and kills from Waye and Ogden, but Martin took over from there. The Nittany Lion outside hitter strung together kills throughout the set, including a stretch late where she scored on back to back to back swings to help Penn State climb back into it. Danielle Whitmire's setting kept the offense humming, and Martin's final kill of the set sealed a 25-22 win that cut the deficit to 2-1.

Michigan State wasted little time reasserting control in the fourth. The Spartans built an early lead and got contributions across the lineup, with Hardison, Bankston, Waye and Madi Andrews all finding kills at various points. Penn State kept things competitive behind Martin and Emmi Sellman, and a late push led by Kendall Northern and Ava Jurevicius pulled the Nittany Lions within three points in the 18-21 range. But Michigan State closed it out on an attack error by Bankston and a Bankston solo block that forced a Martin attack error, sealing the 25-19 set and the 3-1 match win.

Martin led all players with 19 kills for Penn State, though she also hit into 8 errors on 55 total attempts for a .200 hitting percentage. She added 6 assisted blocks. Sellman chipped in 9 kills at a .259 clip, and Lauenstein also finished with 9 kills. Whitmire ran the Penn State offense with 24 assists.

Michigan State's attack was balanced. Andrews led the Spartans with 13 kills, and Ogden matched that total while hitting a blistering .400 on 25 attempts. Hardison was efficient too, posting 10 kills on just 16 attempts for a .562 hitting percentage to go with 4 blocks. Waye added 8 kills and a team high 6 blocks (3 solo), and Bankston chipped in 8 kills and 5 blocks despite 10 attack errors. Long orchestrated the offense with 40 assists and also added 11 digs and 3 kills of her own.

Defensively, Michigan State out dug Penn State 63-53, and the Spartans also held a slight edge in total blocks, 12 to Penn State's 14 depending on how the box score credits assisted blocks across categories, though both teams found success at the net throughout the match.

Michigan State will look to carry the momentum forward, while Penn State turns its attention to a difficult road test this coming Thursday against Nebraska.

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