MSU VOLLEYBALL: Spartans sweep Rutgers, 3-0
SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
MSU won its second straight match, a 3-0 decision over homestanding Rutgers (25-15, 25-21, 25-13) on Saturday in New Brunswick, NJ. Rachel Minarick and Allyssah Fitterer each posted double-doubles, while Alyssa Garvelink led the MSU attack with 12 kills as the Spartans improve to 16-13, 8-10 Big Ten.
SET ONE:Â MSU jumped out to an early 7-1 lead, and methodically maintained a significant lead, which grew to 19-10 on a Garvelink termination, her fourth of the set. The Spartans were once again spreading out their offense and were building the lead with efficient hitting, (14-1-27, .481 at the second timeout). MSU took care of its hosts by a 25-15 score, with Fitterer and Garvelink each recording five kills in the frame, and the Spartans hitting .405 (17-2-37) with 18 digs.
SET TWO: Rutgers took a very brief lead at 7-5, but the Spartans stormed back with big plays at the net and pulled out to a 14-10 lead, which forced the home team into a timeout. MSU kept trying to pull away but a pesky Rutgers squad kept fighting its way back into it, cutting its deficit to three at 22-19 on an MSU error. The Scarlet Knights threw up a pair of big blocks to come even closer at 23-21, forcing MSU into a timeout. OUt of the break, Christenson got MSU to set point with a big kill from the right pin, and a win of a joust at the net by Minarick gave MSU the second-set win, 25-21. The Spartans hit .366, behind six kills from Garvelink and four from Megan Tompkins.
SET THREE:Â A feisty Rutgers team kept fighting back into MSU leads, getting some line shots to fall in and some big blocks at the net before MSU built to a 18-12 edge after back-to-back blocks by Fitterer and Tompkins at the left pin. Tompkins followed with her fifth kill to make it a seven-point edge, and Fitterer's 10th kill secured MSU's race to reach 20 points. MSU pulled ahead 21-12 on a hitting error by the home team, and closed it out on a 4-1 run to take the set 25-13.
QUOTABLEÂ
"We're in `playoff mode', as we know how important every win is in terms of our NCAA hopes - but more importantly, we had to get ourselves back on track and confident in our abilities after that losing streak. We have two more big ones to come next week, so this was important for us to maintain what we started on Wednesday. "
  -- Head Coach Cathy George
TOP PERFORMERSÂ
Alyssa Garvlink posted 12 kills and hit .588.
Allyssah Fitterer had her second double-double, with 10 kills and 11 digs, while adding four blocks (one solo) and hitting .500 (10-0-20).
Rachel Minarick posted her 11th double-double of the season and second straight with 44 assists and 13 digs, and three kills
Chloe Reinig had 11 kills and a pair of blocks.
Megan Tompkins added three blocks after tying her season high on Wednesday with nine, and added five kills.
STATS AND STORYLINESÂ
MSU is now a perfect 5-0 all-time vs. the Scarlet Knights, and took both meetings this season by a 3-0 score. .
MSU won its second straight match after snapping a losing streak on Wednesday with a win over Northwestern.
The Spartans hit .396 on the night, their highest since posting a .425 team hitting percentage against the Scarlet Knights at home on Oct. 17.
Minarick had her second straight double-double and third in the last four games. She has a total of 11 this season.
Allyssah Fitterer has double-digit kills in four straight matches for the first time since having five straight to start the season. She also set a career high with 11 digs.
The Spartans plays at No. 15 Purdue next Wednesday.
