Michigan State volleyball kept rolling Tuesday afternoon, sweeping LSU 25-21, 25-20, 25-19 in the opening match of the Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge Week inside Michigan’s Crisler Center.
The win pushed the Spartans to 3-0 on the season and gave LSU its first loss, dropping the Tigers to 2-1. Michigan State has now opened 3-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2011-12.
This one was built on pressure from start to finish. MSU held LSU to .047 hitting and finished with advantages in kills, 36-27, blocks, 8-7, and service aces, 4-3. Both teams recorded 29 digs.
Senior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska led the way with 14 kills, plus four digs and a service ace. Senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston added seven kills and four digs, while senior middle blocker Zora Hardison chipped in six kills and a team-high five total blocks.
Junior middle blocker Carmen Waye contributed four kills, three total blocks and a career-high, team-best three service aces. Redshirt sophomore setter Malayah Long finished with a team-high 29 assists and six digs, and senior libero Lia Schneider led the Spartans with nine digs.
Michigan State had to work through a shaky opening stretch in the first set, but once it settled in, the Spartans controlled the tone. LSU jumped out 11-8 before MSU answered with a 4-1 run to tie it at 12-12, capped by a Staniszewska kill.
After the Tigers briefly nudged back ahead, Michigan State grabbed the lead for good with a sequence that included a Hardison kill, a solo Waye block and a Waye-Long block. The Spartans kept extending the gap, and after LSU trimmed the margin to one twice, MSU closed the set 25-21 on back-to-back Hardison kills.
The second set followed a similar pattern: LSU made errors, and Michigan State made them pay. Bankston helped MSU build a 9-4 lead with a pair of kills, and after the Tigers cut it to three, the Spartans answered with three straight points to stretch the margin to 12-6.
LSU made another push to get within three at 14-11, but Staniszewska steadied MSU with a kill at the media timeout. From there, the Spartans surged again, using a trio of Bankston kills, another Staniszewska kill and an LSU service error to go up 19-12.
LSU fought off three set points, but Staniszewska ended it at 25-20.
Michigan State put the match away quickly in the third. The Spartans opened with five straight points, including four Staniszewska kills and a Long-Hardison block, to build a 5-2 lead.
LSU briefly cut the margin to two, but MSU answered with a 5-0 run that featured two more Staniszewska kills, a Long kill, a block from Bankston and Hardison, and a Staniszewska ace. Michigan State kept the pressure on from there, reaching a 22-13 lead before LSU strung together three points to force an MSU timeout.
The Tigers staved off the first match point, but an Ogden kill finished the sweep at 25-19.
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