Michigan State finished its Los Angeles trip the hard way, grinding out a five-set win over USC on Sunday afternoon at the Galen Center to cap a 2-0 weekend.
The Spartans came away with an 18-25, 25-14, 24-26, 25-18, 15-11 victory, improving to 13-1 overall and 3-1 in the B1G. USC fell to 7-7 and 1-3.
MSU’s edge showed up in the numbers that usually tell the truth over five sets: a .333 hitting percentage, a 78-50 advantage in kills and a 63-45 lead in digs. USC had the better of the service line with six aces to four and also finished with more total blocks, 12.5-5.
Senior outside hitter Karolina Staniszewska led the way with 17 kills in only three sets and added eight digs. Senior middle blocker Zora Hardison turned in a season-best 16 kills on .481 hitting, and senior outside hitter Alanna Bankston delivered a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs.
Redshirt sophomore setter Malayah Long was everywhere for Michigan State, piling up a career-high 65 assists and nine digs. That assist total was the most by a Spartan in a match since Natalie Emro had 65 against Indiana on Nov.
13, 2009. Senior libero Lia Schneider led the team with 12 digs, while junior middle blocker Carmen Waye finished with a team-high three total blocks.
USC came out fast and took control of the opening set, building a 10-3 lead before Michigan State burned an early timeout. The Spartans trimmed the gap at different points, but the Trojans kept enough separation to close out the set 25-18.
The second set belonged to Michigan State from the moment it settled in. After USC started with consecutive kills, the Spartans answered with a run that flipped the set and forced the Trojans into repeated timeouts. MSU kept stacking points behind kills from Andrews, Hardison and Bankston, stretched the margin to 15-6 by the media timeout and never let USC back into it, finishing the set 25-14 to even the match.
The third was the swing set, and it was as tense as the final score suggests. USC opened a 12-8 lead, then widened it to 15-8 after a 3-0 burst out of the timeout.
Michigan State clawed back behind Staniszewska and Hardison, with Staniszewska also adding a service ace, and eventually tied things at 22-22. The Spartans fought off two set points with a pair of Bankston kills, but USC got the final two swings it needed to steal the set 26-24.
Michigan State answered in the fourth. USC briefly led 8-7, then the Spartans ripped off a 5-0 run and never gave the advantage back. Long’s dump, a Hardison kill and later back-to-back Staniszewska kills helped push the lead out to 17-9, and MSU closed it 25-18 to force a fifth.
The deciding set stayed tight early, with USC taking a 5-3 lead before MSU turned it around. The Spartans grabbed a 7-6 edge, then later used back-to-back kills from Ogden and Staniszewska to regain control. From there, Michigan State kept USC at arm’s length, got to 13-10 on a USC error, a Staniszewska kill and an Ogden solo block, and finished it off with consecutive Staniszewska kills for the 15-11 win.
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