IU drops 4-set match to Michigan St.

For the second straight Wednesday, the Hoosiers displayed the same heart that took the team to the Sweet 16 last year.

For the second straight Wednesday, that heart was just not enough, as the Hoosiers lost a 13th game in a row to Michigan State in four sets.

In the first set, the Hoosiers jumped out to an early 7-5 lead before the
Spartans took control, winning the first set 25-19. Spartan senior Jenilee Rathje led Michigan State with five kills in five attempts. Rathje exploited the Hoosiers’ block, which at times looked non-exsistent in the first set, and bad passing.

“We had some trouble blocking on the seams and up top,” middle blocker Samantha Thrower said. “They did a good job of finding our weaknesses, but there was room for improvement on our side.”

The Hoosiers showed flashes of success against Michigan State, which recorded 11.5 blocks in the first meeting between the teams and ranked fifth in the nation, averaging 2.64 blocks per set.

Thrower led the way for the Hoosiers with four kills in four attempts in the first.
Trailing one set to none, IU controlled the tempo of the second set, sparked by a 6-1 run to go up 12-6, and never looked back to even the match at a set a piece.

Unlike during the first set, the Hoosiers’ blocking made it difficult for Michigan State’s attack. The Spartans had five errors in the second set compared to only eight errors in the first. Juniors Whitney Granado and Ivie Obeime had key blocks during that 6-1 run. They were the most effective players on the court throughout the set.

“We really tried to key in on some of their main hitters,” Granado said. “For myself, being a smaller player, I just try to get myself up there and present a good block.”

After the break, the Spartans’ serving came out on fire, dominating IU with three early aces to jump out to a 7-3 lead that the Hoosiers could not come back from, losing 25-15.

It was a battle of good serving, as the Hoosiers were aggressive through the first three sets. For three sets, the Spartans and Hoosiers had eight and six service aces, respectively.

Senior libero Caitlin Cox, who became the 15th Hoosier to rack up 100 career aces last weekend against Wisconsin, spiked three aces and recorded 11 digs, while Granado sparked the Hoosiers with 34 assists, seven digs, three aces and three blocks.

After the break, the same problems that plagued IU in the first set — bad passing and lack of a block — were exposed by Rathje and Alexis Mathews, who combined for seven kills in the third (five and two, respectively).

IU was down two sets to one. The fourth set was all about heart for the Hoosiers, and there was plenty of fight in the back-and-forth set.

IU took the lead 15-10 into a mid-set media timeout. After MSU rattled off six straight points, Dunbar inserted one of the team’s most electric players, Lindsay Enterline, to raise the energy level.

Enterline made an immediate impact, teaming up with middle blocker Morgan Leach to block the ball during her first point in the game.

Rathje and Mathews finished the match with 21 and 13 kills, respectively.

Overall, the Hoosiers had great attacking performances from outside hitter Kristen Seaton and Thrower, who had 10 kills each.

“We try to look at the positives, but it comes down to fighting,” Granado said. “Every game is a big game for us, and teams look at us a little differently. They think it’s going to be a little easier against us, so we really need to bring it to them.”