Huskers Fight Off Michigan State, 3-2, For Fifth Straight Win

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 8 Nebraska volleyball team won its fifth straight match with a thrilling 3-2 (25-19, 27-29, 23-25, 25-18, 16-14) victory over Michigan State at Jenison Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.

The Huskers (21-4, 12-3 Big Ten) found a way back from a 2-1 deficit  on the road behind a career-high-tying 21 kills from Kadie Rolfzen to go with 14 digs and five blocks. Kelsey Fien had 13 kills, while Mikaela Foecke had 12. Cecilia Hall had nine kills, and Amber Rolfzen had seven kills and six blocks. 

Kelly Hunter had 51 assists, 14 digs, five kills and four blocks. Justine Wong-Orantes had 18 digs, while Annika Albrecht had 13. 

Michigan State had three player with double-digit kills, led by Chloe Reinig's 13. 

NU outhit the Spartans .222 to .177. The Huskers had an 8-4 edge in service aces, but committed a season-high 13 errors. Michigan State had a 15-12 block advantage. 

Set 1: Nebraska led from start to finish, pulling away to a 16-7 lead on the back of four blocks and a .471 hitting percentage to that point. NU led 17-8 before a 4-0 MSU run cut it to 17-12. But a Foecke kill and back-to-back aces put the Huskers in front, 21-13. Kadie Rolfzen closed the set, 25-19, with her fifth kill. Foecke had four kills and two aces.  

Set 2: Michigan State went in front early after a slew of Husker attacking errors. With MSU up 11-9, Hall blasted a kill and Albrecht served an ace to tie it, 11-11. A ball-handling error on the Spartans gave the Huskers their first lead of the set, 12-11. Michigan State came right back to take a 13-12 lead, before a Kadie Rolfzen kill and Amber Rolfzen/Foecke block put NU back in front, 14-13. The teams traded rallies until Nebraska went up 20-18 after Michigan State hit long. The Spartans responded out of a timeout with a 3-0 run to claim a 21-20 lead. MSU earned the first set point at 24-23 and again at 25-24, but each time Fien produced clutch kills. Fien later served an ace to give NU set point at 27-26. But the Spartans answered with a 3-0 spurt to take set two, 29-27. There were 19 ties and six lead changes in the set.

Set 3: Michigan State staked a 6-1 lead, but the Huskers quickly battled back within 8-7 with two kills and a block by Amber Rolfzen. NU took a 10-9 lead on a Fien kill. Hall added one and MSU hit long to make it 12-9, completing a 9-1 run. Back-to-back kills by Kadie Rolfzen made it 16-12, and a Wong-Orantes service ace pushed it to 19-14. But a tough serve from Holly Toliver brought the Spartans all the way back, 20-20. The Spartans finished the set on an 11-4 run to win 25-23. Alyssa Garvelink had two kills and a block down the stretch to give MSU the 2-1 edge. 

Set 4: The Huskers regrouped and led 10-6 in the fourth with two aces and no attacking errors to that point after nine and eight in the second and third set, respectively. Three straight kills by Fien and one by Kadie Rolfzen made it 16-8, capping a 6-1 run. The Huskers went up 20-10, but Michigan State cut into it with a 7-0 run to get within 20-17. Kadie Rolfzen got NU out of the run with a kill, and a Foecke kill and MSU hitting error, followed by one from Hunter, gave NU the momentum to finish out the 25-18 win and force a fifth set. NU finished with just three attack erorrs in the set to hit .270 and held Michigan State to an .079 hitting percentage. 

Set 5: Michigan State jumped in front 4-1 after a Rachel Minarick service ace. The Huskers rallied to go up 7-6 after an Amber Rolfzen kill and MSU hitting error. A Husker service error tied it 7-7, but Fien found the back corner for an 8-7 lead at the crossover. Kadie Rolfzen's 20th kill made it 10-8 after Wong-Orantes sprawled across the back of the court to keep a rally alive. NU led 11-8 after an MSU error, but a Toliver kill and three straight Husker errors gave MSU a 12-11 lead. But the Spartans served long and Kadie Rolfzen stuffed Toliver for a 13-12 Husker advantage. Foecke laced a kill to the back corner for match point, 14-12. After MSU fought off two set points, Kadie Rolfzen and Foecke finished the job with kills for a 16-14 win.

Up Next: The Huskers finish their four-match road stretch at Maryland on Saturday. The 6 p.m. (CT) match will stream online on BTN Plus.