Spartans Drop Test at #9 Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS – Opening the second half of Big Ten play on Wednesday night, Michigan State volleyball was defeated by #9 Minnesota, 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-11), from Maturi Pavilion.
 
Sophomore Aliyah Moore led the team with eight kills, hitting .250 for the Spartans. Freshman Nil Okur had an efficient night offensively hitting .500 with seven kills. Graduate student Zoe Nunez narrowly missed her third consecutive double-double finishing with 20 assists and eight digs. Junior Nalani Iosia led the team in digs with 13, her 17th match this season with double-digit digs.
 
As a team the Spartans hit .053 but hit .194 in a close first set. Minnesota hit .326 for the match led by Taylor Landfair’s 13 kills. The Golden Gophers finished the match with 10 blocks, with Carter Booth accounting for five.
 
Michigan State kept set one close until the very end as the teams were locked up at 19-19 entering the final points of the set. A 5-0 run for the Golden Gophers gave Minnesota set point, putting the set out of reach for the Spartans. Set one was tied up on 13 occasions as neither team wanted to give way to the other. MSU led mid-way through the set at 15-13, with the two-point advantage being the teams largest of the frame.
 
The Spartans opened up a four-point, 7-3, lead in set two using kills from Moore, Aslayan and Poljan, alongside a big block from Poljan and Nunez. Minnesota scored at a torrid pace thereafter, going on a 21-4 run to bring the set to set point at 24-11. Michigan State showed fight on set point going on a 3-0 run before the Golden Gophers found the final kill.
 
MSU continued to play well in…