ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Michigan State volleyball team went 2-0 on Friday, opening the 10th playing of the Kristen Dickmann Invitational with wins over UAlbany (3-0; 25-18, 26-24, 25-10) and Navy (3-1; 25-10, 25-17, 18-25, 25-14) in front of a raucous Naval Academy crowd. With a pair of wins Michigan State opens its season 5-0 for the first time since 2016.
MSU out-hit UAlbany, .341 to .061 in the first match of the day, including a third set in which the Spartans hit .722 and held the Great Danes to a -.120 hitting percentage. Michigan State out-blocked UAlbany 18-to-10, led by six blocks each from fifth-year Rebecka Poljan and freshman Maradith O’Gorman.
O’Gorman was one of three Spartans to finish match one with double-digit kills (11) joining sophomore Aliyah Moore (12) and Poljan (10). The Great Dane had no answer to Poljan who hit .538 for the match. Fifth-year Zoe Nunez posted a match-high 33 assists for the Spartans, while junior Nalani Iosia, freshman Jayhlin Swain and O’Gorman each had seven assists.
Michigan State controlled the entirety of the first two sets against Navy on Friday night, holding the Mids to a -.208 attacking percentage in the first set. Freshman Nil Okur was dominant on the block with five first set block assists. The Spartans out-hit Navy .329 to .151 overall and used 17 services aces to their advantage as opposed to just two for Navy.
Freshman Evie Doezema led MSU with 11 kills in game two, hitting .316 overall. Sophomore Julia Bishop posted a season-best 15 assists while Nunez added 13. Nunez had a team-best four service aces, while Iosia, Swain and Bishop each had three….
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