Aug. 26, 2006

Box Score

MUNCIE, Ind. - After winning its fourth straight season opener on Friday evening, the Xavier volleyball team could not get past a tough Michigan State team in the team's second game of the Ball State Nike/Active Ankle Weekend tournament. The loss evens XU's record at 1-1 on the season, while Michigan State improves to 2-0. The Musketeers will prepare to take on IPFW in the final game of the tournament at 5:30 pm this evening at Worthen Arena.

In the opening game against the Spartans, XU could not overcome a tall order at the net and fell 30-24. MSU held the Musketeers to a mere .194 hitting percentage and forced seven hitting errors in the game. XU forced the Spartans into six errors but six more kills by Michigan State led to a .394 hitting percentage. Freshman Lauren Kaminsky led XU on the offensive side with five kills and a .444 hitting percentage.

The turning point in the second game came with the score tied at 22-22. With the Musketeers playing point for point with MSU, the Spartans went on an 8-1 spurt to close out the second contest and take the game 30-23 and the 2-0 advantage in the match. The Musketeers could not muster any offense and ended the game with a .027 hitting percentage including nine errors on 37 swings. Three Musketeers recorded two kills on the game with freshman Kelly Ruth notching her first career kills and classmate Kaminsky along with Jenn Welsh all adding a pair in the game.

In the final game, a lineup shuffle provided a little spark for the Blue and White but it was not enough as the Spartans took the final game 30-25. MSU pushed its lead to 15-8 after XU hung close in the beginning but another push from Xavier cut the advantage to 27-25 in favor of Michigan State. The Spartans would regroup and take the final three points.

XU was led by Kaminsky who recorded 10 kills for the second straight match. She finished with 10 kills, four assists, four digs and a .273 hitting percentage. Astyn Bjorklund added eight kills on the afternoon, while the freshman Ruth added the first four of her career along with a dig.

The Musketeers will return to the court at 5:30 p.m. this afternoon for the final game of the weekend against the Mastodons of IPFW. After tonight's game, XU will return this Wednesday for its home opener at Cintas Center. XU will welcome the Thundering Herd of Marshall to Cintas for a 7 p.m. match. This will be the 14th time the two teams have squared off, with Xavier holding the 9-4 advantage in the series. The last time these two teams met was in 2004 when the Musketeers traveled to Huntington, W.Va. and were defeated 3-0. However, the last time these two squads matched up at Cintas Center was in 2003 as Xavier took the match 3-1.