Spuller, MSU volleyball spikes down Crookston
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Shelby Spuller had the hot hand and the Beavers took full advantage while playing at home for the final time this season inside the Minot State Dome.
The junior outside hitter swung away to tie Mallory Sall for Minot State's Division II record for kills in three sets with 22, as the Beavers (13-15, 6-12 NSIC) swept Minnesota Crookston (4-22, 2-15 NSIC) Saturday afternoon by set scores of 25-22, 25-18 and 25-15.
"Yeah, it's a pretty big deal," Spuller said about the record. "Twenty-two kills in three sets, I mean that's over six kills per set and some people only get six (kills) per game. But, honestly, I couldn't do it without my teammates. They are always there supporting me, and I'm not the one passing the ball and setting the ball. Without them, I wouldn't have been able to get that."
The Beavers turned to Spuller early and often as she finished the first set with nine kills. Spuller was also deadly efficient with eight kills on her first 10 attack attempts.
MSU set Spuller up five times on set point to close out the opening frame. The fifth attack attempt was the charm for Spuller's ninth kill and a 25-22 set win.
"Shelby (Spuller) played phenomenal today," MSU head coach Dana Cordova said. "What helped was we were getting good passes and she was able to put them away. She was seeing the block well, so she was able to avoid it. We had one of our girls out with an illness, so she had to play all the way around and I think that maybe kept her invested in the game a little bit more too."
Between the Golden Eagles' nine attack errors and MSU sophomore libero Karli Koza picking up 10 out of her 22 digs in the match, the Beavers' defense held Crookston to a negative .056 hitting percentage in a second set win, 25-18.
Through two sets, Spuller had 16 of the Beavers' 30 kills.
"I personally think I have a good line shot and they were giving me line the whole game," Spuller said. "(Setter) Kelsey (Dewulf) and I really connected, and I was able to hit that line shot. I was able to hit different shots they were giving me and my teammates were telling me what was open on the court."
MSU raced out to a 14-3 lead in the third set. The only thing left in doubt was if Spuller was going to reach the program record for most kills in three sets -- an achievement she didn't even realize she was chasing and was pleasantly surprised she had tied the record when the match was over.
Kill No. 22 for Spuller gave MSU a 22-7 lead in the third set and then Cordova decided to empty out her bench on Parent's Day.
Crookston rallied with seven straight points, but the Beavers put the finishing touches on the sweep with kills coming from Shae Pedersen and Kayla Verity.
MSU delivered a match-high .355 hitting percentage in the third set. Spuller hit .436 for the match.
Hayley Swain had six kills, while Katie Dufner, Emily Falldorf and Jeanne Brenner each contributed five kills for the Beavers. Dewulf racked up 37 assists and eight digs. Senior Mekayla Gurley, playing in her final home game, accumulated a stat line of nine digs, two assists and an ace.
"I was really proud of the way the girls played in both games this weekend," Cordova said. "They made sure they got the sweeps and didn't toy around. We were able to get a lot of our players in and we kind of hit the best we have hit all year, and played the best. It was really nice to show our fans what we are capable of doing here at home. Having all the families here was a nice time to do this."
Saturday's win marked MSU's fourth win at home this season.
The Beavers wrap up their season with a pair of road matches against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth next weekend. The highest Minot State can finish in the conference standings is 11th, which would be the program's best finish since 2014 (10th).
Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.