MSU volleyball: Spartans fall to No. 7 Florida in home tournament finale

EAST LANSING - Michigan State fell to visiting Florida on Sunday afternoon in the final match of the Auto Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational, dropping a 3-0 decision to the No. 7 Gators. The early-season showdown between the SEC power and the Spartans drew 3,678 fans to Jenison Field House. The Spartans fall to 5-1 on the year with the loss, while Florida improves to 4-1.

Florida exerted their will at the net, out-blocking the Spartans by a 9-4 margin and also hit .341 for the match, the best by an MSU opponent this season. Tournament MVP Carli Snyder (Macomb, Mich/Dakota). had 15 kills and hit .481 for the visitors. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by teammates Rhamat Alhassan and Alex Holston, Spartans Chloe Reinig (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon) and Alyssa Garvelink (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian), Morgan State's Monette Daniels (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech) and Taylor Robertson (Midland, Mich./Midland) from Central Michigan.

The Spartans are off to Bowling Green, Kentucky next weekend for a four-team tournament at Western Kentucky, which also features Cincinnati and Southern Illinois.