How sweet it is: Michigan State volleyball advances to Round of 16 in NCAA tournament

OMAHA, Neb. — No. 12 Michigan State advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2017 NCAA Tournament with a 3-1 victory (25-23, 19-25, 25-20, 25-16) over No. 9 overall seed and 15th-ranked Creighton on Saturday night at D.J. Sokol Arena.

MSU rallied in the third and fourth sets to seal the win, hitting .300 in both sets and finishing with a .325 hitting percentage overall. The Spartans improve to 23-8 overall, while the Bluejays conclude their season with a 26-7 mark.

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The Spartans had a pair of players with double-doubles - 18 kills and 11 digs for Autumn Bailey and 13 and 11 digs for Holly Toliver. Brooke Kranda and Alyssa Garvelink also had 13 kills for the Spartans, as Garvelink hit .455 and added a match-high four blocks.

After a point-for-point battle in the first set that resulted in a two-point Spartan victory, Creighton had all the momentum in the second set and took a 25-19 win in the second frame. The Spartans began to capture momentum in the late part of the third set and held it through the fourth and deciding frame.

MSU heads to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2013 and for the seventh time in school history. 

- MSU Athletic Communications