Rivalries always have the unique way of bringing out the best in both teams. The crowd was rocking, the music from the band was blaring, and emotions were running high at Cliff Keen Arena last night for the volleyball team's game against Michigan State. In a highly competitive match, the Wolverines dispatched Michigan State behind a vocal, enthusiastic crowd in three games, 30-26, 33-31, 30-27.

With the victory, the Wolverines clinch the 2005 State Pride Series, having already won the first match in East Lansing by a score of 3-2. The win returns Michigan to the .500 mark for the season, with a 12-12 overall record (6-9 Big Ten).

Junior Danielle Pflum and sophomore captain Lyndsay Miller paced the Michigan offense with 14 kills apiece behind great passing from redshirt freshman setter Mara Martin, who picked up an impressive 44 assists. Sophomore libero Stesha Selsky led the defensive effort with 14 digs.

Although many Wolverines put up huge individual statistics in the victory, Michigan coach Mark Rosen contributes the great performance to a collective effort, and the players agree.

"We stuck together as a team and played great volleyball," Pflum said.

The second game was filled with drama, and the Spartans gradually built a 19-14 lead capped off by sophomore Katie Johnson's kill. After Rosen called a timeout, Michigan State (4-11 Big Ten, 11-14 overall) moved out to leads of 22-14 and 27-20. It looked as if the home team would head into the locker room tied at 1-1, but Michigan rebounded.

"Everybody stayed positive, and we took it point by point," Selsky said. "Looking at each point individually helped us get back into the game."

The Wolverines inched back into the game behind great offense from Miller and Pflum, who had four kills and three kills, respectively, during the comeback.

"Winning that second game was huge," Rosen said. "It gave us a big cushion for the third game to play loose."

In contrast to the second game, the first game was close from start to finish. Michigan State went on a 4-0 run to open up a 19-17 lead, but Michigan responded and held a slim 23-22 lead before Spartan coach Kathy George called a timeout. The Wolverines finished the game strong, with huge kills from Pflum.

Michigan carried the momentum from the second-game comeback into the third game, quickly building an 8-3 lead. But Michigan State did not raise the white flag, and the Spartans pulled within two. With Michigan ahead 8-6, the teams put together an extended rally, which ended in an emphatic kill by Miller. The Spartans clawed back into the game, and they remained close until the Wolverines pulled out the victory in the end. Fittingly, the match ended on a powerful Pflum spike, sending the crowd home happy.

Rosen is thrilled with the way his team is currently playing.

"While the win is important, I like that we are playing our best right now even more," Rosen said.

Behind great leadership from captains Katie Bruzdzinski and Erin Cobler, many Wolverines are stepping up. Fifth year senior Candace Gay illustrates this, as she moved into the starting lineup to replace injured Megan Bowman and contributed five crucial blocks.

The fired-up crowd was a huge factor throughout the game. The student section chanted "sit down coach!" to George numerous times and embarrassed a misfortunate Spartan player with the chant "slow and awkward!" After the game, the players were quick to credit the fans for helping push them to victory.

"I absolutely love the fact that people take the time out of a Wednesday night to watch us play, and it is a huge helper," Selsky said proudly.

The Wolverines will get a chance to build on this victory very soon, when they host Indiana on Friday night.