Mississippi State
Arkansas
Volleyball Bulldogs Blank Arkansas In Season Finale
November 19, 2006 | Volleyball
* Official Statistics (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State closed out its 2006 volleyball season on a winning note Sunday afternoon, blanking SEC Western Division power Arkansas (30-22, 30-25, 30-20) at the Newell-Grissom Building. MSU finished its 33rd season of volleyball with a 17-13 overall record, registering its most wins since 1996 and its highest winning percentage (.567) since 1990. The Bulldogs ended league play with an 8-12 record and tied for eighth in the Southeastern Conference.
This was a great way to finish the season, said third-year MSU head coach Tina Seals. It seemed like the players were determined to win this one for Orshi (Kriegel), and they all came through with the big plays when we needed them. That kept momentum on our side for most of the afternoon.
Kriegel, the lone senior on this year's team, capped her three-year MSU career with nine kills and a match-high 16 digs.
Orshi has meant so much to this team during her three years, and I'm happy that she was able to finish her career with a win over a quality Arkansas team, said Seals. Kriegel delivered the final MSU kills in each of the three games, including game-winning shots in the first and third sets.
MSU led in kills (46-34), digs (42-37) and total team blocks (9-6), just the second time this season State has led an SEC opponent in all three major statistical categories.
The win was State's school-record eighth in conference play and the first in 27 meetings with Arkansas dating back to 1994. The Bulldogs came close to getting their first win over Arkansas in their last two meetings in Starkville. In both matches the Lady Razorbacks rallied to turn back the Bulldogs in five-game thrillers.
The Bulldogs held the upper hand throughout much of Sunday's match, thanks in part to a return of the team's strong serving game. State, which leads the SEC in service aces, notched 16 Sunday afternoon against the Lady Razorbacks, including a career-high-matching five by junior libero Megan Lukasek and a career-best four by freshman defensive specialist Jennifer Hauskey, who hails from Springdale, Ark.
Three-time SEC Freshman of the Week Martina Gregusova delivered a match-high 16 kills on a .394 hitting performance, to lead MSU in kills for the ninth time in the last 11 matches. Martina had another outstanding match, and that always seems to open up a lot of opportunities for the rest of the team, said Seals.
Cristina Jucan had six kills, one hitting error and equaled a career-best with a match-high six blocks. Eva Kriegel, Jamie Joyner and Erin Seago contributed five kills each, with Joyner recording a career-best five assisted blocks.
The serving of Megan Lukasek sparked the Bulldogs in the opening set. The St. Louis, Mo., junior served up five aces during a 9-0 Mississippi State run midway through the opening set to pull, enabling the Bulldogs to pull away from a 16-16 deadlock and take a 30-22 opening-game win. Gregusova delivered seven of MSU's 14 kills in the opening frame to give State the early advantage.
MSU, after falling behind 3-1 in the early going, warmed up on offense, hitting at a match-best .349 clip in the second set. Kriegel tallied six of her nine kills and eight of her 16 digs in game two as MSU erased a 22-20 deficit to take the win. Cristina Jucan put down a kill to break a 23-23 tie and State out-pointed Arkansas 7-2 the remainder of the game.
The Bulldogs bolted to a 4-1 lead in game three and never trailed. Gregusova added four kills in the third set and Jucan three kills and three blocks to lead a strong Bulldog showing at the net. Orshi Kriegel served up an ace in one 4-0 MSU run and sister Eva Kriegel added two aces in another 4-0 run that helped boost the Bulldogs to the match-clinching 30-20 win.
Megan Lukasek joined Orshi Kriegel in double-digit digs totals with 11.
Arkansas got 10 kills from Denitza Koleva and eight each from Jessica Dorrell and Crhistina Lawrence. Koleva, Dorrell and Caira Daugherty shared team honors with eight digs each. Lawrence, Daugherty and Amy Allison finished with three blocks each.
We set some high goals this year, said Seals. Some of them we reached. Others, like advancing to NCAA postseason play, we'll strive for next year. But we moved the program forward again this year, and I think our fans can appreciate the progress that we've made.
State's 17 wins ties for the sixth-most in school history. The Bulldogs set a school record with 10 triumphs on the home court and set the school standard with eight conference wins. Sunday's win against Arkansas was her 46th in three seasons at MSU, tying Samye Johnson's three-year win total as the third-highest in school history.
