Mississippi State
Auburn
Bulldogs Blank Auburn To Sweep Season Series
November 02, 2007 | Volleyball
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AUBURN, Ala. - Mississippi State notched its fifth win in its last seven matches Friday night with a straight-sets win (30-26, 30-22, 30-28) over Auburn at Beard-Eaves Coliseum. The win gave the Bulldogs (11-13, 6-9 SEC) their first win at Auburn and first season series sweep of the Tigers since 2001.
Senior opposite hitter Jamie Joyner tallied a match-high 15 kills and hit at a .324 clip to lead the Bulldogs. For the match the Bulldogs hit .306, their best against a conference opponent in 2007.
State never trailed in the opening set, hitting a match-best .407. Ioana Demian, making her fifth start of the campaign, registered State's last three kills in the set and finished with nine kills on the night. Demian drew the start in place of team kills leader Cristina Jucan, sidelined by a back injury.
The Bulldogs led throughout much of the second game, though the Tigers knotted the score at 14-14 on a kill by Alyssa Davis. State took control of the game with an 8-2 run and raced on to a 30-22 win and a 2-0 lead at the break.
MSU jumped out to a 6-2 advantage in the third set before Auburn surged back into contention and claimed a 12-11 lead on a Bulldog hitting error. Eva Kriegel helped State pull even with three consecutive kills. Joyner chipped in three kills and Erin Seago delivered the match-winner as State prevailed 30-28.
Ioana Demian and Erin Seago had nine kills each and Lauren Kowal and Ashley Newsome added eight apiece. Libero Megan Lukasek had a match-high 14 digs. Teammates Demian and Kriegel reached double digit totals with 13 and 11 respectively. Kriegel and Seago shared team honors with two blocks each.
Jessica Glover had 12 kills to lead Auburn, while Whitney Jacob finished with 10.
The win was the first in her native Alabama for fourth-year MSU coach Tina Seals.
The Bulldogs continue their SEC weekend road trip Sunday afternoon in Athens, Ga., when State takes on Georgia (15-10, 6-9 SEC) in a 1 p.m. (CST) match at the Ramsey Center. Georgia blanked Alabama 3-0 (30-17, 31-29, 30-22) Friday night in Athens.
