Mississippi State
Arkansas
Kriegel Triple-Doubles As State Sweeps Arkansas
September 21, 2007 | Volleyball
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - Senior setter Eva Kriegel registered her SEC-leading third "triple-double" of the season (11th career) Friday night and joined three other Bulldogs with double-digit kills totals as Mississippi State (6-7, 1-3 SEC) turned back Arkansas (6-7, 0-3 SEC) in straight sets at the Newell-Grissom Building. The closely-contested win (30-25, 33-31, 32-30) was the first in league play for the Bulldogs and their second straight over the Lady Razorbacks. Arkansas had claimed the first 26 volleyball meetings with MSU before State stopped the streak with a 3-0 home win in last year's season finale.
"I'm proud of the way we came together as a team and fought from start to finish," said fourth-year MSU head coach Tina Seals. "We had excellent balance tonight with so many different players stepping up and contributing. Eva (Kriegel) got our offense going, and that made a huge difference tonight. But maybe the biggest key for us tonight was getting (middle blocker) Erin Seago back in the lineup. She had seven of her 10 kills when things were on the line in game three. It was great to have her back on the court"
Kriegel finished with 10 kills, 40 assists and 11 digs on an error-free .588 hitting night. Cristina Jucan led both teams with 16 kills and a career-best 19 digs en route to her sixth "double-double" of the year. Jamie Joyner had 14 kills and both Kriegel and Seago finished with 10.
State raced to a 7-1 advantage and never trailed in the opening set. Kriegel, Jucan and Joyner had five kills each as MSU utilized a balanced attack to take the early lead in the match.
The competition heated up in game two in a contest that featured 23 tie scores and a pair of serves at game point for both teams. Joyner delivered eight kills in the set, one that knotted the score at 30-30 and another that moments later gave State a 33-31 and a 2-0 match lead at the break.
Arkansas had but two hitting errors and hit at a match-best .410 clip in the deciding third game. Jessica Dorrell 15th and final kill of the evening gave the Lady'backs a 27-25 advantage and threatened to extend the match to a fourth game. But State senior Erin Seago, who missed five games and her last six starts nursing a foot injury, put down four crucial kills as State reeled off the final three points of the game to nail down the win. Senior middle blocker Lauren Kowal had all four of her kills in the final set, including the game-winner in a 32-30 decision.
State hit .304 for the match, amassing a 62-43 lead in kills and a 62-44 advantage in digs.
The Bulldogs served up five aces, two by Kriegel, who moved into 10th place among MSU's career leaders in service aces with 127.
"This was a good win for our fans," said Seals. "They have been very supportive of us as we have battled through some injuries. It was also a good win for our team's confidence. Hopefully we can build on it as we move deeper into our conference schedule."
The win was Tina Seals' 20th in league competition, tying the school career mark set in 2003 by Brenda Bowlin.
State takes a break from league play Sunday but resumes its current four-match homestand next weekend hosting No. 6 Florida Friday (7 p.m.) and SEC East rival South Carolina Sunday (1:30 p.m.).
