Mississippi State
Alabama
Alabama Claims 3-0 Win In State's 2008 Season Finale
November 28, 2008 | Volleyball
? Official Statistics TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Mississippi State turned in an impressive blocking performance at the net, but it wasn't enough to block Alabama from posting a 3-0 win over the Bulldogs Friday night at UA's Coleman Auxiliary Volleyball Extension. The Crimson Tide (16-13, 9-11) claimed 25-21, 25-21, and 25-15 wins to best the Bulldogs (6-25, 1-19 SEC) in the season finale for both clubs. The win gave Alabama a sweep of the two-match season series. Ashley Newsome tallied five assisted blocks and Dorey Gray added three more as State registered a 7-2 lead in total team blocking. But Alabama got 13 kills from Brooks Webster, 10 more from Lindsey Buteyn and out-dueled the Bulldogs in kills 42-25. Junior Ioana Demian finished with a team-best eight kills while freshman Mandy Mellencamp added seven and Newsome five. State bolted to an early 3-1 opening-set lead on the strength of a pair of service aces by Demian. Alabama, aided by a pair of Bulldog hitting errors, answered swiftly with a 5-1 run for a 6-4 advantage. Solid Bulldog blocking helped State stay close before the Tide pulled away for a 25-21 win. The two teams battled back and forth in the second set. Mellencamp delivered a kill that put State on top 12-11 and Newsome powered a kill that gave State an 18-17 lead minutes later. Though MSU improved its attack percentage from .036 to .120 in the second set, the Tide held a 13-8 edge in kills in the set, four by Lindsay Buteyn, and pulled away from the close struggle for another 25-21 win. State had an impressive start to the third set, scoring the first four points of the set and building the lead out to 10-6 on a kill by Mellencamp. Alabama stormed back in the final set. Bama pulled even at 11-11 on a kill by Brooks Webster and salted the match away with a 9-0 run en route to a match-clinching 25-15 win.
? Official Statistics (PDF)
