Mississippi State
Memphis
Memphis Tops State In Bulldog Club Invitational Finale
September 13, 2008 | Volleyball
? Official Statistics (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Memphis Tigers held Mississippi State to a season-low .012 hitting percentage Saturday afternoon in topping the Bulldogs in straight sets and claiming the championship of the 2008 MSU Bulldog Club Invitational. The Tigers (7-3) finished unbeaten in three matches during two days of competition at State's Humphrey Coliseum.
"Memphis got off to great starts in the first two sets today, and we were not able to break their momentum," said coach Tina Seals. "We are working to become more consistent on offense, which is something you've got to have to control momentum. Our middle blockers made some progress this weekend, but we've got to continue to improve as a team as we head into a tough SEC schedule."
Mississippi State opens its 20-match SEC schedule next weekend with road matches at Tennessee and Kentucky.
Memphis raced to a 6-1 lead and limited State to three kills in a 25-14 win in the opening set when the Bulldogs had eight hitting errors. The Tigers sprinted to a 5-1 advantage to open the second set and hit a match-best .438 for a 25-15 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. In the deciding third set, it was the Bulldogs who took the upper hand in the early going of play, bolting to a 5-1 lead. But the Tigers went on a 9-1 run to regain momentum and then fought off a determined MSU challenge late for a match-clinching 25-22 win.
"I was proud of the way our kids fought back late in the match," said Seals. "They showed a lot of fight and determination, which will need to build on for the challenges ahead."
Freshman middle hitter Faith Steinwedell, who represented Mississippi State on the seven-player all-tournament team, led the Bulldogs with five kills and tallied a pair of blocks. Mandy Mellencamp followed with four kills and Ashley Newsome finished with three kills and a team-best three blocks.
Veteran outside hitters Ioana Demian and Cristina Jucan managed but three kills apiece, finishing the weekend with 26 kills and 25 kills respectively for the weekend.
Memphis got a match-high 10 kills from Carolyn Baker, 11 digs from Kaitlin Inglish and seven total blocks and nine kills from Emily Underwood. UM setter Laura Cote was named the tournament's MVP.
In Saturday's early match, Central Arkansas bested Centenary in four sets (25-16, 25-22, 25-7, 25-18) to claim runner-up honors in the MSU Bulldog Club Invitational.
