Mississippi State
Southern Miss
Volleyball Bulldogs Drop Pair In McNeese State Tourney
September 05, 2008 | Volleyball
? Official Statistics (vs. Southern Miss) (PDF)
? Official Statistics (vs. McNeese State)
? Official Statistics (vs. McNeese State) (PDF)
LAKE CHARLES, La. - Three Mississippi State players reached double figures in kills Friday afternoon but it was not enough to lift the Bulldogs past instate rival Southern Miss in the opening match of the 2008 McNeese State Cowgirl Tournament. USM (4-0) remained unbeaten for the season with a 3-1 decision (25-19, 13-25, 25-23, 25-22) over State (2-2). In the final match of the day, Mississippi State rallied but came up short in a five-game thriller with host McNeese State (1-3), falling 25-27, 18-25, 26-24, 25-13, 8-15.
Outside hitters Ioana Demian and Cristina Jucan tallied 13 kills each and freshman Mandy Mellencamp delivered a career-best 10 kills on a .529 hitting performance to pace the Bulldogs, who struggled in the early going of the match.
Bulldog middle blocker Ashley Newsome ripped a kill to open the match, but USM reeled off the next four points and hit at a match-best .538 clip in taking the opening set 25-19.
State bounced back in impressive fashion in the second set. Jucan had the hot hand early, nailing four kills as the Bulldogs raced to an 11-7 advantage. A pair of service aces by Kayla Woodard stretched the lead to 20-11 and State, hitting a match-best .385, evened the match with a 25-13 win.
The Bulldogs' roll continue on into the third set as State twice built up six-point edges, the second at 15-9 on a kill by freshman Faith Steinwedell. Ashley Petrinic and Sarah Jane Bowden powered a USM comeback and the Golden Eagles, after pulling even at 21-21 on a kill by Lauren Sears, out-pointed MSU 4-2 the remainder of the set for a 25-23 win and a 2-1 advantage in the match.
The fourth set was another closely-contested affair and included six lead changes. A Golden Eagle attack error gave the Bulldogs an 11-10 lead nearing the set's midway point, but USM's Petrinic delievered four kills down the stretch to help build out a five-point lead and the Golden Eagles fended off a late MSU run to notch the win.
Demian backed her 13-kill performance with 10 digs to notch the team's first double-double of the year and the fourth of her career. Junior setter Dorey Gray finished with 37 assists and a career-high 11 digs for her first career double-double.
The match saw the season debut of a sixth MSU freshman, setter Grace Hoyt. Hoyt recorded four assists and a dig after entering the match in the fourth set.
USM's Ashley Petrinic tallied 13 kills and Angela Hlavaty and Stevi Seymour added 10 each. Maia Ivanoa led USM's 51-37 advantage on defense with a match-high 27 digs.
In the nightcap, McNeese State claimed the first two sets 27-25 and 25-18 and led the Bulldogs 20-13 in what would have been a deciding third set. But State, at times with four freshmen on the court, rallied to for a 26-24 win in game three and throttled McNeese State 25-13 in the fourth set to extend the match. The Cowgirls, helped along by seven MSU hitting errors, raced to a 6-0 advantage and nailed down the win with a 15-8 decision.
Demian took match scoring honors with 14 kills, while Jucan tallied 13 and Ashley Newsome chipped in a career-best 12 with a .348 hitting percentage. Newsome paced State with 10 total blocks for her first career double-double.
Faith Steinwedell paced State's freshmen and matched her earlier nine-kill offensive show and tallied a season-best 13 digs. Kayla Woodard followed with 10 State led in virtually every statistical category, owning a 62-39 advantage in kills, a 49-29 dominance in digs, and a 14.4 to 10.0 edge in blocks. But MSU also has a season-high 31 attack errors and 14 service errors while McNeese State out-served State 15 aces to 10.
State closes out play in the McNeese State tournament Saturday, taking on Gramblin State at 11:30 a.m. and Nicholls State at 4:30 p.m.
