Mississippi State
Tennessee
Volleyball Bulldogs Drop 3-0 Decision To Lady Vols
October 18, 2009 | Volleyball
- Official Statistics
- Official Statistics (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State staged a pair of late-game rallies in the second and third sets Sunday afternoon but came up on the short end of a 3-0 decision against Tennessee. The Lady Vols (15-5, 7-2 SEC) turned back the Bulldogs (5-16, 1-9 SEC) 25-18, 25-21, 25-22 for their sixth win in their last seven outings.
Junior outside hitter Nikki Fowler and senior middle blocker Farren Powe provided the bulk of the UT firepower, accounting for more than half of the Lady Vols' 52 kills. Fowler delivered 16 kills and added 10 digs to earn double-double status while Powe put down 11 kills in 16 error-free attack attempts for a sizzling .688 hitting percentage. UT out-hit State .324 to .140 for the match and held a 52-29 edge in kills.
Senior Ioana Demian finished with a team-high 12 kills and four blocks while freshman Chanelle Baker followed with seven kills and just one attack error on a .600 hitting performance.
Fowler and Demian each tallied six in the opening set. But UT hit at a match-best .368 in the stanza and used a 5-1 run to pull away from an early 5-5 deadlock and take control of the set.
Demian added five more kills and three blocks in the second set as State stayed close with UT. State's lone lead of the set came on a game-opening kill by Ashley Newsome, though the Bulldogs never trailed by more than four points in the set and pulled even at 13-13 on a UT attack error.
Helped along by a spate of Tennessee mistakes, the Bulldogs raced to 5-1 and 7-2 advantages to open the third set before the Lady Vols staged a 10-2 run and took a 12-9 lead on a Bulldog attack error. Kyle Marshall and Kayla Jeter registered four kills each in the set at UT built its lead out to eight at 19-11. State battled back, and with back-to-back kills by Baker pulled to with two points at 22-20.
Team kills and blocks leader Ashley Newsome, who saw her string of 51 consecutive starts end with Sunday's match, made it a 24-22 battle with her fifth kill of the afternoon. But it would be the final point of the day for State as moments later Leah Hinkey delivered the match-clinching swing. Newsome finished with a match-high five total blocks and helped the Bulldogs claim a 9-5 advantage in total team blocking.
Junior libero Kayla Woodard had a team-best 12 digs while senior setter Dorey Gray, with 23 assists and 10 digs, notched her seventh career double-double and her second of the 2009 campaign.
State opens the second half of its 2009 SEC volleyball campaign on the road this weekend, testing Georgia (11-9, 2-7 SEC) in Athens, Ga., Friday night before traveling on to Auburn, Ala., for a Sunday afternoon match against the Tigers (12-8, 4-5 SEC).
