Mississippi State
Jackson State
Big Crowd Sees State Blank JSU In Hazelwood's MSU Coaching Debut
August 28, 2009 | Volleyball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Senior outside hitter Ioana Demian tallied 11 kills and the Bulldogs hit at a crisp .348 clip Friday night as Mississippi State (1-0) opened the Jenny Hazelwood coaching era with a straight-sets win over Jackson State.
State rallied from a sluggish early start to take the opening set 25-16, rolled impressively to a 25-10 win in the second set and registered a match-clinching 25-19 decision in the final set. The match drew 589 fans, the second-largest volleyball attendance at the Newell-Grissom Building.
"This was a great team win... great team effort tonight," said Hazelwood, the holds most of MSU's single match, season and career assists records. "It didn't matter if it was a senior or a freshman, they all contributed and played at a high level."
In addition to Demian's 11 kills, the Bulldogs got a nine-kill showing from sophomore middle Caitlin Rance and a pair of seven-kill, no-error performances by freshmen Chanelle Baker and Dravon Rangel.
Rangel was a last-minute lineup replacement for sophomore Mandy Mellencamp, who missed the season-opener and her first career start with an illness.
The Bulldogs struggled early, falling behind 3-0 and trailing 9-4 to open the match. But State went on a 10-run with senior setter Dorey Gray at service. State bolted to a 14-9 advantage and never looked back in taking the opening set. MSU hit at a match-best .429 clip in the second set, racing to an early 11-2 advantage en route to a lop-sided 25-10 win.
In the deciding third set State blitzed to a 5-0 start, then turned back a mid-match challenge by the Tigers during a run that saw JSU lead 12-11. But the Bulldogs showed some muscle at the net and rolled on to a 25-19 win. Rangel tallied two of her match-high five blocks in the final set and fellow rookie Baker added five blocks, including the only solo block of the match, the lead State to an 8-0 edge in total team blocking.
Setter Dorey Gray registered a double-double, backing her 30 assists with 10 digs. She also served up three of MSU's six aces. Demian, State's other senior, tallied nine digs.
JSU got six kills from Ebonee Dawson and 10 digs each by LaToya Clark and Whitney Nowlin.
It was the sixth consecutive season-opening win for the Bulldogs, who resume play in the season-opening MSU Maroon Classic with a pair of Saturday matches. State tests McNeese State (1-0) at 12:30 p.m. and Arkansas-Little Rock (0-1) at 7 p.m. in the tourney finale.
In Friday's early match, McNeese State's Priscilla Massengale had 15 kills and Chanel Tyler 12 kills and 15 digs tolead McNeese State to a 3-1 win (25-15, 24-26, 25-17, 25-17) over Arkansas-Little Rock. The Trojans got an impressive 18-kills by Anita Bucur and 17 digs by Emily Pepperman. McNeese served up a tourney-high 12 aces in registering its win.
The school attendance mark, 675, was set in 1999, Hazelwood's senior season at State.
"Having a crowd that's really into the match becomes such a big factor, as it did tonight," said Hazelwood. "It plays an unbelievable role in momentum swings. I hope our fans liked the effort and intensity and team play tonight and that they'll want to come back and be a part of our homecourt advantage."
