Mississippi State
McNeese State
V-Ball Bulldogs Drop Saturday Matches In MSU Maroon Classic
August 29, 2009 | Volleyball
- Official Statistics (vs. McNeese State) (PDF)
- Official Statistics (vs. UALR) (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - After registering its sixth straight season-opening win Friday with a straight-sets decision over Jackson State, Mississippi State found the going a good bit rougher Saturday, dropping hard-fought 3-1 decisions to both McNeese State (19-25-, 25-20, 25-19, 25-18) and Arkansas-Little Rock (25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 27-25) to close out play in the MSU Maroon Classic.
State finished the weekend with a 1-2 mark and continues play next weekend in the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational hosted in Springfield, Mo., Friday and Saturday by Missouri State University.
McNeese State claimed top honors in the tournament, following up an early-afternoon win over Mississippi State with a 3-1 win over Jackson State to finish the weekend with a perfect 3-0 mark. UALR, 2-1 on the weekend, took runner-up honors.
"It's all part of the growing process," said first-year MSU head coach Jenny Hazelwood following Saturday's tourney finale. "We had some really great moments this weekend and some not-so-great moments too. We're learning and improving as we go. We've got good athletes. We've just got to to put all of the elements together and play with consistency."
Junior middle blocker Ashley Newsome represented Mississippi State on the all-tournament team after a solid Saturday of competition. Newsome led State with 13 kills against eventual tournament champ McNeese State and followed that up with a 15-hit, nine-block effort in the finale against Arkansas-Little Rock.
McNeese State's Chanel Tyler (tourney MVP) and Whitney Ellisor, UALR's Anita Bucur and Giuliana De Francesco and Brittany Larkin joined Newsome on the all-tournament team.
The Bulldogs claimed the opening set against McNeese State 25-19, but Tyler piled up 21 kills to help the Cowgirls reel off wins in the next three sets. Caitlin Rance had 10 kills and freshman Dravon Rangel delivered five blocks for State.
In the nightcap, UALR raced to wins in the first two sets. State rebounded, keeping the match alive with a 25-21 win in set three had a serve at set point before UALR scored four of the final game's final five points for a 27-25 win.
Newsome's season-best 15-kills led a trio of Bulldogs hitting the double figure mark in kills. Ioana Demian had 12 and Chanelle Baker 11.
"We had two of our biggest crowds ever at Newell-Grissom this weekend, and that's something that exciting that gives us a boost as we prepare for a tough SEC schedule." Among the 489 fans in the stands Saturday was first-year MSU head football coach Dan Mullen, his wife Megan and young son Canon.
Newsome finished the weekend with a team-best 33 kills and 13 total blocks. Demian was next with 32 kills just ahead of Caitlin Rance with 25.
Sophomore middle blocker Mandy Mellencamp, who missed the first two matches of the season with an illness, made her seasonal debut as a starter in Saturday night's match with UALR, chipping in eight kills on a .333 hitting night. Junior libero Kayla Woodard totaled a team-leading 40 digs on the weekend while senior setter Dorey Gray finished the weekend with 95 assists and a team-best six service aces.
