Mississippi State
Missouri State
Volleyball Bulldogs Top Memphis In Tourney Finale
September 05, 2009 | Volleyball
- Official Statistics (vs. Missouri State)
- Official Statistics (vs. Missouri State) (PDF)
- Official Statistics (vs. Memphis)
- Official Statistics (vs. Memphis) (PDF)
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Mississippi State saved its best for last in the two-day Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational at Missouri State. The Bulldogs turned back the Memphis Tigers in straight sets Saturday evening after dropping a well-played 3-0 decision to eventual tournament champion and host Missouri State.
State (2-5) went 1-3 in the weekend tournament.
"I'm proud of the way our girls responded after not playing well in Friday's matches," said MSU head volleyball coach Jenny Hazelwood.
"We're making adjustments and the players are responding and getting better each time they take the court. It was a good finish to the weekend. We came back today and had a solid match against a very good Missouri State team and then put together a total team effort to beat Memphis."
Hazelwood singled out the play of junior middle blocker Ashley Newsome.
"She is really stepping up and taking the lead for us all over the court." Newsome registered 35 kills, a .241 hitting percentage and 16 total blocks in four matches.
In the win over Memphis, Ioana Demian paced State with 10 kills and Caitlin Rance added nine while freshman setter tallied 17 assists and 11 digs for her second career double-double. Ashley Newsome and Dravon Rangel turned strong performances at the net for State, registering six total blocks each as State out-blocked the Tigers 13-6.
The Bulldogs held the upper hand through much of the first set, building out a six-point lead at 17-11 when Dravon Rangel and Hilary Hunt combined for blocks on back-to-back plays. The MSU lead expanded to
23-19 helped along by six Memphis service errors before the Tigers stormed back to overtake the Bulldogs at 25-24. Faith Steinwedell and Ioana Demian drilled consecutive kills to put State back up at 26-25 and a Tiger hitting error gave MSU a 27-25. The Tigers held an 18-12 advantage in kills while the Bulldogs had but two hitting errors.
It was State that needed the comeback in the second set, and the Bulldogs got it. Trailing for much of the closely-contested set, MSU erased a 22-19 deficit, pulled even at 23-23, and on the fourth serve at set point, claimed a 28-26 decision on a solo block by Dravon Rangel.
Demian and Caitlin Rance combined for nine of MSU's 15 kills in the set.
The Bulldogs trailed only briefly in the final set, erasing a 3-1 deficit and bolting to a 13-5 edge. The Bulldogs hit .220 as a team in the final stanza while forcing 10 hitting errors by the Tigers (0-7).
In the earlier Saturday match, the Bulldogs battled gamely against tourney-host Missouri State (4-2), dropping a three-set affair 25-20, 25-15 and 25-17.
State raced to a 7-2 advantage in the opening set and battled to a 20-20 deadlock before the Bears closed out the set with a 5-0 run.
Missouri State used a 9-0 run to erase an early 6-4 State advantage in the second set on the way to a 25-15 win. And in the deciding third set, State raced to a quick 3-1 start before the Bears reeled off 12 of the next 14 points to take control in a 25-17 win.
Ioana Demian took match honors with 12 kills, and Ashley Newsome added 10 on a .389 hitting performance. The Bears' balanced attack included nine kills each by Megan Bess and Sara Staubach and eight apiece for Kelley Michnowicz and Calli Norman. Missouri State hit at a crisp .426 rate and held a commanding 10-1 advantage in team blocking.
State resumes play the Newell-Grissom Building Tuesday at 7 p.m., hosting instate rival Southern Miss to begin a season-longest six-match home stand. The Bulldogs welcome Arkansas State, Eastern Michigan and Northwestern State to the Newell-Grissom Building Friday and Saturday for the MSU Bulldog Invitational.
