Dogs Bow To South Carolina In Tough Five-Setter

Friday, October 8

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

10-7 (2-4SEC)

South Carolina

4-12 (1-5SEC)

South Carolina

MSTATE

Dogs Press Top-Ranked Gators In 3-1 Loss In Gainesville

Dogs Bow To South Carolina In Tough Five-Setter

October 08, 2010 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Caitlin Rance and Ashley Newsome combined for 43 kills Friday night but the Bulldogs came out on the short end of a five-set battle with SEC Eastern Division foe South Carolina. The Gamecocks (4-12, 1-5 SEC) reeled off wins in the first two sets, 25-20 and 30-28, absorbed a pair of impressive wins in the third and fourth sets by the Bulldogs, 25-19 and 25-11, and then thundered back for a 15-9 decision in the deciding fifth set that clinched USC's first SEC victory of the campaign. It was State's first loss in four five-set matches this fall.

Rance tallied 22 kills and Newsome had 21 as the Bulldogs (10-7, 2-4 SEC) won the statistical battle but lost the scoreboard war. State led USC in kills 75-64, attack percentage .256 to .206, and digs 96-91. But State was plagued by a season-high 11 service errors and unable to overcome a strong performance by USC's Juliette Thevenin. Thevenin matched a career-best with 21 kills and tallied five blocks to spark the Gamecocks.

The Bulldogs return to SEC competition Sunday at the Newell-Grissom Building with a 1:30 p.m. match against second-ranked and SEC-leading Florida (13-1, 6-0 SEC), a straight-sets winner Friday night at Alabama.

Rance eclipsed the 20-kill mark for the second time this season and matched a career-best with 12 digs to notch her sixth double-double of the season. Newsome followed up her career-high 26-kill performance at Georgia with Friday's 21 kills against South Carolina and led MSU at the net with a solo block and five block assists.

State piled up a season-high 96 digs, with senior libero Kayla Woodard tallying 25 digs and sharing match honors with teammate Kellye Jordan. Freshman setter Paris Perret totaled 49 assists and matched a season-best with 18 digs for her fourth double-double of the year.

Mississippi State came out flat against the Gamecocks, piling up 15 attack errors and five service errors in trailing two sets to none at the break. But the Bulldogs rebounded impressively, delivering 21 kills, six by junior outside hitter Kellye Jordan, in staying alive with a 25-19 win in the third set. State was even more impressive in the fourth set, hitting at a .519 clip with 14 kills in a resounding attack error-free 25-11 win.

USC bolted to a 3-1 lead in the fifth set and used a 5-0 run midway in the final stanza to seal their initial league win of the year.

Behind Thevenin's 21 kills, Olivia Ryder had 11 and Megan Laughlin added 10.

With 25 digs, senior libero Kayla Woodard climbed two places among MSU's career digs leaders and became the fifth Mississippi State player to eclipse the 1,200-dig mark. The Addison, Ala., product now has 1,217 digs in four seasons at State.