Mississippi State
1-0
UALR
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UALR | 14 | 20 | 21 | 0 |
| MSTATE | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
VB Bulldogs Sweep Past UALR, APSU; Set MSU Attendance Mark On Day 1
August 27, 2010 | Volleyball
State's win over UALR marked the seventh consecutive season-opening win for Mississippi State. And the first day of the tournament drew a school-record 881 fans to the Newell-Grissom Building.
“The crowd had a huge impact on our matches today, especially the win over Austin Peay,” said Jenny Hazelwood, who registered her 99th career coaching win against the team she coached two seasons ago. “Our fans helped motivate us when we fell behind against a good young Austin Peay team. We're hoping they enjoyed what they saw and help continue this momentum tomorrow.”
Tournament play continues Saturday, with the Bulldogs entertaining Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 12:30 p.m. and closing out competition on the opening weekend with a 7:30 p.m. match against Montana.
Caitlin Rance and Ashley Newsome combined for 24 kills and eight total blocks to pace Mississippi State in their opening win. Rance totaled a match-leading 13 kills on a .296 hitting performance while Newsome had 11 kills with six total blocks.
“This was a good way to start the year,” said second-year Bulldog volleyball coach Jenny Hazelwood. “UALR has a talented team with a lot of new players, and they'll win a lot of matches this year when they get rolling. I was pleased to see the way our veterans and the new players played together. Paris (Perret) was outstanding with 31 assists in her collegiate debut. She handled herself with a lot of poise and composure. She's got a lot to learn and I know she will, but it was an impressive start for Paris running our offense.”
State trailed only briefly in the opening set at 2-1 and hit at a match-best .316 clip in the second set when the Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead with a 25-20 second set win. The Trojans stayed close in set three and pulled to within a point on the strength of a late-set 4-0 scoring spree. But Newsome powered her 10th and 11th kills in the closing minutes to seal the set and match.
The Bulldogs held a 45-29 edge in kills and out-hit the Trojans .269 to .101.
A trio of Bulldog players --- freshmen Iwa Belisario and Paris Perret and junior transfer Hannah Wilkinson made their MSU debuts in the opener. Wilkinson registered five kills and a pair of assisted blocks. Belisario had a pair of assists and three digs while Perret, the Bulldog setter, totaled 31 assists.
State owned a 45-37 advantage on defense, out-digging UALR 45-37. Junior Faith Steinwedell delivered a match-best 12 digs, while senior Kayla Woodard had 11 and Perret notched nine.
The Bulldogs trailed only briefly in the match.
Paige Gantar led the Trojans with nine kills and four blocks.
In the nightcap, the Bulldogs raced to a 6-1 lead en route to a 25-19 win in the opening set. But the Lady Governors gave the Bulldogs all they could handle in sets two and three. APSU raced to an 8-3 lead in the second set and the two teams were deadlocked at 22-22 before MSU reeled off three straight points for a 25-22 lead. The Bulldogs found themselves in a more precarious situation in the third stanza, trailing the Lady Govs 23-22. Again, the Bulldogs ran off three straight points, two on kills by sophomore Chanelle Baker, to nail down a match-clinching 25-23 win.
“We had great balance on offense tonight --- double figure kills totals from Ashley Newsome (12), Caitlin Rance (11) and Chanelle Baker (10) and nine more from Faith Steinwedell,” continued Hazelwood. “Paris followed up a strong performance in the opener with a stronger performance (33 assists) tonight.”
Hazelwood was also pleased with her team's defensive showing against the Lady Governors. State held a 52-45 edge in digs. Kayla Woodard tallied a match-high 15 digs to lead a trio of Bulldogs with double figure digs totals. Faith Steinwedell and Caitlin Rance each added 11.
APSU got an 11-kill performance by Nikki Doyle, with seven of those coming in the opening set. Doyle added 11 digs for her first double-double of the season.
