Mississippi State
5-410-8 / SEC
Kentucky
8-217-4 / SEC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 23 | 18 | 19 | 0 |
| Mississippi State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
VB Bulldogs Blank #25 Kentucky Before Record Crowd
October 14, 2011 | Volleyball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The largest volleyball crowd in MSU and Mississippi collegiate volleyball history saw Mississippi State notch another huge first Friday night, a straight-sets win over SEC-leading Kentucky in a match played in Humphrey Coliseum. The Bulldogs (10-8/5-4 SEC) downed the Wildcats (17-4/8-2 SEC) 25-23, 25-18 and 25-19 to earn the program's first win over a ranked opponent.
"I am so very proud of our players," beamed third-year State coach Jenny Hazelwood. "We executed our game plan well tonight and the team seemed very comfortable playing in front of a huge supportive crowd."
It was Mississippi State's second win in 42 matches against Kentucky. MSU's lone previous win over Kentucky was a five-set decision in Starkville in 1994.
For the second time this season, Mississippi State set a school and state collegiate attendance mark when 4,525 fans watched the Bulldogs play their first game in Humphrey Coliseum since 2008. MSU returns to its regular on-campus home Sunday for a 1:30 p.m. match against the 18th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (15-3/8-1 SEC).
Senior Caitlin Rance for the 18th consecutive match paced the Bulldogs, hitting a crisp .282 and notching her ninth double-double of the campaign with 14 kills and 13 digs. Rance notched seven of MSU's 18 kills in the opening set as the Bulldogs pulled away from a n 18-18 deadlock to win. State hit at a match-best .302 in the frame and overcame an equally impressive seven-kill showing by UK's Ashley Frazier.
Frazier, who paced the Wildcats on the night with a match-high 15 kills, delivered a point-scoring swing to open the second set. But State reeled off the next three points and never trailed again in a 25-18 win. Rance put down five kills with nine digs and Faith Steinwedell added four kills as the Bulldogs took a 2-0 match lead into intermission.
Kentucky claimed the momentum in the early going of the third set and with a kill by Ann Armes held a 16-15 advantage. But the Bulldogs went on a 3-0 run, helped along by two of UK's 11 attack errors in the set, and went on to nail down the historic first win over a ranked foe.
"We won the battle at the net, out-blocking them 9-5,' said Hazelwood. "That's such a key part of the game since Kentucky probably has one of the best blocking teams in the Southeastern Conference. Tonight our middles did a good job of slowing them down. And we passed really well. The girls were comfortable on the court tonight and on the other side Kentucky never seemed comfortable tonight."
Rance, who last weekend joined Mississippi State's career top 10 in kills, raised her career kills total to 990, just 10 short of another career milestone. With her second dig against Kentucky, the Kingwood, Texas, native hit the 600-dig mark for her career.
"She's so steady in all that she does on the court... it was fun to watch tonight," added Hazelwood.
Senior middle blocker Hannah Wilkinson improved her team-leading attack percentage hitting .467 with seven kills on 15 error-free attacks. She paced MSU at the net with a match-leading five blocks.
MSU junior libero Hillary Parker took match honors on defense with 17 digs. Faith Steinwedell backed her 11 kills with nine digs, just missing her third double-double of the year.
Kentucky, a five-set Wednesday night winner over Tennessee, finished the match with a 42-40 edge in kills but struggled offensively with 24 attack errors.
The match was played at Humphrey Coliseum as the lead event for MSU's "Maroon Madness" celebrating the official start of basketball practice at Mississippi State.
"It was great playing in front of the big crowd in the coliseum tonight," said Rance. "We just tried to be as consistent as possible and take care of our side."
