Mississippi State
1-4
Duquesne
5-1
VB Bulldogs Top Army In California Tournament Finale
September 03, 2011 | Volleyball
"We knew we were going to face some stiff challenges in this tournament," said head coach Jenny Hazelwood. "I'm proud of our players for working through some early-season issues and pushing through for the win against Army. This level of competition will definitely help prepare us for the tough battles we'll face in the Southeastern Conference."
Hazelwood also offered praise for Rance. "She works so hard and is such a steady competitor. I'm happy that her hard work gets recognized with all-tournament honors."
The Bulldogs hit at a weekend-best .243 and rode the 20-kill, 10-dig performance by Rance in the win over Army. It marked Rance's third double-double of the year and the sixth time in as many matches that she's reached double figures in kills this season. Rance finished the weekend with 47 kills and 23 blocks and raised her season total to 98 kills.
MSU's other senior, middle blocker Hannah Wilkinson, tallied 10 kills and four blocks while sophomore setter Paris Perret reached double-double status with 44 assists and 19 kills in her best outing of the campaign.
State got another strong performance at the net from freshman middle Lainey Wyman. Wyman finished with eight kills and a match-leading eight blocks.
"Our freshmen got in a lot of playing time this weekend, and that should prove beneficial as we work to strengthen the depth of our team," said Hazelwood.
Rookie libero Bentley Witte recorded a match-high 23 digs.
Rance paced the Bulldogs with a match-leading 15 kills in the loss to Duquesne.
With four freshmen in the starting lineup, State stayed close throughout most of the first two sets, trailing by two points late at 22-20 in the opening stanza and 24-22 in the second set. Duquesne jumped out to a 5-1 lead to open the deciding third frame and pulled away from a 14-12 game to earn the win.
Freshmen Alex Scott, Rachel Williams, Lainey Wyman and Kristin Byers opened the match as starters along with libero Bentley Witte, who took match honors with 22 digs.
Allison Foschia paced the Dukes with 13 kills while Liz Homan recorded 10 kills on a .360 hitting performance and finished with a match-leading four blocks.
MSU resumes tournament competition Friday and Saturday in Beaumont, Texas, when State joins Texas-El Paso, Baylor and host Lamar University in the MCM Elgante Invitational.
