Mississippi State
5-13, 0-3SEC
South Carolina
12-3, 2-1SEC
Bulldog Volleyball Falls In Three Sets To South Carolina
October 04, 2014 | Volleyball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Despite a number of impressive performances, the Mississippi State volleyball Bulldogs (5-13, 0-3 SEC) dropped their Southeastern Conference home opener to the South Carolina Gamecocks (12-3, 2-1 SEC) 3-0 Friday night.
The Bulldogs received strong showings from several players, including sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Duhs, who turned in a team-leading 14 kills. The 14 fell one short of tying a season high and two short of tying a career high. Freshman libero Payton Harris turned in her 13th 20-plus dig showing of the season with 25, while Shelby Anderton set a season high with 28 assists.
Both sides traded blows early on in the first set before the Gamecocks pushed their lead to six after a 5-0 run midway through. After calling timeout, the Bulldogs mounted a rally to pull within one several times. Duhs' sixth kill of the set cut the SC lead to 22-21, but the Gamecocks pulled away behind a pair of blocks to take the opening frame, 25-21.
The second set started much like the first, with a back-and-forth battle raging between the two squads. Clinging to a two-point lead, the Gamecocks used a slew of runs to pull ahead to their biggest lead of seven. MSU would cut SC's lead to as small as four before the Gamecocks pulled away to take a 2-0 lead in the match, 25-18.
From there, the Gamecocks would not have a problem with the Bulldogs, as SC jumped out the gate quick in Friday's final frame. Obtaining its biggest lead of the match at 12 late in the set, South Carolina would go on to take the frame, 25-14, and the match, 3-0.
SC was paced by Taylr McNeil, who turned in 15 kills on the night, leading all players. Kellie McNeil earned a match-high 30 assists, while a trio of Gamecocks captured double-digit digs.
State will return to action Sunday, Oct. 5, against the ninth-ranked Florida Gators. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. CT, with a nationally-televised broadcast on the SEC Network.
For more information and updates on Mississippi State volleyball, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateVB.
