Mississippi State
5-11, 0-1SEC
Missouri
10-5, 1-0SEC
MSU Volleyball Falls To Missouri In SEC Opener
September 27, 2014 | Volleyball
COLUMBIA, Mo. – On the road to open conference play for the first time since 2010, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-11. 0-1 SEC) fell in a 3-0 decision to the Missouri Tigers (10-5, 1-0 SEC) Friday night.
State was unable to find its rhythm in the opening set, as the Tigers used a series of runs and a stifling defense to take the opening frame, 25-14.
However, MSU's offense would come alive in the second set, as it more than doubled its number of kills from the first set with 17. After going down five early on, the Bulldogs rallied back, as Alex Warren reeled off three-straight kills to help pull MSU even at 8-8. It would be a back-and-forth battle until, when tied at 22-all, the Tigers would pull away behind a trio of kills to take the set, 25-23.
The third frame would mirror the first, as the Bulldogs were unable to find their groove against the home squad. A daunting Missouri attack that put together 19 third-set kills hampered MSU's effort, as it dropped the set, 25-15, and the match, 3-0.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Chelsea Duhs, who put up nine kills for the match. Warren was close behind, totaling eight after her dominant second set. Shelby Anderton tied for the lead amongst all players with 23 assists on the night. Bali Leffall-Young and Emily Howard both turned in two total blocks to lead the Maroon and White, while Payton Harris wrapped up the MSU defensive effort with 10 digs.
The Bulldogs return to action on Sunday to wrap up the opening weekend of conference play at Arkansas. MSU will take on the Razorbacks at 1:30 p.m. CT, in Fayetteville, Ark. The match will be broadcasted on SEC Network +, which fans can access through ESPN3.com or the WatchESPN app.
For more information and updates on Mississippi State volleyball, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateVB.
