Mississippi State
2-3
Southeast Missouri State
1-4
Bulldogs Take Five-Set Thriller From Southeast Missouri State
September 06, 2014 | Volleyball
Bloomington, Ind. – Fighting through injuries and a furious rally from their opponent, the Mississippi State volleyball Bulldogs (2-3) took down the Southeast Missouri State Red Hawks (1-4) in a five-set thriller Friday at the Indiana Invitational.
Between the air conditioning going out at University Gym and a virus affecting a majority of the team in the past two days, tonight's match was not an easy task for the Bulldogs.
"This team has had to deal with more adversity this week than you could imagine, so to pull out a win tonight shows the true heart of this group," Hazelwood said. “I am just very thankful to God that He gave these girls the strength to stay strong and keep fighting.”
The five setter was the first of its kind for the Bulldogs this season and was the result of a furious comeback by the Red Hawks. Down 2-0, SEMO grinded back into the match to force the deciding set.
MSU took care of business in the first, going up 23-13 before the Red Hawks attempted to draw even with a seven-point rally. Leticia Valente and Chelsea Duhs would squash the SEMO run, both putting away kills to give the opening frame to the Maroon and White, 25-21. Pacing Hazelwood's team in the first set was freshman Chantal Martin, who put down six of State's 17 kills.
The second set was much closer and saw the Red Hawks take a six-point lead mid-way through behind an 11-1 run. However, State would deny SEMO their comeback attempt, scoring six of the last seven to make it a 2-0 lead.
One set away from defeat, Southeast Missouri would begin their furious comeback, using 15 kills to take the third set. MSU would hang tough in the fourth, but could not take the lead despite pulling the score even five times. SEMO would pull away late and take the fourth, 25-18, forcing a decisive fifth set.
The final frame was exactly what one would expect, filled with intense back-and-forth play and nerve-wracking rallies. After falling behind 3-1 to start, the Bulldogs reeled off two-straight to even up the score. From there, the two sides would take turns in the lead. With the score at 13-13, the Bulldogs saw their chance for victory and capitalized. Senior Kelsey Stommes fired away her seventh kill, tying a career high, to give MSU match point. The match would officially be wrapped in Maroon and White thanks to a SEMO attack error.
"Not only were we playing without two upperclassman starters, but most of our players were recovering from the same virus,” Hazelwood said. “Doing what we did with such a young team on the floor in this situation is inspiring."
The 62 kills and 53 assists tallied by MSU is the top mark for the Bulldogs this season in both categories. The 68 digs by Hazelwood's squad was one short of tying the season high.
Leading the way for State on the stat sheet was Duhs, who put together 15 kills on the night. Shelby Anderton paced the Bulldogs in assists with 24, while Katlyn Mataya followed close behind with 23, along with 15 digs for her second double-double of the year. Payton Harris earned 25 digs, giving her 20-plus for all five matches this season. Valente's six total blocks were tops for MSU.
Several Bulldogs set career highs, including Valente, who tallied highs in kills (13), attack percentage (.407) and total blocks (6.0). Bali Leffall-Young also turned in a career night, earning 12 kills on the night. Martin ended the night with seven kills, which is a new career high for the freshman.
The Bulldogs will return to action tomorrow for a doubleheader to close out the Indiana Invitational. State will face Miami (OH) at 9 a.m. CT and host Indiana at 6 p.m.
For more information and updates on Mississippi State volleyball, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateVB.
