Mississippi State
6-3
Penn State
7-0
Bulldogs Split Matches To Close Out Golden Dome Invitational
September 13, 2015 | Volleyball
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – In the final day of the Golden Dome Invitational, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-3) split a pair of matches to close out their first road trip of the season in South Bend, Ind.
MSU faced the top-ranked team in the nation in Penn State (7-0), falling in straight sets, but capped off the weekend with a sweep of Eastern Kentucky (1-10). With the victory against EKU, the Bulldogs have equaled their number of wins from 2014.
“We had a tough match this morning against the No. 1 team in the nation,” MSU coach David McFatrich said. “We just kept being aggressive and going 100 percent every time. I'm proud of the way the girls played against a tough opponent and even more proud of how they responded this afternoon. We improved a lot this weekend and now it's time to get ready for next weekend in Memphis.”
The day's first match saw the Bulldogs go toe-to-toe with the top team in the land, Penn State. The Nittany Lions jumped on the Bulldogs early in the match, going ahead 5-1 before a pair of Chelsea Duhs kills and PSU attack errors tied the match up at 5-all. MSU and PSU traded shots until an 8-1 run by the Nittany Lions, capped by a red card issued to the Bulldogs, put Penn State in the lead, 15-10. PSU would use one more 8-1 run late in the set to take the opening frame, 25-16.
State would again keep pace with the Nittany Lions early in the second. However, runs by Penn State would again spell trouble for the Bulldogs. A pair of 5-1 runs from PSU would put it in the lead for good in the second frame, going on to win the set, 25-14.
The third set would bring about the strongest showing by State. The two teams were neck-and-neck through the first half of the set, eventually drawing even for the final time at 10-10. The Bulldogs continued to take strong swings, but could not capitalize, leading to a 15-2 run by PSU to push the Nittany Lions to a 25-12 third-set win and 3-0 victory in the match.
Singleton was the star for the Bulldogs, with 10 kills and 10.0 total points for the match. Chelsea Duhs followed close behind with seven of her own. Blossom Sato turned in 22 assists, while Payton Harris led the Bulldogs with 10 digs.
PSU's Ali Frantti led all players with 11 kills, while Bryanna Weiskircher tallied 29 assists. Haleigh Washington led the match with seven blocks and Keeton Holcomb was tops with 20 digs.
In the Bulldogs' weekend finale, they took on the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, pulling out a straight-sets win that saw the MSU attack dominate. MSU seemed in control to start the match, pulling away to as big as a nine-point lead. However, the Colonels made a late push behind a 4-0 run to draw within three, but would come no closer. Led by seven kills from Jazmyne Johnson, the Bulldogs took the first set 25-20.
EKU stayed close with the Bulldogs for an early portion of the second frame, but a 13-1 run, highlighted by kills from four different Bulldogs, pushed State to a 25-10 first-set victory. MSU was just as dominant in the third thanks to eight kills from Singleton, who totaled 14 for the match. The Maroon and White were quick out of the gates, going up 11-2 and never letting off the gas. MSU kept EKU from putting together a run of more than three-straight points, putting the nail in the coffin with a 25-13 third-set win to sweep the Colonels.
Singleton, who was named to the Golden Dome Invitational All-Tournament Team, tied a season high with her 14 kills for the match, while also adding a pair of blocks. Duhs was the third Bulldog with double-digit kills, turning in 11 for the day. Johnson also turned in 14 kills against EKU, which set a new season high. Sato put together her second 40-plus assists match of the season with 42. Harris led the Bulldogs with 10 digs.
The Bulldogs return to action next weekend at the Tiger Invitational in Memphis, Tenn. MSU will join Austin Peay, Southern Miss and host Memphis for the two day tournament. MSU begins play on Friday, Sept. 18 against Southern Miss at 4 p.m. CT.
For more information and updates on Mississippi State volleyball, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateVB.
