Battle Of The Bulldogs: MSU Hosts Georgia In 2016 Finale

Saturday, November 26

Starkville

12:00 PM

Mississippi State

Georgia

The Bulldogs will close out the 2016 season on Saturday against Georgia at noon.

Battle Of The Bulldogs: MSU Hosts Georgia In 2016 Finale

November 25, 2016 | Volleyball

MSU Match Notes SEC Network +Live Stats

STARKVILLE, Miss. – In the final match of the 2016 season, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (13-18, 5-12 SEC) welcome the Georgia Bulldogs (13-17, 1-16 SEC) to Newell-Grissom on Saturday for a Senior Day showdown.

First serve for the season finale is set for noon CT, with the broadcast on SEC Network +. Anthony Craven and Jay Perry will have the call and fans can access the broadcast through WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app.

Prior to Saturday's contest, the Bulldogs will honor five seniors: Bali Leffall-Young, Chelsea Duhs, Cheyenne Spell, Jazmyne Johnson and Evie Grace Singleton. Senior day festivities are set to begin at 11:49 a.m.

"This is a special group of seniors right here. They have done more than you can imagine to help set the foundation for what we're trying to build," MSU coach David McFatrich said. "Every single one of them has played such an intricate role in what we're doing here and it's been an honor to coach them these last two seasons. Our goal is to send them out the best way possible: with a win."

A victory would not only be the second-straight senior day win for the Bulldogs, but it would be the third-straight against Georgia, matching the longest such streak since winning three-in-a-row from 2005-06.

Leading the way for the Bulldogs this season has been Singleton, who tops the team with 478 kills (second on MSU single-season list), 51 aces and 547.5 points. Joining her in MSU's offensive efforts is freshman Emily Hill, who has racked up 362 kills, second amongst freshmen in the SEC.

Helping fuel the offense is sophomore Blossom Sato, whose 917 assists tops the team and is 11^th in the SEC. She led MSU with 58 assists on Sunday against Arkansas, marking the most in a match by a Bulldog since 2012.

Defensively, it's been all Johnson in 2016, as her 128 blocks places her senior season as one of the greatest in MSU history. Her total stands sixth on MSU's single-season list and just two away from tying for fifth place.

Payton Harris tops the team with 345 digs, while Spell is close behind with 336. Rounding out the senior class is Leffall-Young, who is second on the team with 80 blocks, and Duhs, who is fifth with 147 kills.

Match Day Info…

Wednesday, Nov. 16
Mississippi State (13-18, 5-12 SEC) vs. Georgia (13-17, 1-16 SEC) – 12 p.m. CT
SEC Network + (Anthony Craven & Jay Perry)
Starkville, Miss.
Newell-Grissom Building

Last Time Out…
The Bulldogs were involved in their second-straight five setter on Sunday, but fell in a back-and-forth battle to Arkansas. State took the opening set and then pushed to a 2-1 lead after winning 25-21 in the third. However, the Razorbacks rallied back with a 25-21 victory in the fourth and a 16-14 win in the fifth to seal the match.

State received a career performance from sophomore setter Blossom Sato, who earned a career-high 58 assists against the Razorbacks. The total is the most since Paris Perret recorded 59 against LSU on Sept. 28, 2012.

Sunday, Nov. 20
Arkansas def. Mississippi State, 3-2 (26-28, 25-19, 21-25, 25-21, 16-14)

Leading The Bulldogs…

Kills: Evie Grace Singleton, 478
Assists: Blossom Sato, 917
Aces: Evie Grace Singleton, 51
Digs: Payton Harris, 345
Blocks: Jazmyne Johnson, 128
Points: Evie Grace Singleton, 547.5

A Bulldog Win Would…

Be State's third-straight victory against Georgia, the longest such streak since defeating UGA in three-straight matches from 2004-05
Mark the 15th overall victory against Georgia in MSU history
Set the program record for most home victories in a season with 11
Tie fourth place for most SEC wins in a season (6)

Series History…

Overall: Georgia leads, 43-14
In Starkville: Georgia leads, 18-6
Last Meeting: Mississippi State def. Georgia, 3-0 (Nov. 22, 2015 in Athens)
Current Streak: Mississippi State, +2

Scouting The Georgia Bulldogs ...
Georgia (13-17, 1-16 SEC) comes into Saturday having lost 12-in-a-row and 16 of its last 17 matches.

Maddie Lobenstein paces the Bulldogs with 330 kills and 378.0 points throughout the year. Meghan Donovan is tops on the team with 1,063 assists, while Cassidy Anderson leads UGA with 40 aces and 399 digs. Topping the team in blocks is Desiree McCray, who has totaled 105 this season.

Bulldogs Aiming To Continue Dominance Of UGA …
A win on Saturday would mark the third-straight against the Bulldogs from Athens, Ga. That would be the longest streak against UGA since MSU defeated Georgia in three-straight matches from 2004-05 (Oct. 24, 2004; Nov. 5, 2005; Nov. 11, 2005).

Moving Up The SEC Wins Chart…
A victory on Saturday would also move MSU to six SEC wins on the season, which would tie for the fourth-most conference wins in school history and tie the Bulldogs' 2015 total.

Record Crowds Coming To The Griss In 2016…
Since his arrival last year, MSU coach David McFatrich has promised to make Newell-Grissom one of the top collegiate volleyball venues in all the nation. A key to that is bringing record crowds to The Griss and in 2016, fans have shown up in a big way. Eight of the Top 20 crowds in Griss history have come in the McFatrich era, with four this year, including 1,409 against Kansas in the season opener, the third most in school history.

Winning The Attacking Battle Is Crucial ...
The hitting percentage battle is a major key for the Bulldogs. MSU is undefeated this year when out-hitting its opponent and is 2-18 when losing that battle. MSU took down Tennessee in its SEC opener and Ole Miss last week for its two wins when hitting worse than its opponent.

The First Set Is The Key ...
One early trend discovered with the 2016 Bulldogs lies within the first set. State is 10-6 when capturing the first set, but 3-12 when unable to do so. Winning the first two sets almost assures the Bulldogs of victory, as they are 8-2 this year when doing so.

State Bringing Blocking Back In Style ...
MSU has excelled in a number of statistical categories this season, but none have been better than the Bulldogs' blocking game. State has tallied a school-record 11 double-digit block performances this season so far and have earned 248.5 total, which is fifth in the SEC.

Bulldogs Doubling The Fun In 2016…
With a pair of double-doubles against Arkansas, the Bulldogs upped their season total of double-doubles to 18, crushing the 2015 total of 11. Emily Hill leads the way with six double-doubles, while Evie Grace Singleton and Blossom Sato have each turned in five. Both Jazmyne Johnson and Cheyenne Spell have one each to round out the list.

Singleton Closing In On School Record…
Senior Evie Grace Singleton's 16 kills on Sunday pushed her season total to 478, which holds strong at second on the MSU single-season list. She stands 35 kills away from tying Christine Owen's school record of 513 kills in 1997.

Stellar Freshman Year Continues For Hill…
Emily Hill stands as one of the top freshmen in the SEC this season and has put together one of the best freshman campaigns in school history. The Denton, Texas, native stands third in the MSU freshman record books in both kills (362) and attacks (989). Her 22 against Arkansas was her second 20-plus kill match of the year, coming two short of tying her career high of 24 recorded at Auburn earlier in the year.

Johnson's Blocking Prowess Lands Her On MSU Top 10 List…
Leading the way for MSU's impressive blocking game is senior Jazmyne Johnson, who has totaled 128 total blocks. Johnson is the first Bulldog since Lainey Wyman in 2011 to reach the 100 mark in a season, while her 128 total denials are the most since Ashley Newsome recorded 137 in 2010.

Johnson's blocking prowess has also landed her in the MSU single-season Top 10 list, as she stands along in sixth place and is two off of tying Nicolle Carter's 1993 season for fifth place on the list.

Other Bulldogs In The Record Books…
Payton Harris remains at third on the MSU career digs list with 1,514. She made the move into third place, passing Kayla Woodard (2007-10) after tallying 17 digs earlier in the year at Arkansas. She stands 50 away from tying Megan Lukasek (2004-07) for second place and 193 away from tying Melissa Kariker (1993-96) for first.

Riley Duzenack is the other rookie making moves up the MSU freshman charts. She currently has 424 assists, standing firm at sixth on the MSU freshman assists list. The Melissa, Texas native is just 95 assists away from Tiffany Schneider (1988), who holds fifth place with 519 assists in her first season with the Maroon and White.

She also has 27 aces on the year, as she broke the tie for 10^th place with Kimmy Gardiner (2013) and Sara Segar (1988) after tallying a pair of aces against Ole Miss.

Live Broadcast…
Saturday's season finale will be broadcast on SEC Network +, with Anthony Craven and Jay Perry on the call. Fans can access the broadcast through WatchESPN.com, the ESPN app or by clicking the link below.

Mississippi State vs. Georgia SEC Network + Broadcast

Live Stats…
Mississippi State will provide live stats for Saturday's contest. Fans can access them through the link below.

Mississippi State vs. Georgia Live Stats

Admission…
Fans get into all home Mississippi State volleyball matches at Newell-Grissom for free during the 2016 season.

Promotions…

Senior Day – MSU will honor five players and one manager prior to first serve. The ceremony is set to begin at 11:47 a.m. CT.
Number of opportunities to win prizes, including MSU Volleyball Team Trivia and Supersize Serve Challenge

Social Media…
For more information on Mississippi State volleyball, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateVB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."