Dogs Split Matches To Close Out 2016 Maroon Classic

Saturday, September 17

Starkville

2:00 PM

Mississippi State

8-5

Eastern Illinois

3-11

Eastern Illinois

Mississippi State

The Bulldogs were dominant in Saturday's first match, defeating EIU in straight sets.

Dogs Split Matches To Close Out 2016 Maroon Classic

September 17, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score vs. EIU Box Score vs. EIU (PDF)Box Score vs. Portland Box Score vs. Portland (PDF)

STARKVILLE, Miss. – On the final day of the non-conference schedule, the Mississippi State Volleyball team swept Eastern Illinois (25-17, 25-19, 25-19) before losing a heartbreaker to Portland in five sets (25-23, 25-15, 22-25, 21-25, 8-15) on Friday.

The match closed out MSU's second home tournament and final weekend of non-conference play. Portland captured the 2016 Maroon Classic title, with MSU finishing second, followed by Florida International, Eastern Illinois and Troy.

"I felt like we started out the day on the right foot against Eastern Illinois, coming out with a lot of energy and aggression," MSU coach David McFatrich said. "We had a strong start against Portland, but we're still struggling to execute in crunch time and could not pull out the victory."

MSU started the day off by winning it's sixth-straight home match, taking down Eastern Illinois. The Bulldogs cruised early and often winning the first set 25-17 behind an 11-4 run midway through the set. Set number two featured 6 kills from Senior Evie Grace Singleton leading to 25-19 win. MSU closed out the match in the same 25-19 fashion.

Freshman Emily Hill added 10 kills to Singleton's match-high 19 to lead the Bulldogs offensively. Cheyenne Spell set a career-high 24 digs MSU on the defensive end.

In the finale of the 2016 Maroon Classic, MSU went up 2-0 before conceding the five-set match, 3-2. The evenly-fought contest started with a hard-fought first set that MSU won, 25-23. MSU rode an 11-1 run to a 25-15 second set win. After the break, Portland scored 11 of the first 17 points before staving off elimination and winning the third set, 25-22. In a match of runs, Portland's 7-1 run in the fourth proved too much for MSU to overcome, forcing a fifth set with a 25-21 victory. The Pilots jumped out to a 10-6 lead that they never gave up, going on to win the match's final set, 15-8, and completing their comeback.

The trio of Singleton, Hill and Jelena Vujcin combined for 45 of the Bulldogs' 56 kills in the five-set affair. Freshman Riley Duzenack and Spell had 3 services aces each, both setting career highs. Singleton and Hill set season highs in digs with 15 and 10, respectively.

"I told the team in the locker room that the competition only gets tougher from here now that we're getting into SEC play," McFatrich said. "However, I know this team is up to the challenge. We're going to get back in the gym this weekend, work hard and be ready to roll on Friday."

State opens SEC play this weekend, heading to Tennessee and Kentucky. The conference season begins Friday Sept. 23 with a road trip to Knoxville, Tenn. to take on the Volunteers at 6:00 p.m. CT, before closing out with a Sunday showdown at Kentucky at 12:30 p.m. Both matches will be broadcasted on SEC Network +.

2016 Maroon Classic Schedule…
Friday, Sept. 16
Mississippi State def. Florida International, 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-9)
Portland def. Troy, 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 15-8)
Florida International def. Eastern Illinois, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-21)
Mississippi State def.. Troy, 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-15)

Saturday, Sept. 17
Eastern Illinois def. Troy, 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 26-24)
Portland def. Florida International, 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-22)
Mississippi State def. Eastern Illinois, 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-19)
Florida International def. Troy, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20)
Portland def. Mississippi State, 3-2 (23-25, 15-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-8)

Leading The Bulldogs…

MSU vs. Eastern Illinois

Kills: Evie Grace Singleton, 12
Assists: Blossom Sato, 21
Aces: Riley Duzenack, 2
Digs: Cheyenne Spell, 24
Blocks: Jazmyne Johnson, 2
Points: Evie Grace Singleton, 12.5

MSU vs. Portland

Kills: Evie Grace Singleton, 19
Assists: Blossom Sato, 28
Aces: Riley Duzenack & Cheyenne Spell, 3
Digs: Cheyenne Spell, 22
Blocks: Jazmyne Johnson & Jelena Vujcin, 7
Points: Evie Grace Singleton, 22.0

2016 Maroon Classic All-Tournament Team…

MVP: Hannah Troutman, Portland
Most Valuable Libero: Monica Gajda
All-Tournament Members: Katie Sullivan, Portland; Maddy Mandon, Portland; Cali Thompson, Portland; Evie Grace Singleton, MSU; Jelena Vujcin, MSU; Katie Hogan, FIU; Taija Thomas, FIU; Gina Furlin, EIU; Logan Page, Troy

Spell Shines At Libero…
Saturday's first match was only Cheyenne Spell's second start of the season as the Bulldogs' libero, but that didn't keep her from showing out. Spell set a career high with 24 digs against EIU and turned in a similarly as solid showing with 22 against Portland.

Spell also set a career high with 3 aces against the Pilots.

Duzenack Dominates From Service Line…
Freshman Riley Duzenack was on point from the service line in Saturday's nightcap, tallying a career-high-tying 3 aces against the Pilots. In the first match of the day, the Melissa, Texas, native recorded a pair of aces against EIU.

Harris Inching Closer To MSU Career Digs Record…
After Saturday's matches, junior Payton Harris is now two digs short of Shauna Owens in fourth place (1,371).

SEC Play On Deck…
This weekend marks the end of non-conference play for the 2016 season, as MSU will begin SEC play next weekend on the road. The Bulldogs will start conference play at Tennessee on Friday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. CT and at Kentucky on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 12:30 p.m. Both matches will be broadcasted on SEC Network +. State's home SEC slate will begin on Friday, Sept. 30, as MSU hosts Auburn at 7 p.m. on SEC Network +.

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."