State Puts Up Valiant Effort, Falls In Heartbreaker At Kentucky

Sunday, September 25

Lexington, Ky.

12:30 PM

Mississippi State

9-7, 1-1SEC

Kentucky

9-4, 2-0SEC

Mississippi State

Kentucky

Evie Grace Singleton led all players with 18 kills on Sunday at Kentucky.

State Puts Up Valiant Effort, Falls In Heartbreaker At Kentucky

September 25, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Box Score (PDF)

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Memorial Coliseum was the stage for one of the more thrilling SEC matches of the year to date, as the Mississippi State Bulldogs (9-7, 1-1 SEC) fell in a four-set battle to the Kentucky Wildcats (9-4, 2-0 SEC) on Sunday afternoon.

State dropped the opening set, but roared back to even the match at 1-1 in the second. Kentucky seemed in control of the match after dominating in the third, but the Bulldogs pushed the Wildcats to the edge in the fourth, even holding match point. However, the home team prevailed in the end to take the match, 3-1.

"That was a brilliant effort by our girls in this match. I thought they showed what it truly means to play with heart, grit and aggression," coach David McFatrich said. "We had some big chances there at the end, but just weren't able to pull it out. While this is a tough loss, it shows how far we've come just from the start of the season."

MSU's big three of Evie Grace Singleton, Emily Hill and Jelena Vujcin once again showed out, leading the State attack for the day. Singleton led all players with 18 kills, while Hill and Vujcin both tallied 13 kills each. Sunday's contest was the third-straight match where the three all tallied 10-plus kills.

Singleton dominated the opening set of play with 7 kills, besting all players, while Blossom Sato fueled State's offensive efforts with 10 assists in the opening frame. Despite their efforts, the Dogs could not keep up with UK, as the home squad went on to take the opening set, 25-21.

The second frame was a much different story. Play was tight in the early portions of the second until MSU pushed out to a three-point lead. The Wildcats would rally back behind a 5-1 run to take a 19-18 lead, but from there it became all Bulldogs. One of Vujcin's 6 second-set kills sparked a 6-2 run to cap the set and secure a 25-22 set victory for the Dogs.

With the match tied, Kentucky kicked its play into high gear. After back-and-forth play early on, Kentucky went on a 6-0 run and kept the lead for the remainder of the set, taking a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-14 third-set win.

The Wildcats seemed to be in complete control of the match as the fourth set hit the midway point, jumping ahead by as much as four at 14-10. The Dogs began to chip away at the UK lead and eventually jumped ahead on a Singleton kill, 19-18. The two squads went back and forth until UK grabbed match point, up 24-21. MSU used a Wildcat service error and kills from Vujcin and Hill to fight off three match points and tie the match at 24-all.

However, the Wildcats earned consecutive kills late to seal the set, 26-24, and the match, 3-1.

Sato was the team's leader in assists with 45, coming one short of tying her season high. Sato, along with Payton Harris, led the Dogs with a pair of aces. Cheyenne Spell paced MSU with 18 digs, while Jazmyne Johnson topped the team with 6 total blocks.

"We're glad that now we can get back to The Griss and in front of our home crowd," McFatrich said. "We've got two quality opponents coming in this weekend and it should make for some great SEC volleyball."

When Sunday comes to a close, the Bulldogs will head back south to open up home SEC play against Auburn and Alabama. MSU will face off with the Tigers on Friday, Sept. 30 on SEC Network + at 7 p.m., before hosting the Crimson Tide on Sunday, Oct. 2 on the SEC Network at 3 p.m.

Weekend Schedule…
Friday, Sept. 23
Mississippi State def. Tennessee, 3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-22)

Sunday, Sept. 25
Kentucky def. Mississippi State, 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-14, 26-24)

Dogs With A Strong Showing In Lexington…
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs made a little history during Sunday's match. With their second-set victory, the Dogs recorded their first set win against UK since 2011 and the first in Lexington since 2007. It is just the seventh set won by MSU at Kentucky in program history.

Leading The Bulldogs…

Kills: Evie Grace Singleton, 18
Assists: Blossom Sato, 45
Aces: Payton Harris & Blossom Sato, 2
Digs: Cheyenne Spell, 18
Blocks: Jazmyne Johnson, 6
Points: Evie Grace Singleton, 19.5

Bulldogs Garner Another Stellar Performance From Big Three…
Evie Grace Singleton, Emily Hill and Jelena Vujcin once again put on an offensive show for the Bulldogs, as all three recorded double-digit kills for the third-straight match. Singleton led all players with 18 kills, while Hill and Vujcin both tallied 13 against Kentucky.

Harris Closing In On Digs Record…
Junior Payton Harris tallied 6 digs on Sunday and now stands at 1,375 digs for her career and continues to make strides up the MSU record book. She currently holds fourth place on the school's career digs list, passing Shauna Owens (1988-91) this afternoon. Melissa Kariker (1993-96) holds the school record with 1,707.

Sato Shines Again…
After recording a double-double on Friday, sophomore Blossom Sato earned 45 assists on Sunday, coming one short of tying her season high. For her career she has tallied eight matches of 40-plus assists.

Singleton Records Third Double-Double Of 2016…
Evie Grace Singleton put together 18 kills and 10 digs on the day to record her third double-double of the year and second in the last three matches. She's also reached double-double status against FIU (Sept. 16) and Portland (Sept. 17).

Home SEC Play Begins Next Weekend…
The Dogs will return to friendly confines of the Newell-Grissom Building to open home SEC play this coming weekend. MSU hosts Auburn on Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. CT, before welcoming the Alabama Crimson Tide to The Griss for a Sunday, Oct. 1 showdown at 3 p.m. Friday's match will be on SEC Network +, while Sunday's will be MSU's first nationally-televised broadcast, coming live on the 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."