Mississippi State
9-21 (0-15SEC)
Missouri
18-10 (11-4SEC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mizzou | 20 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| MISSISSIPPI STATE | 25 | 24 | 19 | 16 | 1 |
MSU Falls To Missouri On Friday At Home
November 17, 2017 | Volleyball
STARKVILLE - Despite a relentless effort on the court, Mississippi State fell to Missouri at home on Friday night in Newell-Grissom in four-set showdown.
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Mississippi State (9-21, 0-14 SEC) fell to Missouri (18-10, 11-4 SEC) 25-20, 24-26, 19-25, 16-25.
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"I thought we played really well," third-year coach David McFatrich. "We should have been up 2-0 on them if it wasn't for a mistake at the end of the second game. They were so aggressive that they played a ball that was out of bounds. You can't fault them for that. The effort and the heart were there. That's a Top 30 team that we just went toe-to-toe with. I love the way we battled today. We played hard."
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The match began with the Tigers leading 2-0 before a kill by Liv Benner got things going for the Bulldogs. Once MSU found its groove, it found itself with a six-point lead in the middle of the set.
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Jelena Vujcin earned 8 kills, had a .412 hitting percentage and 8.0 points. Sara Maddox had 5 kills and 5.0 points. Collectively, the team earned a .325 hitting percentage. Carina Lehto's service ace allowed the Bulldogs to take the set, 25-20.
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Mississippi State played the second set with the same amount of grit and drive as in the first. The Tigers had the lead the majority of the set until three straight kills put MSU in the lead at 22-21.
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Vujcin had seven kills, a .500 hitting percentage and 7.0 points. MSU finished the set with a .314 hitting percentage.
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From there, it was a back and forth battle as MSU had set point, but the Tigers scored the final three points to complete the rally at 26-24.
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The third set had very similar statistics for each team.
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Missouri took control of the lead from the beginning, and Mississippi State struggled to catch back up. Brooklyn Lochner had four kills on five attempts, a .800 hitting percentage and 4.0 points. Mississippi State was the better team attack wise with a .344 hitting percentage. Unfortunately, after back-to-back errors, the Bulldogs fell to the Tigers, 25-19.
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The fourth and final set was a heart-breaker for the Bulldogs. MSU struggled to stop Missouri's attack game as the Tigers took the lead. Missouri went on to win the set and the match, 25-16.
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On Sunday, Mississippi State faces Auburn on the road. First serve from Auburn Arena is set for 1:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network +.
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Dawg Bites
- All-time career digs leader Harris earned 16 digs. She now has 1,825 for her career, fifth most in SEC history.
- Gray earned 3 total block. She now has 78 on the year, which puts her in fifth place for most total blocks as a freshman.
- Gray earned 3 block assists. She now has 61 on the season. She is now ties eighth place for most block assists as a freshman.
- Carina Lehto earned 2 assists. She now has 174 on the year and is in ninth place for most assists as a freshman.
- Liv Benner earned 2 total blocks. She now has 71 on the year. She is now tied for seventh place for most total blocks as a freshman.
- Maddox has earned 36 attack attempts. She now has 759 on the year and is in sixth place for most attack attempts as a freshman.
- Gabby Zgunda earned 10 digs and now has 25 for her career. That puts her in 10th place for most digs as a freshman.
- MSU led in kills and tied in digs against Missouri.
- Vujcin earned 24 kills,a .322 hitting percentage and 24.0 points.
- Maddox had 13 kills and 13.0 points.
- Lochner had 8 kills and 9.0 points.
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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."
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