MSU Falls In Set Three Thriller On Friday

Friday, November 3

Athens, Ga.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

9-18, 0-12SEC

Georgia

17-9, 5-7SEC

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Georgia

Harris Celebrates After A Point Against Alabama on Oct. 27.

MSU Falls In Set Three Thriller On Friday

November 03, 2017 | Volleyball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

ATHENS - In a season that has presented numerous challenges, Mississippi State battled valiantly before falling to Georgia in a thrilling affair Friday night in Athens.

After dropping the first two sets, the Bulldogs built a 20-15 lead in the third before losing in heart-breaking fashion, 31-29.

Mississippi State (9-18, 0-12 SEC) fell to Georgia (17-9, 5-7 SEC) 18-25, 17-25, 29-31 and now turns its attention toward arch-rival Ole Miss on Sunday in Oxford looking to avenge a setback earlier in the year.

"I am proud of the way we played today," third-year coach David McFatrich said. "The players contributed, the bench was supportive, and we're getting better. I thought we hit pretty well the second and the third sets, we just have to do that for an entire match. We've doing some great things, we're just coming up on the short end."

MSU fought hard and had great communication in the first set. Points were going back-and-forth as the two teams were fighting tooth and nail on the court. Sara Maddox had 4 kills and 4.0 points, and both Jelena Vujcin and Liv Benner had 3 kills and 3.5 points apiece despite Georgia winning, 25-18.

The MSU Bulldogs struggled during the first half of the second set. Georgia's attack game proved to be the achilles heel for MSU as Georgia won the kills battle, 18-8. Laura Rose Gray had 4 kills and 4.0 points. Maddox earned 1 kill, her first service ace of the season and 2.0 points. Georgia took advantage of its attack game to win, 25-17.

The third set was an absolute thriller. Kills told the story as 35 made its way to the board. Mississippi State was up by five at 20-15 before Georgia came back to tie the game toward the back end of the match. The score was tied five different times to extend the set past 25. Liv Benner had 4.0 blocks, and and Vujcin had 5 kills. After an electrifying set, Georgia survived, 31-29.

Dawg Bites
- All-time career digs leader Payton Harris earned 6 digs. She now has 1,776 for her career. She is also in sixth place for career digs in the SEC.
- Gray earned 2 total blocks. She now has 72 on the year, which puts her in sixth place for most total blocks as a freshman.
- Gray earned 2 block assists. She now has 56 on the season. She is now in tenth place for most block assists as a freshman.
- Vucjin had 9 kills and 12.5 points.
- Maddox had 7 kills, 9.5 points and her first service ace of the season.
- Benner had 6 kills, a .455 hitting percentage and 9.5 points.

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."

-www.hailstate.com-