MSU Falls To Ole Miss 3-1 In Oxford On Sunday

Sunday, November 5

Oxford, Miss.

1:30 PM

Mississippi State

9-19, 0-13

Ole Miss

15-11, 6-7

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
MISSISSIPPI STATE	18	27	15	23	1
Ole Miss	25	25	25	25	3

Bulldogs Celebrate After A Point Against No. 4 Florida on Oct. 29.

MSU Falls To Ole Miss 3-1 In Oxford On Sunday

November 05, 2017 | Volleyball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

OXFORD - Even with hard-work and grit on the court, Mississippi State fell to in-state rival Ole Miss on Sunday in perhaps its best conference outing of the year.

After losing the first set, Mississippi State (9-19, 0-13 SEC) came back and won the second set, but couldn't close the deal as Ole Miss (15-11, 6-7 SEC) held on in four, 18-25, 27-25, 15-25, 23-25.

"I'm proud of the effort today," third year coach David McFatrich said. "We made some nice adjustments to battle back in the second game after being down by seven to win that game. We were so close in the fourth game. We thought we could take it, but we weren't able to. It was 23-all, and we weren't able to get a good pass on the ball when we were minus-,1 so we couldn't run our offense effectively."

Kills told the tale for set one in Oxford, where 31 were accumulated. Mississippi State showed cohesiveness and strong communication throughout. Liv Benner and Sara Maddox had 4 kills and 4.0 points each. Laura Rose Gray had a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage on 3 kills, and she earned 3.0 points. Ole Miss went on to clinch the set, 25-18.

Set two was slow for the Bulldogs in the beginning, but the resiliency shown in the first set was just as high. And with better results.

Payton Harris had 3 service aces in a row that helped rally the team form a 14-6 deficit. Maddox had 3 kills and 3.0 points. Jelena Vujcin had 1 service ace, and Harris finished the set with four.

With it being set point for Ole Miss at 24-22, McFatrich called a challenge that would have given Ole Miss the set win. The call was reversed and the score became 24-23. After going back and forth, Mississippi State went on to win, 27-25 on a decisive kill by Vujcin.

Set three didn't go as well as the Rebels claimed a 25-15 win.

Brooklyn Lochner and Maddi Penrod both had 2 kills and 2.0 points. Gray had 2 kills, 1 block assist and 3.0 points. Tori Passarelli had one service ace.

MSU started off the fourth round on the court by getting on the board first. From there, it was a close back and forth kills battle. There were 12 kills in a row between the two teams in the middle of the set.

The Bulldogs trailed 23-20 but fought back with three-straight points to even the score at 23. However, Ole Miss won the next two points to take the set and earn the season sweep.

"Overall, I like the way Laura Rose Gray played today," McFatrich said. "I thought she got better as a middle blocker. I like how Vujcin bounced back and how she played in the fourth game after having some trouble in the second. I liked the way Payton Harris played defense today. She did a real good job. I think she's one of the best defenders in the league."

On Friday, Mississippi State is back in action at home against LSU. First serve is set for 3 p.m. CT on the SEC Network +.

Dawg Bites
- All-time career digs leader Harris earned 21 digs. She now has 1,797 for her career. She is also in sixth place for career digs in the SEC.
- Harris earned 5 service aces, which ties her career high.
- Gray earned 2 total blocks. She now has 74 on the year, which puts her in fifth place for most total blocks as a freshman.
- Gray earned 1 block assist. She now has 57 on the season. She is now in 10th place for most block assists as a freshman.
- Gray earned 1 block solo. She now has 17 on the year, which puts her in in seventh place for most block solos as a freshman.
- Gray had 11 kills and 12.5 points.
- Maddox had 11 kills and 11.5 points.
- Vujcin had 13 kills and 15.0 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."