MSU Wins Five-Set Thriller During Final Match Of Weekend

Saturday, September 9

Houston, Texas

12:30 PM

Mississippi State

6-5

Houston

3-3

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
MISSISSIPPI STATE	20	25	13	22	1
Houston	25	20	25	25	3

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
MISSISSIPPI STATE	18	20	25	26	15	3
Louisiana	25	25	19	24	9	2

Sara Maddox Gets A Dig Against South Florida.

MSU Wins Five-Set Thriller During Final Match Of Weekend

September 09, 2017 | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (PDF)Box Score (PDF)

HOUSTON – In a thrilling showdown that tested Mississippi State's resilience early, the Bulldogs rallied from from a two-set deficit to defeat Louisiana 3-2 to close out a four-game road swing in Houston.

After losing the first match to Houston in four (20-25, 25-20, 13-25, 22-25) earlier in the day, the Bulldogs are now 7-5 going into the last weekend of non-conference play.

"I'm really proud of the way we battled tonight after the loss this afternoon," third-year coach David McFatrich said. "Down two games to zero and come back to win three straight is a great team effort. Jelena Vujcin was steady all night long and Khristian Carr hit .290 on the night. Morgan Kath came in the third set and got our offense going."

To close out the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup, MSU faced off against Houston. The last meeting between these two teams was 33 years ago this month.

During the first and second sets, the two played out the same on both sides of the court. The difference makers were kills and errors. Houston won the first set, 25-20, but MSU came right back beating the Cougars with the same score as before, 25-20. Between sets one and two, Jelena Vujcin racked up 10 kills, Khristian Carr had six and Sara Maddox had five.

With each team having one win, State encountered some communication difficulties and could not catch back up to the Cougars lead. Houston capitalized on aces, errors, kills and won, 25-13.

In the fourth set, the Dawgs came out with two services aces by Payton Harris and a kill by Vujcin for an early 3-0 lead. From there, the set featured a lot of back and forth play with errors from both side. Vujcin had 4 kills during the set, and Gabby Zgunda earned 7 digs. MSU's hard-fought effort fell short, as the Cougars won, 25-22.

For the last game of the weekend, MSU traveled to Rice to face Louisiana.

Sets one and two were very similar, as a back-and-forth kills battle ensued. Vujcin collected 13 kills and 14.0 points in the two sets. The Ragin' Cajuns came on top in both sets due to errors, 25-18 and 25-20.

The Bulldogs were in control of set three from the beginning, with a lead as high as 7 in the middle of the set. MSU capitalized on Louisiana's errors while Harris, Morgan Kath and Kanani Price all had one service ac en route to the 25-19 win.

The fourth set went back and forth, as both teams stayed within two of one another toward the end. Vujcin had six kills, 6.5 points and a .462 hitting percentage. Carr had 5 kills, 5 points and a .625 hitting percentage. MSU won, 26-24.

During the decisive set, MSU took an early lead and used Louisiana's errors and rallied to a 15-9 victory.

Next weekend, MSU returns home for the Maroon Classic to close out the final weekend of non-conference play. Jackson State, North Texas and Southeastern Louisiana will travel to Starkville for the tournament.

Dog Bites
- MSU lead Houston in total blocks, 9.0.
- Carr and Liv Benner both had 7 kills against Houston.
- Vujcin had 25 kills and 28.0 points against Louisiana.
- Vujcin was named to the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup All-Tournament Team.
- Carr had 15 kills and 15.5 points against Louisiana.
- Payton Harris earned 40 digs this weekend. She now has 1,616 career digs and is 91 digs away from first place.

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."