MSU Finishes 1-1 During First Day Of Play In Houston

Friday, September 8

Houston, Texas

10:00 AM

Mississippi State

5-4

McNeese State

4-4

McNeese

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Jelena Vujcin Serves The Ball Against South Florida.

MSU Finishes 1-1 During First Day Of Play In Houston

September 08, 2017 | Volleyball

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

HOUSTON – Mississippi State finished 1-1 during the first day of play at the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup, falling to McNeese State, 3-0, before ending the day with a 3-1 victory against Stetson.

The Bulldogs are now 6-4 on the year after losing to McNeese State (20-25, 11-25, 18-25) and defeating Stetson in four (25-20, 17-25, 25-8, 25-17).

"I like the way we responded after the loss this morning," third-year coach David McFatrich said. "I thought we brought more energy, and we were technically better as well."

To open up the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup, MSU faced off against McNeese State. Set one started off slow as the Bulldogs could not get going offensively. Multiple errors gave McNeese a seven-point lead in the middle of the set. Four kills by Khristian Carr allowed State to narrow the lead, but McNeese State won the first set, 25-20.

The second and third sets were similar in nature for the Bulldogs. Carr and Laura Rose Gray each had two kills and 2.0 points in the second set. Unfortunately, errors were MSU's Achilles Heel as McNeese State capitalized on them and won 25-11 in set two. Carr got the first point on the board with a kill to start the third. Despite a back-and-forth battle in the third set, errors were the deciding factor yet again. McNeese State won the third set, 25-18.

For the second and final match of the day, MSU battled it out against Stetson.

The first set featured a hard-fought battle between the two teams. Each squad was no more than 3 points ahead than the other the entire set until the very end. Carr was the difference maker for the team, tallying 6 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. MSU won set one, 25-20.

MSU struggled offensively getting started in the second set as errors and kills were the theme. State fought back hard, but was unable to surpass Stetson's lead in a 25-17 loss.

The third and the fourth sets were very similar in nature as Stetson was unable to score more than 17 points in either.

For the Dawgs, communication was there during the final two sets, and a kills-battle ensued. Between sets three and four, Carr tallied 12 kills. MSU went on to defeat Stetson in set three, 25-8, and in set four, 25-17

The Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup continues Saturday with MSU facing host Houston at 12:30 p.m. CT. For the final match of the day, the Bulldogs head to Rice to play Louisiana at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Dog Bites
- Carr tallied nine kills and 9.5 points against McNeese State in game one.
- Gray had 7 kills, a .500 attack percentage and 8.0 points against McNeese State in game one.
- MSU lead McNeese State in total blocks, 4.0.

- Carr tallied 21 kills and 24.5 points against Stetson in game two.
- Jelena Vujcin had 12 kills and 8 digs against Stetson in game two.
- Payton Harris earned 21 digs during day one of the tournament. She now has 1,597 career digs and is 110 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."