Bulldogs, Tide to Face Off in Tuscaloosa on ESPNU Wednesday

by Mary Catherine Molay, Graduate Assistant/Communications

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - For its second Wednesday match of the season, Mississippi State volleyball (5-15, 1-6 SEC) travels to its closest SEC rival to face Alabama (15-6, 2-5 SEC) on a national stage Wednesday (Oct. 17).

The match will air on ESPNU at 6 p.m., with Dawn Davenport on play-by-play and Lizzy Stemke as the analyst. Fans can also access the match via the WatchESPN app.

"We are excited to head to Tuscaloosa for another big SEC matchup," head coach Julie Darty said. "[Alabama] is a team that is pretty similar to us in terms of what they are doing offensively and what they are doing defensively. We are excited to see how this one goes. I feel like these Wednesday night match-ups are fun midweek [tests] for us. We have to get in the gym on Tuesday, get back to the basics, and get back to what makes us Mississippi State volleyball. I think it's going to be a battle from the service line. If we can pass the ball [on target], get our middles involved, and take some pressure off of our pins, then good things are going to happen. I'm excited to see the atmosphere in Foster Auditorium. I think it'll be a big matchup for Alabama, and it's going to be a big match for us."

Alabama leads the series with a record of 46-17.

This Weeks Schedule ...

Wednesday, October 17
Mississippi State at Alabama - 6 p.m.
Live Stats - https://hailst.at/2CxHhaL
ESPNU - https://hailst.at/2CzMcI8

Sunday, October 21
Mississippi State at Ole Miss - 1:30 p.m.
Live Stats - https://hailst.at/2CvyeHj
SEC Network+ - https://hailst.at/2CvsayF

Scouting The Tide …
When playing in Tuscaloosa, Mississippi State trails 23-5.

Outside hitter Ginger Perinar tops the stat sheets with 237 kills. Defensive specialist Quincey Gary averages 4.23 digs per set and has 309 digs on the season. Middle blocker Hayley McSparin leads with 73.0 total blocks with 57 of them being block assists.

A Bulldog Win Would ...
• Give MSU its first SEC road win this season
• Snap Alabama's two-match winning streak against the Bulldogs
• Give Julie Darty her second SEC win this season

Who's Leading the Bulldogs? ...
Kills: Amarrah Cooks, 167
Kills Per Set:Amarrah Cooks, 2.32
Assists: Morgan Kath, 461
Service Aces: Alleah Stamatis, 19
Digs: Kendall Murr, 291
Block Solos: Amarrah Cooks, 22
Block Assists: Deja Robinson, 42
Total Blocks:Deja Robinson, 59.0
Points: Amarrah Cooks, 208.0

Murr and Zgunda "dig" it done ...
Sophomore transfer Kendall Murr has 291 digs on the season. As of Oct. 15 she is No. 7 in the SEC and No. 179th in the NCAA in digs.

Sophomore Gabby Zgunda finds herself with the second most digs on the squad at 169.

Cooks Leads the Team in Four Categories
Junior Amarrah Cooks is on top of the stat sheets, leading the team with kills (167), hitting percentage (.276), block solos (22) and points (208.0). She is second on the team with total blocks (58.0) and block assists (36).

Kath Has Three Double-Doubles in 2018...
Senior Morgan Kath tallied 10 digs and 11 assists against Georgia State on Aug. 26 at the StarkVegas Classic. The Wisconsin native also had 10 digs and 54 assists against Clemson on Aug. 31 at the Appalachian Invitational. On Sept. 7-8 in Mobile at the Jaguar Invitational against Louisiana Tech, the senior registered 14 digs and 28 assists.

Darty Picks Up Her First SEC Win ...
On Wednesday, Sept. 26, Julie Darty earned her first SEC win, defeating Auburn, 3-2, in Newell-Grissom on ESPNU. Darty's squad rallied from being two sets down to fight back and win the match, 21-25, 12-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-13.

Robinson, Shaw Earn SEC Freshman POW for the First Time Since 2013 …
Deja Robinson was named the SEC Freshman Player of the Week on Sept. 4 following an impressive performance at the Appalachian State Invitational where she had 4.08 points and 3.23 kills per set as well as a .443 hitting percentage. She was also named to the Appalachian State All-Tournament Team and posted a career-high 20 kills against Davidson.

Paige Shaw was named the Co-SEC Freshman Player of the Week on Oct. 1 after her unstoppable performance against Auburn on Sept. 26. The freshman tallied 18 kills, and her first service ace against the Tigers. Shaw also notched her first-career service ace and registered career highs in attack attempts (55), solo blocks (2), total blocks (4.0) and points (22.0). The match winning point came from a kill by Shaw.

The last time there were two recipients of the SEC Freshman of the Week award was in 2013 when Kimmy Gardiner won it twice. There have never been two separate MSU student-athletes claim SEC Freshman of the Week in the same season.

Deja Robinson Finds Herself on the Freshman Block Solos List
Deja Robinson currently has 17 solo blocks in her career. She ties teammate Liv Benner's total from 2017 for the No. 8 spot. She is one away from the No. 5 spot and tying teammate Laura Rose Gray(2017), along with Sharyn Smith (1985) and Shauna Owens (1988), all with 18 solo blocks during their respective seasons.

Hoosiers in StarkVegas ...
Four players on the 2018 roster hail from the state of Indiana (Gabby Zgunda, Kendall Murr, Kanani Price and Liv Benner). The Hoosier State is the most represented state on the squad.

MSU Faces In-State Rival Ole Miss on Sunday …
After the match against Alabama, the Bulldogs head to Oxford to face in-state rival Ole Miss. First serve is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on the SEC Network+.

Follow the Bulldogs
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."

Bulldogs, Tide to Face Off in Tuscaloosa on ESPNU Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Liv Benner

Amarrah Cooks

Laura Rose Gray

Morgan Kath

Kendall Murr

Deja Robinson

Alleah Stamatis

Gabby Zgunda

Mississippi State University Athletics