MSU Falls to Lady Vols in Three on Sunday

Sunday, November 11

Starkville

1:00 PM

Mississippi State

5-22 (1-13SEC)

Tennessee

21-5 (12-2SEC)

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Tennessee	25	26	25	3
Mississippi State	22	24	15	0

Mississippi State had 8.0 blocks against No. 23 Tennessee on Sunday (Nov. 11).

Photo by: Trevor Birchett/MSU Athletics

MSU Falls to Lady Vols in Three on Sunday

November 11, 2018 | Volleyball

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by Mary Catherine Molay, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE- Fighting until the very end, Mississippi State (5-22, 1-13 SEC) fell to No. 23 Tennessee (21-5, 12-2 SEC) in three on Sunday (Nov. 11) in Newell-Grissom Building.

The Bulldogs fell to the Lady Volunteers 25-22, 26-24, 25-15.

"We have moments of greatness and that second set certainly was some good volleyball for us," head coach Julie Darty said. "Across the board, we weren't making as many errors and the fact that we out blocked them today was huge. Our front court defenders, our blockers did a really good job in being disciplined and getting the job done. Our back court has to continue to pick it up, we have to dig more balls. We talked about service pressure, and I thought that at times we were really tough at the service line, and that's what kept us in that second set. When we come off the gas, we make it to easy for our opponent. It's just a little bit overwhelming on our side. It was a good match at times but overall I feel like we came off the gas.

"We are trusting the process, we are getting better every time we take the floor. We need to keep peeking and keep moving in the right direction because that's what it's all about. I know that this team has more in them and more in the tank and I truly believe that our best volleyball is inside us."

Tennessee came out swinging as the Lady Volunteers quickly took the 6-1 advantage to start the match. After going on another run to make the score 13-4, Mississippi State countered with two kills by Morgan Kath and Khristian Carr as well as two UT errors to make the score 13-8. Six Tennessee errors allowed MSU to catch back up at 18-14. The Bulldogs rallied back at the end with three straight points, but Tennessee took the set on a kill, 25-22. Kath and Gabby Waden had three kills apiece. Mississippi State won the battle at the net with 4.0 blocks to Tennessee's 2.0.

Set two was back-and-forth between the two teams as there were 7 lead changes and 12 tied scores. Mississippi State went on three-point stint to make the score 9-7, Bulldogs. Thereafter, MSU went on a four-point run off of UT errors and one kill by Kath to push to a 18-14 lead. The Bulldogs were at set point, 24-21, when Tennessee scored five points in a row to take the set into extra points and win on a kill, 26-24. Paige Shaw had five kills for a .500 hitting percentage. Kath had 12 assists and one service ace. Mississippi State had 15 digs in comparison to Tennessee's 14 digs.

A kills battle ensued in the third set with 31 kills being tallied between both squads. While leading 16-13, Tennessee scored five points in a row off of one service ace and four kills to push the lead to 21-13. MSU could not stop UT's attack game as the Lady Vols hit .586 to the Bulldogs' .323. Amarrah Cooks had four kills and one block. Shaw and Deja Robinson each had three kills.

Mississippi State stays home for its next home match as Alabama heads to Starkville on Friday, Nov. 16 for Senior Night. First serve is set for 7 p.m. on the SEC Network+.

Dawg Bites from Sunday

Robinson tallied four total blocks. That puts her in 8th place for most total blocks as a freshman with 77. She is one block away from a three-way tie with Leticia Valente (2014) and teammate Liv Benner (2017) with 78
Robinson tallied one solo block. That ties her with Jennifer Shupe (1996) for fourth place for most solo blocks as a freshman with 21. She is one block away from tying Michelle Whitby (1986) at 3rd place with 22
Khristian Carr, Cooks and Waden each earned six kills, with Shaw totalling a team-high nine kills
Kath led the Bulldogs with 28 assists, two service aces and nine digs on the day.

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