MSU Falls to No. 11 Florida in Three

Sunday, September 23

Gainesville, Fla.

12:30 PM

Mississippi State

4-11, 0-2SEC

Florida

11-3, 2-0SEC

Bulldogs fall to No. 11 Florida in Gainesville on Sunday.

MSU Falls to No. 11 Florida in Three

September 23, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

by Mary Catherine Molay, Graduate Assistant/Communications

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -Closing out the opening weekend of SEC play, Mississippi State fell to No. 11 Florida in three on the road.

Despite displaying a lot of energy on the court, Mississippi State (4-11, 0-2 SEC) dropped the match to No. 11 Florida (11-3, 2-0 SEC) in three (12-25, 21-25, 14-25)

"I am so proud of our overall effort and execution today," head coach Julie Darty said. "The general focus before the match and during the match was so much better, and we stayed dialed in and focused for much longer periods of time today. Our middles were efficient, our pins did a good job managing risk, and I thought we did a good job sticking to our game plan. It felt different and it felt loose and the energy was really good. Florida is a great team, and it was fun to go point for point with them in set two. We have to get back to work and get ready for our home opener, but I am confident we took a step in the right direction today. Hail State."

Mississippi State came out with aggression, as they showed much resiliency during the first set. The attitude was not enough for MSU as No. 11 Florida went on to take the set. Deja Robinson was perfect at the net with two kills, as she had two digs. Paige Shaw attributed three kills and MSU's only block.

The Bulldogs continued to demonstrate aggression to pull themselves ahead 2-0 to star the set. From there, MSU benefitted from their offense and used Gator errors to push ahead, 8-5. The set remained close from there on out, as Florida went on to take the lead after an attack error, 12-11. Florida remained ahead the rest of the set as Mississippi State struggled to stop Florida's attack game. Shaw had four kills, and Haskins had three. Morgan Kath attributed five digs and two service aces. Simmons Allen recorded her first service ace.

MSU got off to a slow start in set three as Florida tallied a 8-1 lead. Throughout the rest of the set, MSU struggled to stop Florida's strong attack game. No. 11 Florida went on to take the match and the set.

Mississippi State continues SEC play this Wednesday at home against Auburn. The match will air on ESPNU at 6 p.m. CT. This is the first time the Bulldogs have been home in a month.

Dawg Bites from Sunday

Shaw had seven kills and two blocks
Robinson had five kills and three blocks accompanied by one dig
Haskins had six kills, seven digs and one block
Amarrah Cooks had five kills, a .444 hitting percentage and two blocks
Kath had two service aces and eight digs
Kendall Murr had six digs
Alleah Stamatis had 25 assists
Allen recorded the first service ace of her collegiate career

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.