MSU Drops Sunday Matchup Against Georgia

Sunday, November 17

Starkville

1:00 PM

Mississippi State

13-14,2-13SEC

Georgia

18-7,10-4SEC

Georgia

Mississippi St.

MSU Drops Sunday Matchup Against Georgia

November 17, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score

By Austin Coats, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State volleyball was held in check Sunday (Nov. 17) as the Bulldogs fell to Georgia in three sets at the Newell-Grissom Building.

MSU (13-14, 2-13 SEC) looked poised to take the third set before Georgia (19-7, 11-4 SEC) rallied late in the frame to win in straight sets. Four MSU student-athletes had at least three blocks, but it wasn't enough to keep the Georgia offense from having a strong performance.

"It was a tough match today to celebrate our seniors, but I thought that there were some pretty intense defensive rallies so that was pretty inspiring," MSU volleyball coach Julie Darty said. "To finish the match tied with seven blocks apiece shows we stepped up towards the end.

"Defensively, we still have to find ways to just get the ball up and off the floor. If we are going to get out-dug by our opponent, I think that we have to get creative. Serving wise, I think we needed to attack a little bit harder and come at them a little bit more intensely for our game plan to really work."

Senior Kanani Price racked up 18 digs in the match but was the only MSU student-athlete in double-digits for that category.

"Georgia is just a very good and disciplined team," Darty said. "They trust their system and it is a great system that clearly works, but we did not have the offense that we needed from our middles and rights today. It showed based on our passing the ball and getting to be in system.

"We are going to have to go back to the drawing board this week and figure out some ways to score. Then, we have to battle in these last three matches of 2019."

First Set (Georgia 25, Mississippi State 16)

Georgia established an early lead and never let go, taking the first set convincingly.

Second Set (Georgia 25, Mississippi State 21)

A 5-0 scoring run, led by two kills from senior Amarrah Cooks, gave MSU a 15-13 lead. However, Georgia converted five straight of its own for a late 23-19 advantage before taking a 2-0 match lead.

Third Set (Georgia 25, Mississippi State 21)

State opened the third set with a 12-6 lead, but two separate 4-0 runs by Georgia put the visitors in the driver's seat. MSU never pulled back in front, and Georgia clinched the straight-set victory.

Up Next
Mississippi State will travel west next weekend for its final two road matches of the 2019 season. MSU faces Texas A&M Friday (Nov. 22) at 6:30 p.m. CT and Arkansas on Sunday (Nov. 24) at 1 p.m. CT.

For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching @HailStateVB.