Friday, November 22
College Station, Texas
6:30 PM
Mississippi State
at
Texas A&M
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Volleyball Heads West for Final Road Weekend
November 21, 2019 | Volleyball
By Austin Coats, Graduate Assistant/Communications
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State volleyball will look for redemption this weekend with a pair of rematches coming in MSU's final road trip of the season.
The Bulldogs (13-14, 2-13 SEC) start the trek out west in College Station, Texas on Friday (Nov. 22), taking on Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m. CT in Reed Arena. On Sunday (Nov. 24), State takes on Arkansas (9-17, 3-11 SEC) at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. at 3 p.m. CT.
"This is a really exciting road trip for us," MSU volleyball coach Julie Darty said. "We've been talking about enjoying the journey and enjoying each other for these last three matches. These are two big ones, and then we'll be excited to be at home again versus Tennessee to close the season."
Both matches can be seen online via SEC Network+ or the Watch ESPN app.
On Oct. 18, the Aggies took the first matchup in four sets. MSU senior Amarrah Cooks put up a strong performance, converting 13 kills on a .393 hitting percentage to go with four blocks.
"We're excited to go play a top-50 team at Texas A&M," Darty said. "I think that our last match versus the Aggies was one of our highlight matches of the year where we felt like we had some really top notch performances individually from a few players, and that if we could get a collective group effort across the board then we would be matched up pretty well with them."
"I know that group is pretty excited and looking forward to postseason aspirations, and we're very well aware that Texas A&M is probably going to be in the tournament this year. So, for us, it's about confidence. If we can go in and compete and hang with a team that's pretty near the top of the league, I think that's going to build confidence for us moving forward and for our future. "
MSU fell in four sets to Arkansas in their first meeting, also back in October. Sophomore Deja Robinson had one of her best performances of the season, tallying 18 kills on a .424 hitting mark, six digs and six blocks.
"We are really excited about going in and playing good, clean volleyball against a good team at Arkansas on Sunday," Darty said. "This match is a big one for us. I think the last time we played Arkansas it was not our best showing, so we're really going to try and rebound and regroup and redeem ourselves. I know that we can do better, and I know that we can get back to playing good volleyball for this last stretch of our season."
MSU will look to continue strong defensive play. Senior Kanani Price leads the team with 366 digs in 2019 and is one of the four Bulldogs with at least 200 digs. In conference play alone, her 4.2 digs per set ranks sixth in the SEC. Makenzie Jordan (235 digs) and Callie Minshew (232) top the SEC freshmen digs leaderboard.
Senior setter Alleah Stamatis' 9.46 assists per set is tied for seventh in the SEC. Should she keep that pace, she would become just the seventh Bulldog all-time to tally 1,000 assists in a single season. Her 2019 assist total sits at 913 going into MSU's final three matches.
Weekend Schedule
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching @HailStateVB.
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State volleyball will look for redemption this weekend with a pair of rematches coming in MSU's final road trip of the season.
The Bulldogs (13-14, 2-13 SEC) start the trek out west in College Station, Texas on Friday (Nov. 22), taking on Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m. CT in Reed Arena. On Sunday (Nov. 24), State takes on Arkansas (9-17, 3-11 SEC) at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. at 3 p.m. CT.
"This is a really exciting road trip for us," MSU volleyball coach Julie Darty said. "We've been talking about enjoying the journey and enjoying each other for these last three matches. These are two big ones, and then we'll be excited to be at home again versus Tennessee to close the season."
Both matches can be seen online via SEC Network+ or the Watch ESPN app.
On Oct. 18, the Aggies took the first matchup in four sets. MSU senior Amarrah Cooks put up a strong performance, converting 13 kills on a .393 hitting percentage to go with four blocks.
"We're excited to go play a top-50 team at Texas A&M," Darty said. "I think that our last match versus the Aggies was one of our highlight matches of the year where we felt like we had some really top notch performances individually from a few players, and that if we could get a collective group effort across the board then we would be matched up pretty well with them."
"I know that group is pretty excited and looking forward to postseason aspirations, and we're very well aware that Texas A&M is probably going to be in the tournament this year. So, for us, it's about confidence. If we can go in and compete and hang with a team that's pretty near the top of the league, I think that's going to build confidence for us moving forward and for our future. "
MSU fell in four sets to Arkansas in their first meeting, also back in October. Sophomore Deja Robinson had one of her best performances of the season, tallying 18 kills on a .424 hitting mark, six digs and six blocks.
"We are really excited about going in and playing good, clean volleyball against a good team at Arkansas on Sunday," Darty said. "This match is a big one for us. I think the last time we played Arkansas it was not our best showing, so we're really going to try and rebound and regroup and redeem ourselves. I know that we can do better, and I know that we can get back to playing good volleyball for this last stretch of our season."
MSU will look to continue strong defensive play. Senior Kanani Price leads the team with 366 digs in 2019 and is one of the four Bulldogs with at least 200 digs. In conference play alone, her 4.2 digs per set ranks sixth in the SEC. Makenzie Jordan (235 digs) and Callie Minshew (232) top the SEC freshmen digs leaderboard.
Senior setter Alleah Stamatis' 9.46 assists per set is tied for seventh in the SEC. Should she keep that pace, she would become just the seventh Bulldog all-time to tally 1,000 assists in a single season. Her 2019 assist total sits at 913 going into MSU's final three matches.
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Time | Matchup | Stream | Live Stats |
| Friday, Nov. 22 | 6:30 p.m. CT | at Texas A&M | SEC Network+ | https://hailst.at/2OC9Ze8 |
| Sunday, Nov. 24 | 3 p.m. CT | at Arkansas | SEC Network+ | https://hailst.at/2QETlNH |
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching @HailStateVB.
Players Mentioned
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