Minshew Gets Fifth Double-Double, Dawgs Fall at Texas A&M

Friday, November 22

College Station, Texas

6:30 PM

Mississippi State

13-15, 2-14SEC

Texas A&M

19-6, 11-4SEC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Mississippi State	19	14	22	0
Texas A&M	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

November 22, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score

By Austin Coats, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – Callie Minshew collected 10 kills and 10 digs Friday night at Reed Arena to pick up the fifth double-double of her freshman season.

Despite Minshew's performance, and a strong team defensive effort, Mississippi State volleyball (13-15, 2-14 SEC) fell to Texas A&M (19-6, 11-4 SEC) in three sets to begin its road weekend.

MSU had early leads in each of the first two frames and fought to a late advantage in the third frame, but just couldn't pull off a set victory.

"I'm proud of my team because we never stop fighting," MSU volleyball coach Julie Darty said. "We have a gritty group of kids who are continuing to battle and get better, even this late in the season. It was a tough match because I thought we just turned it on a little late.

"When we were fighting super hard in that third set, it was a total team effort. We picked up our serve and pass, we were attacking harder and more efficiently and we were getting better touches defensively. To hold a team like Texas A&M to hit .073 in that third set is promising because I know we are a good defensive team, we just have to execute in longer stretches and on a more consistent basis."

MSU won the blocks battle, 10-5, and the digs battle, 44-40. Sophomores Deja Robinson and Paige Shaw each had four blocks, while junior Kanani Price picked up a match-high 17 digs. Price is averaging 5.83 digs per set in her last two matches.

Minshew's kill count led MSU, and sophomore Gabby Waden followed with nine, while senior Amarrah Cooks had eight.

"Amarrah was totally dialed in and we relied on her a lot early," Darty said. "Waden came up with some big swings and great block touches. Callie was digging balls and I think attacked extremely well out of the back row.

"We have a lot more left in the tank, and I'm looking forward to the rest of our season."

First Set (Texas A&M 25, Mississippi State 19)

Mississippi State got off to a hot start, as two kills from Waden pushed State to an early 4-1 lead. Paige Shaw's second kill then gave the Bulldogs a four-point advantage at 7-3. However, two big runs from A&M spoiled MSU's first set.

Both Waden and Minshew had five kills after one set.

Second Set (Texas A&M 25, Mississippi State 14)

An Amarrah Cooks kill gave State another 7-3 advantage to open. A&M tied it at 9-9, thought, then scored 16 of the final 21 points in the set.

Third Set (Texas A&M 25, Mississippi State 22)

Mississippi State battled in the third set and took a late 17-16 lead via a kill from Shaw. The Aggies took advantage of a late attack error to grab the lead before closing out the match in straight sets.

Up Next
Mississippi State's final road match comes against Arkansas Sunday at 3 p.m. CT in Fayetteville.

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