Saturday, August 31
Starkville
2:00 PM
Mississippi State
2-0
3
vs
2
Western Illinois
0-2
1
2
3
4
5
F
Western Ill.
25
19
25
24
7
2
Mississippi St.
15
25
15
26
15
3
Photo by: Blake Williams/MSU Athletics
Minshew, Stamatis Lead Volleyball to Dramatic StarkVegas Classic Finale Win
August 31, 2019 | Volleyball
STARKVILLE – Down a set twice, Mississippi State volleyball battled to a dramatic 3-2 win Saturday, August 31, in the StarkVegas Classic finale at the Newell-Grissom Building.
With the victory, State improved to a perfect 3-0 on the season for the first time since the 2015 Bulldogs started off with the same record.
"It was another exciting day of volleyball at The Griss," head coach Julie Darty said. "This was one of those days where I felt like we were out of whack and out of rhythm to start the match. It was a really awesome test for us early in the season to see what we are made of. I thought our response was really awesome in that fifth set.
"It is really fun to watch these kids bounce back and be resilient. I am really excited that they came out with a win today, and I cannot be prouder."
Callie Minshew carried the Bulldog offense against a tough Western Illinois defense. The freshman picked up 17 kills in the match, the most of any Bulldog so far this season. Her kill count also eclipsed her total from the first two matches combined, as she had 15 coming into Saturday's match.
"Callie was unbelievable," Darty said.
Altogether, Minshew has collected 32 kills through her first three contests as a Bulldog.
Amarrah Cooks and Gabby Waden each had nine kills behind Minshew. Cooks was State's most efficient attacker, converting her portion at a .318 mark.
Senior Alleah Stamatis set the pace again while collecting 39 assists, her greatest total in two seasons as a Bulldog. Stamatis just missed her second double-double of the weekend after also picking up nine digs.
Stamatis totaled 99 total assists over the three matches at the StarkVegas Classic.
"Alleah is just doing her thing," Darty said. "She is running the show. She makes us go and she makes us really good. She makes us tough."
First Set (Western Illinois 25, Mississippi State 15)
The opening frame was tightly contested early, but Western Illinois ran away with it late. A 5-0 run made it 21-13 for the visitors, and the Leathernecks closed it from there.
Second Set (Mississippi State 25, Western Illinois 19)
Despite dropping the first set by 10 points, MSU came out fierce in the second set. A Minshew kill opened the frame, followed by two WIU errors for a 3-0 run to start. The Leathernecks had multiple opportunities to tie it, but the Bulldogs held them off to tie the match at one apiece.
In the set, Minshew tallied four of her kills, while Waden and fellow sophomore Paige Shaw each had three.
Third Set (Western Illinois 25, Mississippi State 15)
Western Illinois got out to a 7-1 lead early in the frame and never looked back. MSU got within three points but was never able to close the gap as the Leathernecks took the middle set.
Fourth Set (Mississippi State 26, Western Illinois 24)
Down 24-23 in the frame, freshmen Burgundy Walters and Minshew turned a match point for Western Illinois into a set win for the Maroon and White.
Down a point, Walters batted down a ball for her third kill of the afternoon. She and Minshew then combined for a block on the next point to give MSU a 25-24 lead. Minshew completed the set with her 15th kill of the match.
Stamatis collected 12 assists in the frame.
Fifth Set (Mississippi State 15, Western Illinois 7)
With the momentum in pocket, Mississippi State cruised to win the final set.
Back-to-back kills from Minshew made it 6-2, MSU, and the Bulldogs kept the peddle down to win the frame by eight points. Cooks earned three of her kills in set five, which included the match point.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will head to Hattiesburg, Miss. for more tournament action. The Southern Miss Classic will pit State against New Orleans on Friday, and Arkansas State and Southern Miss on Saturday.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching @HailStateVB.
StarkVegas Classic All-Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player - Alleah Stamatis (Mississippi State)
Amarrah Cooks (Mississippi State)
Callie Minshew (Mississippi State)
Dani Szczepanski (Chattanooga)
Maddie Halsey (Chattanooga)
Mariah Mitchell (Western Illinois)
Tyler Caliste (Mississippi Valley State)
With the victory, State improved to a perfect 3-0 on the season for the first time since the 2015 Bulldogs started off with the same record.
"It was another exciting day of volleyball at The Griss," head coach Julie Darty said. "This was one of those days where I felt like we were out of whack and out of rhythm to start the match. It was a really awesome test for us early in the season to see what we are made of. I thought our response was really awesome in that fifth set.
"It is really fun to watch these kids bounce back and be resilient. I am really excited that they came out with a win today, and I cannot be prouder."
Callie Minshew carried the Bulldog offense against a tough Western Illinois defense. The freshman picked up 17 kills in the match, the most of any Bulldog so far this season. Her kill count also eclipsed her total from the first two matches combined, as she had 15 coming into Saturday's match.
"Callie was unbelievable," Darty said.
Altogether, Minshew has collected 32 kills through her first three contests as a Bulldog.
Amarrah Cooks and Gabby Waden each had nine kills behind Minshew. Cooks was State's most efficient attacker, converting her portion at a .318 mark.
Senior Alleah Stamatis set the pace again while collecting 39 assists, her greatest total in two seasons as a Bulldog. Stamatis just missed her second double-double of the weekend after also picking up nine digs.
Stamatis totaled 99 total assists over the three matches at the StarkVegas Classic.
"Alleah is just doing her thing," Darty said. "She is running the show. She makes us go and she makes us really good. She makes us tough."
First Set (Western Illinois 25, Mississippi State 15)
The opening frame was tightly contested early, but Western Illinois ran away with it late. A 5-0 run made it 21-13 for the visitors, and the Leathernecks closed it from there.
Second Set (Mississippi State 25, Western Illinois 19)
Despite dropping the first set by 10 points, MSU came out fierce in the second set. A Minshew kill opened the frame, followed by two WIU errors for a 3-0 run to start. The Leathernecks had multiple opportunities to tie it, but the Bulldogs held them off to tie the match at one apiece.
In the set, Minshew tallied four of her kills, while Waden and fellow sophomore Paige Shaw each had three.
Third Set (Western Illinois 25, Mississippi State 15)
Western Illinois got out to a 7-1 lead early in the frame and never looked back. MSU got within three points but was never able to close the gap as the Leathernecks took the middle set.
Fourth Set (Mississippi State 26, Western Illinois 24)
Down 24-23 in the frame, freshmen Burgundy Walters and Minshew turned a match point for Western Illinois into a set win for the Maroon and White.
Down a point, Walters batted down a ball for her third kill of the afternoon. She and Minshew then combined for a block on the next point to give MSU a 25-24 lead. Minshew completed the set with her 15th kill of the match.
Stamatis collected 12 assists in the frame.
Fifth Set (Mississippi State 15, Western Illinois 7)
With the momentum in pocket, Mississippi State cruised to win the final set.
Back-to-back kills from Minshew made it 6-2, MSU, and the Bulldogs kept the peddle down to win the frame by eight points. Cooks earned three of her kills in set five, which included the match point.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will head to Hattiesburg, Miss. for more tournament action. The Southern Miss Classic will pit State against New Orleans on Friday, and Arkansas State and Southern Miss on Saturday.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching @HailStateVB.
StarkVegas Classic All-Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player - Alleah Stamatis (Mississippi State)
Amarrah Cooks (Mississippi State)
Callie Minshew (Mississippi State)
Dani Szczepanski (Chattanooga)
Maddie Halsey (Chattanooga)
Mariah Mitchell (Western Illinois)
Tyler Caliste (Mississippi Valley State)
Team Stats
WIU
MSU
Kills
50
48
Errors
25
30
Attempts
142
141
Hitting %
.176
.128
Points
73.0
63.0
Assists
47
47
Aces
7
6
Blocks
16.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
5
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
MB
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