State Drops Series Opener at LSU

Wednesday, October 21

Baton Rouge, La.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

0-3, 0-3SEC

LSU

1-2, 1-2SEC

Mississippi St.

LSU

State Drops Series Opener at LSU

October 21, 2020 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Austin Coats, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – LSU volleyball (1-2, 1-2 SEC) stood its ground at home Wednesday (Oct. 21) in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for a four-set victory against Mississippi State volleyball (0-3, 0-3 SEC), the first of two matches in a midweek series.

"Overall, this wasn't the same team that we saw against Arkansas," MSU volleyball coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "I think there were some streaks where we played well, but also streaks that we didn't play well. We have to really stay dialed into our game plan the entire time and keep our focus and approach the same for the duration of the match.

"I was proud of [Callie Minshew] and [Kendall Murr] for coming in and doing a nice job when we called upon them. Our block wasn't the same as it was last weekend, but we are going to take this and grow from it. We have another chance Thursday, so we will go back to work."

After dropping the opening set, 25-17, MSU stormed back in set two with a 25-22 victory. The Tigers cruised to victory in the third frame via a late 10-0 run (25-11) then held off the battling Bulldogs in the final set, 25-23.

Freshman libero Lilly Gunter was a bright spot, besting all players with 20 digs, a season-high. The Oviedo, Florida, native has collected double-digit digs in all three matches this fall.

"I think defensively Lilly is starting to get into a groove where we can really trust her and give her more court," Darty Dennis said.

Junior Gabby Waden led the Bulldogs with 13 kills and did it efficiently, carrying a .357 hitting percentage. Waden is averaging a team-high 3.14 kills per set and .337 percentage through three matches.

Graduate transfer setter Margaret Dean picked up her second double-double of the season with 19 assists and 11 digs in Wednesday's contest.

Three student-athletes grabbed double-doubles for LSU. Setter Karli Rose (52 assists, 10 digs) directed the LSU attack that was led, in part, by Taylor Bannister (18 kills, 14 digs) and Samarah Hill (10 kills, 12 digs).

First Set (LSU 25, Mississippi State 17)

LSU opened the match with by taking the first four points of the first set. Up 8-5, the Tigers started another long run, scoring seven straight points to go up 15-5. The Bulldogs tried to chip away at the deficit, but fell in the opening set.

Gabby Waden opened the match with 5 kills on 10 attempts without an error in the first frame.

Second Set (Mississippi State 25, LSU 22)

The Tigers looked poised to go up 2-0 in the match when Taylor Bannister gave her team a 20-16 advantage with a kill. The Bulldogs fought back with six of the next seven points to take a 22-21 lead after back-to-back errors by LSU's Anita Anwusi. A Deja Robinson ace, Dean kill and an LSU attack error put State on top 25-22.

Sophomore Lauren Myrick came up big in set two, killing four balls without an error to go along with seven digs.

Third Set (LSU 25, Mississippi State 11)

LSU managed a 10-point scoring run and took 12 of the final 13 points in the set to go up 2-1 in the match. The Tigers hit .314 in the frame, and Samarah Hill totaled three aces from the service line.

Fourth Set (LSU 25, Mississippi State 23)

After State recovered from an early four-point deficit early in the frame, the two teams traded blows for most of the set. A kill by LSU's Paige Flickinger broke a 21-21 tie, and the Tigers were able to hold on and eventually clinch match point.

Up Next
The Bulldogs get to try again Thursday in the series finale against the Tigers. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

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