Volleyball Concludes Series in Baton Rouge, Falls in Four

Thursday, October 22

Baton Rouge, La.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

0-4 (0-4)

LSU

2-2 (2-2)

Mississippi St.

LSU

Volleyball Concludes Series in Baton Rouge, Falls in Four

October 22, 2020 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Austin Coats, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State volleyball fell victim to LSU once again Thursday (Oct. 22) in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, as it dropped another four-set contest to the Tigers in the midweek series finale.

The Bulldogs (0-4, 0-4 SEC) won the second set again Thursday night, but LSU (2-2, 2-2 SEC) rebounded in the third frame and finished strong with a 25-11 fourth set victory.

"There are a lot of positives to take out of our first road trip and a lot of things that we can learn from," Mississippi State volleyball coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "We are growing up quickly and gaining experience together, and, as that happens, we are going to get better and better.

"LSU is a physical and talented team, and, in the first two sets, it was an all-out battle offensively. We were scoring points and it was clean, low-error volleyball. We have to be better with our overall execution and game plan. As a group, we have to dial in and keep our focus for longer stretches. We are a bit streaky right now, and we need to level off a bit."

After playing 18 sets within the last six days, Mississippi State will get a 13-day break before another midweek road series at Texas A&M on Wednesday and Thursday, November 4-5.

"I think it's great we have the next week to just get in our practice gym and get back to work," Darty Dennis said. "This is a new group of people playing together, and we are taking it day by day. I'm so excited for the opportunities that we have to play our sport this fall, and we are just grateful that we have had a healthy season so far."

Freshman libero Lilly Gunter tallied double-digit digs (15) for the fourth time in as many matches played this fall, and she has led the team three times. Redshirt junior Logan Brown followed with 12 digs alongside as many kills for her team-leading third double-double of the season.

Lilly has consistently been an anchor for us in the back court and as a passer," Darty Dennis said. "It's exciting to see someone that young step in and handle that kind of role like she is. Logan shifts to another gear when it's time to compete, and we need more of that."

Junior right side hitter Gabby Waden had another strong performance, grabbing 15 kills on a .303 hitting mark. Waden had 11 of her kills an no erros in the first two sets of Thursday's contest.

"Gabby is doing a better job of becoming a constant offensive threat and being able to score points, and I hope we can continue to feed her balls when she is out there," Darty Dennis said.

Senior right side hitter Taylor Bannister set the tone for the Tigers, collecting 22 kills on a .390 hitting percentage. Both sophomore Samarah Hill and freshman Paige Flickinger had 11 kills and 12 digs apiece to turn in double-doubles in the series finale.

First Set (LSU 25, Mississippi State 21)

Mississippi State hit .375 as a team in the first set, but LSU's .421 mark bested the Bulldogs. The teams traded blows for the first 27 points - The Tigers grabbed the first two-point lead of the frame at 15-13. After the media timeout, Alia Williams put down a kill to give LSU its fourth straight point. The Tigers wouldn't relinquish the advantage from there and won the opening set. Gabby Waden and Logan Brown each had five kills in the first frame.

Second Set (Mississippi State 25, LSU 19)

The Bulldogs scored the first four points of the second frame to set the tone. Up 9-4, the MSU defense worked together to win the next point - Gunter denied a Samarah Hill attack with a diving effort in the back court. Then, after the clearance, Jessica Kemp and Francesca McBride combined to stuff Paige Flickinger at the net.

The MSU defense held the Tigers to a .186 hitting mark in the set, and the Bulldogs led by as much as 10 on their way to tying the match. Waden picked up six kills on seven attempts in set two alone.

Third Set (LSU 25, Mississippi State 18)

The Tigers got hot early, taking seven of the first eight points, and never looked back. State pulled within four, 12-8, on an LSU service error, but the early deficit proved too much for them to come back all the way as LSU went up 2-1 in the match.

Fourth Set (LSU 25, Mississippi State 11)

LSU ran away with the final set to put an exclamation mark on the match. After the Tigers got off to another hot start, MSU never found its footing, and LSU sealed another match win.

Up Next
Halfway through its fall schedule, Mississippi State gets almost two weeks off before it travels to Bryan-College Station, Texas to take on Texas A&M in a two-match midweek series on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 4-5.

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