State Suffers Setback Against No. 2 Kentucky

Friday, November 13

Starkville

12:00 PM

Mississippi State

2-5,2-5SEC

Kentucky

7-0,7-0SEC

Kentucky

Mississippi St.

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

State Suffers Setback Against No. 2 Kentucky

November 13, 2020 | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Austin Coats, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State volleyball failed to grab its third straight victory Friday (Nov. 13) as it fell to No. 2 Kentucky in the Newell-Grissom Building.

The Bulldogs (2-5, 2-5 SEC) suffered just their first sweep of the season, while the Wildcats (7-0, 7-0 SEC) remain undefeated.

"It was really kind of a different match for us today coming off of such a big week on the road," MSU volleyball coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "I think we got a little shell shocked at times about how good and polished Kentucky is. We played certain stretches really well, and execution was really good at those times, but we were going back to the streakiness that we were trying to get away from for us to compete and stay in matches with really good teams.

"We have to be a better offensive team. That's part of the reason we're in the 6-2 system. We have to have more arms that can score, and to hit that low of an efficiency isn't going to get you enough points. From the service line, we also have to be a lot cleaner if we are being that aggressive with eight errors. I think we have to have a lot more aces than we put up today, so I think there is a lot of things we have to clean up overnight."

Freshman libero Lilly Gunter tallied 10 digs for her seventh double-digit dig performance in as many matches this season. Another freshman Akacia Brown, made her collegiate debut in the second set.

Kentucky hit .357 in the match, led by Madi Skinner, who had a match-high 12 kills on a .647 average. Libero Gabby Curry led the Wildcat defense with a match-high 13 digs.

"The beauty of this is we have another opportunity to play tomorrow, and, at the end of the day, we are just pumped that we get to play this fall," Darty Dennis said. "We just want to make sure that this fall season ends on a high note and that the girls are excited about some milestones that we set as a program this fall."

First Set (Kentucky 25, Mississippi State 15)

After the teams traded the opening two points, Kentucky got off to a 7-0 run helped on by three blocks by the combo of Alli Stumler and Azhani Tealer. MSU nearly worked its way back with five straight points to force Kentucky to call a timeout up 13-10. That would prove enough to kill MSU's momentum as the Bulldogs could not score consecutive points following the break.

Second Set (Kentucky 25, Mississippi State 12)

The Wildcats took the first point, but State answered with kills from Waden, Minshew and an attack error by Madi Skinner to go up early, 3-1. It wouldn't last long, however, as Kentucky retook the lead with a 5-0 run to bring the score to 9-5. Waden made it a two-point game twice at 10-8 and 11-9, but Kentucky scored the next seven to break it open, and MSU couldn't recover.

Third Set (Kentucky 25, Mississippi State 16)

Waden opened MSU's scoring with back-to-back kills to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage, but it would be MSU's lone lead of the set. Kentucky came back with six straight points, and State only pulled within as few as three points for the remainder of the set.

Up Next
Mississippi State and Kentucky will close out their fall seasons in the series finale Saturday at noon CT in the Newell-Grissom Building. MSU will celebrate senior Kendall Murr prior to the match. Fans can watch the match online via SEC Network+ and the Watch ESPN app.

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