Volleyball Drops Fall Finale to No. 2 Kentucky

Saturday, November 14

Starkville

12:00 PM

Mississippi State

2-6,2-6SEC

Kentucky

8-0,8-0SEC

Kentucky

Mississippi St.

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Volleyball Drops Fall Finale to No. 2 Kentucky

November 14, 2020 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Austin Coats, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State volleyball (2-6, 2-6 SEC) concluded its fall season Saturday (Nov. 14) in the Newell-Grissom Building as they again fell victim to the undefeated No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats (8-0, 8-0 SEC), who maintained their perfect fall in the three-set series finale.

"I thought today was a much better effort, collectively," MSU volleyball coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "Our goal was to try to come out and score more points from the service line, and I thought we did a better job of executing that part of the game plan. I'm really proud of the girls today for fighting with everything they had.

"This was a tough way to end our fall season, because I think the fall has been really good for this team to grow up, mature and take some steps in the right direction. We have seen a lot of improvement across the board, individually and as a team, and I think you can't look at this match and really recognize that. For us to be 2-6 after this fall schedule, I think that's something for us to be really proud of. It's going to be important for us to go into the break and come back healthy."

Gabby Waden was a bright spot on the score sheet, killing 10 balls on a .286 hitting percentage. The junior right side hitter tallied double-digit kills in all but one match this fall.

For the second straight afternoon, Kentucky kept MSU from building momentum as the Bulldogs could not build a run longer than four points on Saturday. Alli Stumler led the Wildcats with 11 kills (.267), while Sophie Fischer added eight more with a .438 average. Gabby Curry was the only student-athlete on the court that tallied double-digit digs, recording 11.

First Set (Kentucky 25, Mississippi State 17)

Mississippi State and Kentucky shared the first eight points, but Kentucky setter Madison Lilley broke the deadlock with a dump that started a 5-0 run. A service ace from Callie Minshew got State back within two, but the Wildcats responded with three straight. After Akacia Brown's first-career service ace made it a 16-13 game, Kentucky scored five straight again to build an eight-point advantage.

Second Set (Kentucky 25, Mississippi State 17)

Mississippi State put together consecutive points just twice in the second set. Kentucky's two longest runs both lasted three points, but they came early and were enough to keep the Wildcats ahead for the duration.

Third Set (Kentucky 25, Mississippi State 16)

MSU took its second lead of the match after Waden bookended a block assist with a pair of kills to put State up 3-2. The Wildcats retook the lead, then built on it via three straight MSU errors to improve their advantage to 11-7. Several points later, Azhani Tealer ignited a seven-point run, Kentucky's longest of the match, and the Wildcats led 21-10. State fought back with four straight points after Kentucky set up match point, but Madi Skinner sealed the match with her fifth kill.

Up Next
With the conclusion of the fall schedule, Mississippi State volleyball awaits the announcement of its spring slate.

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

--HailState.com--