Nationally-Televised Rivalry Matchup For Volleyball on Sunday

Sunday, October 17

Oxford, Miss.

2:00 PM

Mississippi State

Ole Miss

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Nationally-Televised Rivalry Matchup For Volleyball on Sunday

October 16, 2021 | Volleyball

Notes (PDF)Watch: MSU vs. Ole Miss Live Stats

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

OXFORD, Mississippi – Mississippi State's volleyball team moves into the second-third of its climb up the SEC mountain as the Bulldogs travel to Ole Miss for a rivalry matchup on Sunday afternoon.

Both programs are coming off solid midweek victories. The Bulldogs (13-5, 4-2 SEC) are coming off a RPI top 25 triumph over South Carolina, while the Rebels (13-4, 2-4 SEC) took down Texas A&M in five sets on the road.

State's 4-2 mark is a program best through six SEC matches. A win on Sunday would give the Maroon and White three consecutive victories over its in-state rival and also move the Bulldogs into a tie with Arkansas for fourth place in the SEC standings.

Sunday's first serve is slated for 2 p.m. CT from the Gillom Athletics Performance Center. The match will nationally-televised by the SEC Network and carried online courtesy of www.ESPN.com/watch and the ESPN app.

"Our group is extremely humble and hungry," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "They understand that we're not even half way up the climb of the SEC mountain right now. It's fantastic that we started the way that we have, and we've found the success that we had. I think we're enjoying every moment and every win, but the team understands that we're still focused on each point, each set and each match. That's the approach we're going to take."

"The team had done a nice job of not letting losses define us," Dennis continued. "Losses haven't not set us back. I feel like we've learned from loses, and we've improved after loses. I think that our group is really focused. They see what the goal is for the end of the season, and they understand that the best way to put ourselves in a position to reach our ultimate goal of the NCAA Tournament is to continue to win. The team is focused on the assignment. They understand it, and they're just really bought in right now. Our team's chemistry and cohesion is in a really good place. I'm excited for our group, and I feel like they're just enjoying every moment of the ride."

The Bulldogs continue to rank among the SEC's top six in kills per set (13.71 – 5th), assists per set (12.40 – 6th), and hitting percentage (.243 – 6th).

Gabby Waden continues to validate her 2020-21 All-SEC pick. She has powered home 3.21 kills on a .321 hitting percentage which is just outside the SEC's top 10. Waden has racked up 10-plus kills on all six SEC matches, ignited by 15-plus kills in five of those outings.

For the season, Waden has belted double-digit kills on 12 matches this season, tied for 10th on the SEC leaderboard and on 46 occasions during her career. She eclipsed 900 career kills against South Carolina earlier this week and is on the move of becoming the 11th player in program history to collect 1,000 for her career.

Waden has shared the offensive load on the outside with Shania Cromartie and Lauren Myrick. The trio has amassed 30 matches of double-digit kills for the 2021 campaign.

Cromartie, the SEC's Player and SEC's Offensive Player of the Week on September 27, has provided 2.68 kills and 1.88 digs per set. She has popped 10-plus kills six times and added a trio of double-doubles this season. Cromartie's top two performances on the season were a 25-kill output at No. 17 Florida (09/24) followed by 17 kills versus South Carolina (10/13).

"Shania is having a tremendous season," Dennis said. "After the [South Carolina] match, I looked at the box score and feel that she gets sneaky kills. Shania does a great job of managing swings, but she also finds ways to score. She learns as the match goes on, and she's really good at problem-solving. I believe Shania is still trying to prove to herself and get to where she wants to be on her journey to returning to play."

"She is hungry for more, and she's hungry to be the best player she can possible be," Dennis continued. "Shania is always fine-tuning her craft and staying after practice for extra defense, extra passing, extra blocking and extra attacking reps. Shania just wants to be the best version of herself that she can possible be. She's really set the bar high for herself. She's a highly motivated individual, and it all comes from within. I feel very confident in her in always being ready to go and playing her best volleyball. She's just kind of the ultimate teammate kid that you can just rely on to be everywhere on the court and do everything."

Myrick continues to shine in 2021 as a six-rotation outside hitter with double-doubles in five of her last six outings. Her nine double-doubles overall her four double dips versus SEC opponents are tied for third on the conference leaderboard.

Myrick has banged home 10-plus kills in 13 of her 16 appearances. The 13 matches of 10-plus kills are tied for second in the SEC. She has produced seven of her top 10 kills performances in 2021. Myrick notched 10 kills, 13 digs and a career-high four blocks during the Kentucky match (10/06).

Lilly Gunter dons the libero jersey as the anchor of State's back row. She has piled up 10-plus digs during nine consecutive appearances, sparked by 20 or more digs in three straight outings and four of the last five matches.

Gunter has compiled six of her top eight career digs efforts this season. Her 4.18 digs per set are fifth in the SEC rankings, whereas her 33 digs at Florida are the second-most by a SEC player this season.

State's setting tandem of Gabby Coulter and Margaret Dean has teamed up to hand out 10.74 assists per set on the season, which would rank fifth among SEC setters if running a 5-1 offensive system. The veteran duo has combined for 3,347 career assists and nine double-doubles in 2021. Coulter and Dean are coming off 50 assists, with a career-best of 30 coming from Dean during the South Carolina match.

MSU's middles of Sania Petties and Deja Robinson have teamed up for 2.82 kills and 1.76 blocks per set. Both are ranked inside the SEC's top 10 in hitting percentage with Petties at a .333 clip followed by Robinson at a .330 ratio for ninth and 10th place, respectively, on the SEC ledger.

Robinson recently moved into the program's top five and has racked up 335 career blocks, headed by 63 solo stuffs. She has provided five-plus blocks on seven times, which is tied for fifth among SEC players.

Jessica Kemp and Rebecca Walk have combined to tuck away 22 kills and seven blocks during State's last three matches. Francesca McBride provided season's best with six kills and three digs against South Carolina (10/04).

"I think the fact that both teams are coming off midweek wins is going to factor into both teams expecting to come in and play good, confident volleyball," Dennis said. "With us, it's about being ourselves. We talk a lot about if we put out our best effort and play our best volleyball, we'll be in the position to be successful. Top-to-bottom, this league is clearly one of the toughest for a reason. Everybody is beating up on everybody right now."

"We're certainly going to have to show up, dialed in and focused, and be very clear-headed," Dennis continued. "We'll need to be able to communicate well in a very loud and rowdy environment. There's no doubt their building is going to be packed. We're just going to have to make sure we're ready to rely on one another and be ready to trust the process."

Following the Ole Miss match, the Bulldogs will complete a stretch of five of seven matches at home to start October. State will play host to Texas A&M for a weekend series on October 23-24. Admission is free for all home volleyball matches with gates opening one hour prior to first serve.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the volleyball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateVB' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.