Volleyball Earns Weekend Sweep Over Texas A&M

Sunday, October 24

Starkville

1:00 PM

Mississippi State

16-5,7-2SEC

Texas A&M

11-9,4-6SEC

Texas A&M

Mississippi St.

Volleyball Earns Weekend Sweep Over Texas A&M

October 24, 2021 | Volleyball

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by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's volleyball team was firing on all cylinders as the Bulldogs connected for a crisp .377 hitting percentage to dial up another 3-1 triumph over Texas A&M [25-11, 22-25, 25-15, 25-21] on Sunday afternoon at the Newell-Grissom Building.

The weekend sweep for the Bulldogs (16-5, 7-2 SEC) gave State four straight wins over the Aggies (11-9, 4-6 SEC) and the program's first four match winning streak in SEC play during a single season. The 2015 team closed the season with three consecutive SEC victories and won its first conference match in 2016.

Mississippi State jumped into a third place tie with Florida in the SEC standings. The Maroon and White has won five straight SEC home matches and its last four victories overall are versus RPI top 50 opponents over the last 12 days.

The Bulldogs spent a majority of the match in-system with 52 kills against nine errors and attacked at over a .400 ratio during set one and set three. State amassed an efficient 75.3 sideout percentage going 55-of-73 ignited by a 93 percent clip in set three.

"That first set was pretty exciting," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "We were dialed in, and we were focused. We sided out at 90 percent, good stuff happens when you do that. We were point-scoring really well. They understood the game plan, and they were just executing like we've never seen before. I was really excited to see the response after the quick turnover from yesterday. I think set two was a little bit different. However, this group's going to fight. They're going to figure stuff out on their own. I think we did a nice job of staying the course and understanding that it's a process."

Mississippi State showcased its balance and versatility with five players cranking at least nine kills. Margaret Dean and Gabby Coulter conducted State's 6-2 offense to 47 assists and added 10 digs.

Shania Cromartie and Lauren Myrick each tabulated double-doubles from the outside. Cromartie picked up a team-leading 13 kills and 12 digs, while Myrick made it a double dip in seven of her last nine appearances. The Louisville, Kentucky, native stuffed the stats sheet with 11 kills, 10 digs and three blocks en route to her 11th double-double.

Rebecca Walk made the most of her first start of the season and equaled her season's best with nine kills on 12 errorless swings for an impressive .750 hitting clip. She also collected a season-high six blocks.

Jessica Kemp provided nine kills on a .533 attack ratio coupled with three blocks, while Gabby Waden came away with nine kills and three blocks. Deja Robinson tallied four blocks and an ace.

"I thought Jessica was a nice spark off the bench," Dennis said. "She did a good job of being available on that transition on that right pen. I think their block [Kemp and Walk] did a really nice job of getting good, clean touches and made sure our defense was ready in the backcourt for those positive touches. It's all about opportunity. Rebecca and Jessica had the opportunity today, and they got the job done. That's what it's all about with this team. I'm just proud of each and every one of these girls."

Lilly Gunter steadied the back row with a match-leading 13 digs from her libero post. She has racked up 10-plus digs in 12 consecutive matches.

Defensively, the Bulldogs registered a 10-6 blocks advantage and outdug Texas A&M by a 50-47 margin. The Maroon and White converted on 56 of its 60 reception attempts en route to a 93.3 percent ratio.

"I just focus on taking a lot of pride and just trying to be the same team from start to finish," Cromartie said. "I think that we're doing a pretty good of that. Also, 24 hours after a win or lose, we're focused on the next team. We're not being too high or too low. We want to get one percent better every day and be the best versions of ourselves that we can be."

The Bulldogs came storming out of the gates and used eight straight points to turn a 3-3 tie into an 11-3 lead. The flurry began with a Waden tip kill. Then, Walk took over with a pair of kills and a pair of blocks. A Kemp slide kill capped Coulter's serving run for the eight-point spread.

State continued to pour it on as a Cromartie crosscourt kill and a Waden spike down the line brought the score to 22-9. The Bulldogs closed out the 25-11 rout on a Walk kill through the middle. State belted 13 kills on 25 swings with only one hitting error and was 10-of-11 on sideouts during the opening stanza.

Texas A&M responded to knot the match at a set apiece after scoring four of the last five points to sneak away with a 25-22 win.

After splitting the first 16 points of set three, Coulter delivered another solid serving run that took the score from 8-8 to 16-8. The Bulldogs got rolling on a Myrick kill from the back row. State forced A&M into three hitting miscues. Wall capitalized with a kill off an overpass, Kemp ripped a slide kill and Cromartie popped a kill on a roll shot.

The Bulldogs crushed 13 kills on 27 swings with one error to tally a .444 hitting percentage. State also went a near flawless 14-for-15 in its sideout attempts.

"Our setters do a tremendous job of putting up killable balls," Dennis said. "For us, we had nine hitting errors today. I think that speaks about the quality sets that we're putting up. Margaret and Gabby normally come in, and they can spark a pretty good service run. Coulter definitely had nice, long ones in the first and third sets. It was impressive to see that she was just understanding the game plan. She was putting the ball where we wanted to, and she was executing at a high level."

The fourth set was tightly-contested as neither team took more than a two-point edge in the early going. Ahead 11-10, State made its push behind eight of the next 10 points. A Waden kill made it 19-13.

The Aggies put together one last charge and got within two points on three occasions, the latest at 21-19. It was Waden who took advantage of a 1-on-1 matchup followed by a Cromartie-Walk double stuff to bring the advantage back to 23-19. An A&M service error brought State to the winner's circle at 25-21.

"Quick turnaround for us, but it was so fun being back at The Griss with the best fans in the country," Dennis said. "These people are here to support us, and they've been with us every step of the way. They did a tremendous job of giving us a great home court advantage. The atmosphere today was just outstanding. These are the moments we've been waiting for. We've been working really hard, and it's nice to see that we've built something special that people are coming to watch."

Mississippi State completes its October slate with a midweek road trip to Georgia. The Bulldogs will play three of their next four matches on the road. Wednesday's first serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from Athens. The match will be streamed online via www.ESPN.com/watch and the ESPN app.

State's next home match is against Alabama on Wednesday, November 3 with a 7 p.m. CT first serve. 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.