Volleyball Starts SEC 2nd Half Slate At Georgia

Wednesday, October 27

Athens, Ga.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

Georgia

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Volleyball Starts SEC 2nd Half Slate At Georgia

October 26, 2021 | Volleyball

Notes (PDF)Watch: MSU vs. Georgia Stats: MSU vs. Georgia

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

ATHENS, Georgia – Mississippi State's volleyball team heads into the second half of its SEC schedule as the Bulldogs travel to Georgia for a midweek matchup Wednesday at Stegeman Coliseum.

State (16-5, 7-2 SEC) has pieced together a four-match winning streak, which is the SEC's second-longest active winning streak only behind league frontrunner Kentucky. The four-game SEC run has come against a quartet of RPI top 50 opponents and is the longest SEC winning streak for a single season in program history.

The Maroon and White sit in a third place tie with No. 23 Florida in the SEC standings as the final week of October begins. Both programs are a half-match behind No. 21 Tennessee.

Wednesday's first serve is on-tap for 6 p.m. CT from Athens. The match will be streamed online only courtesy of www.ESPN.com/watch and the ESPN app.

"The first half of SEC play has gone well, but we're still climbing that mountain," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "I don't think the climb is going to get any easier. We have nine more important steps to keep climbing all the way until November 26th versus Auburn. It's going to be an uphill climb the rest of the way. For us, we're really focusing on one day and one practice at a time. We're focusing on who is our next opponent."

"I think we're going to get everybody's best shot," Dennis continued. "Georgia plays a very tough, scrappy brand of volleyball. They're always good defensively and serve super tough. We know they're going to be well-prepared. We're trying to improve our craft and make sure we don't have any glaring weaknesses that any opponent can take advantage of. We have to well-prepared and dialed in for this match."

The Bulldogs continue to rank among the SEC's top six in kills per set (13.87 – 3rd), assists per set (12.63 – 4th) and hitting percentage (.248 – 6th). State are a flawless 25-0 in sets when posting a 70 percent clip or higher sideout efficiency.

Lilly Gunter gave State its third player to earn a SEC weekly award as the SEC's Co-Defensive Player of the Week announced earlier this week. She continues to showcase her skills as one of the SEC's top liberos where she has amassed 10-plus digs in 18 of 20 matches. The 18 outings of 10 or more digs checks in third among SEC leaders.

Gunter's 4.59 digs per set during league matches are fourth in the SEC rankings. She has collected 20-plus digs in four of her last six outings and on seven occasions in 2021. Gunter has ripped off seven of her nine highest career dig efforts this season. Her 33 digs at Florida (09/24) are tied for second-most by a SEC player on the season.

The Bulldogs have relied on their outside attack of Gabby Waden, Lauren Myrick and Shania Cromartie, who have combined to secure 38 outings of 10-plus kills on the season.

Waden has done her heavy lifting against SEC opponents where her 3.87 kills per set are third, her 4.17 points per set are sixth and her .355 hitting percentage is eighth on the league leaderboard. She has powered home 10-plus kills in eight of her nine SEC matches and in 13 of her last 16 outings.

For the season, Waden has secured a team-leading 3.41 kills per set and a .343 hitting percentage. She is closing in on becoming the 11th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. Waden enters the Georgia match at 971 kills.

Cromartie has managed 2.69 kills and 2.01 digs per set. She has provided a spark as of late with double digit kills in three of her last appearances. Cromartie came away with 13 kills and 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season during Sunday's match against Texas A&M.

Myrick has been a double-double machine and has reached the feat in seven of her last nine matches. The 11 double-doubles overall for Myrick are tied for third, while her six double dips in league play are tied for second among SEC players.

Myrick has been a beacon of consistency with 10-plus kills in 16 of her 19 appearances. She has produced seven of her top 10 kill performances this season. The 16 matches of 10 or more kills is tied for fourth in the SEC.

State's setting tandem of Gabby Coulter and Margaret Dean have teamed up to pass out 10.92 assists per set on the season, which would rank fourth among SEC setters if running a 5-1 offensive system. The pair has combined for 3,502 career assists and 10 double-doubles on the season.

Dean posted a career-best 36 assists and added 10 digs at Ole Miss (10/17). Her and Coulter combined for 60 assists, which would hold the top spot among SEC setters for a match this season if running a 5-1. The Bulldogs have attacked at over a .300 ratio in 33 sets and posted a 31-2 mark in those frames this season. State has gone at a .300 mark or higher during the last eight sets that the Bulldogs have won.

MSU's middles of Sania Petties and Deja Robinson have secured 2.78 kills and 1.71 blocks per set. Petties' .316 hitting clip is 10th on the SEC ledger with Robinson's .314 hitting ratio right behind her. Robinson has racked up 348 career blocks and 63 solo blocks, which is good enough for fifth place in program history.

Jessica Kemp and Rebecca Walk have combined to pile up 52 kills and 16 blocks during State's last six matches. Francesca McBride and Callie Minshew have been mixed into the rotation. Both posted their season watermark in kills during the South Carolina (10/13) match.

"We don't mind going on the road and being the road Dawgs, but we definitely have to play good clean volleyball and manage risk at Georgia," Dennis said. "We're going to have to stay in-system and pass the ball well. We're going to have to put pressure on them from the service line. There are going to be balls that we think are going to be down but aren't down. We're going to have to extend rallies. We're have to give our hitters confidence by covering like crazy. Georgia has a good, physical block."

"A lot of the same stuff that we focus on every week is on our side of the net," Dennis continued. "Our goal is to make sure that everybody feels composed, feels confident to play hard and feels ready to get after it. The team understands that beating these teams in the SEC takes a special effort each and every time. It's not going to be easy, but it's not supposed to be."

After the Georgia match, Mississippi State returns home to face Alabama next Wednesday at the Newell-Grissom Building. First serve is on-tap for 7 p.m. CT televised nationally by SEC Network and available online courtesy of www.ESPN.com/watch and the Watch ESPN app. 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.