Volleyball Readies For No. 5 Kentucky

Wednesday, October 6

Lexington, Ky.

5:00 PM

Mississippi State

No. 5 Kentucky

VB - Lauren Myrick - Gonzaga - 08/27/2021

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Volleyball Readies For No. 5 Kentucky

October 05, 2021 | Volleyball

Match Notes (PDF)Watch: MSU at No. 5 Kentucky

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

LEXINGTON, Kentucky – Mississippi State's volleyball team faces its toughest challenge of the season to date when the Bulldogs take on defending national champions and No. 5 Kentucky on Wednesday at Memorial Coliseum.

State (12-4, 3-1 SEC) has already claimed victories over LSU and No. 17 Florida, two of the top three teams in the conference as predicted from the 2021 SEC Coaches Preseason Poll. The Wildcats (9-3, 2-0 SEC) are the lone undefeated team remaining in league action and are the SEC's preseason favorite.

The 3-1 SEC start for Mississippi State matches the program's best start through four conference matches. The Bulldogs enter the week tied for fourth place with South Carolina and Texas A&M in the SEC standings. State trails No. 20 Florida and No. 22 Tennessee by a half-match for second place.

Wednesday's first serve is on-tap for 5 p.m. CT, televised nationally by ESPNU. The match also will be streamed online courtesy of the www.ESPN.com/watch and via the ESPN app.

"We're trying to be the best version of ourselves heading into the Kentucky match with a lot of composure and confidence," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "We want to continue to play a style and a brand of volleyball that we've been playing all season long. If we can do that, we feel like we'll be in a good spot to compete with Kentucky. This is a tough league from top-to-bottom. Certainly, Kentucky is going to be a fun challenge and a fun battle, but I think it's a lot like Florida. I feel like we're ready to rise to the occasion, play excellent volleyball and continue to showcase that things are continuing to change for Mississippi State."

The Bulldogs continue to rank among the SEC's top six in kills per set (13.66 – 6th), assists per set (12.37 – 6th), and hitting percentage (.248 – 6th).

Mississippi State's three-headed pin attack is ignited by Shania Cromartie, Lauren Myrick and Gabby Waden who each are averaging over 2.50 kills per set. The trio has accounted for a combined 26 matches of 10-plus kills on the season.

Cromartie has collected double digit kills in three of her last six outings, fueled by a career-best 25 kills during State's 3-2 win at No. 17 Florida (09/24). For her efforts, she was named the SEC's Player and SEC's Offensive Player of the Week.
Myrick has registered seven of her top 10 career kill performances during the 2021 season and her 0.35 aces per set are sixth on the SEC leaderboard. She has belted 10-plus kills in 12 matches and amassed eight double-doubles on the season. Both marks are tied for second-best in the SEC. Myrick has come away with double-doubles in four of her last five outings.

Waden has powered home 10-plus kills in all four of her SEC outings and nine of her last 12 matches. She popped of a pair of 15-kill efforts versus LSU last weekend. For her career, Waden has cranked 879 career kills and is attempting to become the 11th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills.

Lilly Gunter has reeled in 10-plus digs in 13 of 15 matches wearing the libero jersey. The 13 outings of 10 or more digs is tied for second among SEC liberos and her 4.03 digs per set are fifth in the SEC. Gunter has eclipsed 20-plus digs on four occasions, fueled by a career-high 33 digs at No. 17 Florida (09/24). The 33 digs are the most by a SEC player during a single match in 2021.

State's setting tandem of Gabby Coulter and Margaret Dean has teamed up to distribute 10.72 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 3,260 career assists and nine double-doubles. Both players secured a double-double during one of the LSU matches last weekend.

MSU's middles of Sania Petties and Deja Robinson have combined for 2.94 kills and 1.88 blocks per set. Petties has dialed up a .346 hitting percentage which is tied for ninth in the SEC, while Robinson's 1.13 blocks are 10th on the SEC ledger.

Robinson recently moved into the program's top five and has amassed 333 career blocks, headed by 63 solo stuffs. She has provided five-plus blocks on seven times which is tied for fourth among SEC players.

Jessica Kemp and Rebecca Walk registered a combined 16 kills and six blocks during State's 3-2 win over LSU (10/02) off the bench.

"It's about us right now," Dennis said. "We're not trying to do anything outside of us and who we are. We're trying to play good volleyball that we can be proud of. If we can serve and pass at a high level, that will put us in a good position. That will allow us to be in-system where we can with speed. We want to keep our pins fast and keep our tempo."

"There's no doubt that Kentucky has really talented attackers and All-American type players that we know are going to make some crazy kills and some monster blocks," Dennis continued. "We know they're going to do some spectacular things. We will celebrate it for them, but we'll plan to move on, go forward and respond. If we're able to accomplish those things, I think our team will have a great trip to Lexington."

Following the Kentucky match, the Bulldogs continue a span of five of seven matches to start October inside the Newell-Grissom Building. State's next home match is versus South Carolina on Wednesday, October 13th, scheduled for a 6 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.