Volleyball Battles No. 5 Kentucky To Four-Setter

Wednesday, October 6

Lexington, Ky.

5:00 PM

Mississippi State

12-5,3-2SEC

No. 5 Kentucky

10-3,3-0SEC

Mississippi St.

Kentucky

Volleyball Battles No. 5 Kentucky To Four-Setter

October 06, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

LEXINGTON, Kentucky – Mississippi State's volleyball team went toe-to-toe with the defending national champions on the road, but No. 5 Kentucky emerged with a four-set decision [25-21, 21-25, 15-25, 22-25] on Wednesday evening at Memorial Coliseum.

The Bulldogs (12-5, 3-2 SEC) had their three-match SEC winning streak come to a close. The first five SEC matches for State were against the top three teams as predicted in the 2021 preseason coaches poll.

The Maroon and White entered the match winners of three of their last four SEC road matches against ranked opponents under Julie Darty Dennis and were poised to pull another upset in-front of a national television audience after rallying to claim the opening stanza, 25-21.

However, Kentucky (10-3, 3-0 SEC) was able to wipe away early State advantages during set two and set four as the four-time defending SEC champions were able to remain the league's lone undefeated team in conference play.

"I felt like that first set gave us a lot of confidence and momentum going into set two," Dennis said. "I wish we were able to capitalize on the way we started set two and been a little cleaner. Going up 2-0 would have put us in a better position. Overall, I'm super proud of this group for never backing down, even after being behind for most of that fourth set. We didn't stop fighting. We weren't going to give up, and we stayed super tough from the service line. We were risky back there, which is why we had more errors than aces. I was really proud of the team for going back there trying to point score, be aggressive and assert that part of our game plan onto Kentucky."

Gabby Waden rattled home a match-leading 16 kills on a crisp .324 hitting percentage and added a pair of blocks. She extended her run to all five SEC matches and 10 of her last 13 outings with double-digit kills. Waden has ripped 15-plus in four of those five SEC appearances.

Lauren Myrick, a Louisville, Kentucky native, turned in a strong all-around effort with 10 kills, 13 digs and a career-best four blocks during a return to her home state. She has worked her way to five double-doubles over her last six matches. Myrick also was an effective 27-of-28 in the serve-pass game.

Shania Cromartie clocked nine kills and was a spotless 22-for-22 on her serve-receive attempts. The 22 passes without a reception error is a career-best for Cromartie.

"Waden was hot tonight and carried a huge load for us offensively," Dennis said. "I'm super proud of her composure and her execution under pressure. We always learn from our losses even though they still sting. Playing a team like Kentucky in this type of environment is going to have some great lessons for us. I think we're a tough group. We have a day off tomorrow to press the reset button. Then, we'll need to get back to playing good, clean volleyball. We made some errors tonight, which isn't always pretty, but I thought the scrap and the fight was just as gritty as it's ever been."

Lilly Gunter grinded her way to another 20-dig effort at the libero position and distributed three assists coupled with an ace. She has provided 10-plus digs in eight consecutive matches, headlined by 20 or more digs during three of her last four efforts.

Mississippi State's setters, Gabby Coulter and Margaret Dean, dished out a combined 37 assists and picked up 13 digs. Dean nearly registered a double dip of her own with 21 assists and nine digs.

Sania Petties provided three kills, three digs, two blocks and an ace, whereas Jessica Kemp came away with three kills off the bench.

As a team, Mississippi State started with 14 kills and a .333 hitting percentage in the opening set. The Bulldogs converted on 15 of their 21 sideout attempts. Kentucky limited the Maroon and White to 32 kills and recorded 11.5 of their 12.5 blocks over the final three sets.

The opening set featured five early ties as the two teams split the first 14 points. Kentucky crept out to a 20-16 edge, but the Bulldogs rallied behind an eight-point service run from Gunter's jump serve.

Cromartie kickstarted the flurry with a sideout kill, while a Gunter ace off the tape made it 20-19. State surged ahead behind a trio of Waden kills. She went down the line to place the Bulldogs ahead 21-20 and used a crosscourt cannon shot to vault State to set point at 24-20. A UK attack error closed out the 25-21 victory for the Bulldogs.

The momentum stayed on the Maroon and White's side during the opening stages of set two. Waden and Dean pieced together back-to-back kills to give State an 11-7 advantage. Dean's kill ended a long rally and was placed perfectly deep in the UK back line. The Wildcats were able to turn the tables with 10 of the next 13 points to take their own lead at 17-14.

Mississippi State used a Myrick solo block to draw even at 18-18. The next sequence of a service error and a challenge that turned into a UK kill gave the Wildcats a lead it wouldn't relinquish. State kept the pressure on and pulled within a point at 20-19, 21-20 and 22-21. Kentucky would score the last three points to tie the match at a set each, 25-21.

The Wildcats rode a 10-point charge to open the third set and never looked back to tuck away a 25-15 decision.

State inched out to a 6-2 spread to begin the fourth set. Myrick broke a 2-2 tie with a tip kill off the block then added two more kills sandwiched between a Kemp slide spike. Kentucky was able to weather the early storm and snatched a 19-16 spread in its favor on a block that ended a long back-and-forth rally.

The Bulldogs made one final push on another Kemp kill and a Petties-Waden block to slice the deficit down to 19-18. Kentucky went back ahead by three points after a sideout kill and an ace, 21-18. The Wildcats were able to maintain the three-point cushion and closed out the match, 25-22.

"I've learned through these first five SEC matches that the team isn't scared, and the team isn't scared of a number next to a name," Dennis said. "They're willing to climb the mountain, and they're willing to do it together. When we're composed, when we believe and when we trust each other, the product is really good. At times, I think we're still trying to sustain that composure and that level of volleyball that we want to play for longer stretches of time. This group has really impressed me with how quickly they're able to make adjustments and how quickly they're able to learn."

"We get a week to prepare for South Carolina at home," Dennis continued. "I feel we are equally as tough at home as we are on the road. I know this next week we'll get back after it in the practice gym and make the adjustments that we need to make. I think we'll put out really scrappy and good Mississippi State volleyball product against a quality South Carolina team."

The Bulldogs return home and look to continue to protect their home floor with five of seven matches to start October inside the Newell-Grissom Building.

State squares off with South Carolina, a top 20 RPI team, next Wednesday. First serve is slated for a 6 p.m. CT, streamed online by SEC Network+ and available via the ESPN app. Admission is free for all home volleyball matches with gates opening one hour prior to first serve.

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