Volleyball Begins Busy Week With Alabama

Wednesday, November 3

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

Alabama

VB 2021 - Waden, Myrick, Robinson Smiling - Gonzaga

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Volleyball Begins Busy Week With Alabama

November 02, 2021 | Volleyball

Notes (PDF)WATCH: MSU vs. Alabama STATS: MSU vs. Alabama

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's volleyball team embarks on three matches over the next five days as the Bulldogs start November with a midweek tilt versus Alabama Wednesday at the Newell-Grissom Building.

The Bulldogs (17-5, 8-2 SEC) have climbed into a second-place tie with No. 23 Florida in the SEC standings on the strength of a five-match winning streak, the longest streak in program history during conference play. State and Florida enter the week 1.5 matches behind league leader and No. 5 Kentucky.

The Bulldogs sit at No. 30 in this week's RPI rankings. Mississippi State has defeated five teams ranked among the RPI's top 50 this season, headed by four teams during its current winning streak.

Wednesday's first serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT. The match will be televised nationally by SEC Network and streamed online courtesy of www.ESPN.com/watch and the ESPN app.

In accordance with current CDC and Mississippi Department of Health guidelines, all individuals are encouraged to wear face coverings over the nose and mouth in all indoor locations while on the MSU campus. However, should the level of transmission in Oktibbeha County increase to "substantial" or "high," the CDC and MSDH will require all individuals to wear face coverings regardless of vaccination status.

"It was different having a week between matches, but it was much needed for our team," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "We had some time off, and we also had practices where we could work and focus on us before talking about another opponent. We're going to play a lot of volleyball coming up. We need to be focused on each opponent, each set and each match."

"We continue to talk about climbing the mountain and putting the work in so we can have a good rest of the season," Dennis continued. "We're not talking about things that are too far in front of us. We're focusing on league play because we know that anyone can beat anyone on any given night in this tough conference. The girls are really doing a good job on staying focused and locking in on what's in-front of them."

The Bulldogs continue to check in among the SEC's top six in kills per set (13.80 – 4th), assists per set (12.58 – 4th) and hitting percentage (.242 – 6th). State has won 32 of its 34 sets on the season when posting a .300 attack ratio or better.

Gabby Waden, Lauren Myrick and Shania Cromartie continue to do the heavy lifting from the outside. The trio has accounted for a combined 40 outings of 10-plus kills on the season.

Waden is on the cusp of becoming the 11th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills as she enters Wednesday's action nine away from the milestone. Her 3.89 kills per set are third, her 4.20 points per set are fifth and her .352 hitting percentage is eighth on the conference leaderboard during SEC matches. Waden has cranked 15-plus kills in eight of her 10 SEC outings.

For the season, Waden has powered home a team-leading 3.44 kills per set and a .343 hitting percentage. Her 15 matches of 10-plus kills is just outside the SEC's top 10. She is coming off a 20-kill, five-block performance at Georgia (10/27).

"I think it's cool that Gabby has set this goal, and she has a good chance of reaching this goal," Dennis said. "Knowing Gabby, she wants to win much more than getting to 1,000 kills. She's going to do everything in her power to get a team win. She has hit off of a lot of different setters in her time at Mississippi State. For her to score that many points in such a short time shows the work she has put in through the years. She has done a good job of developing an elite level arm with attacking range and even excellent court vison. She has done a wonderful job on being someone we can count on all the time. I think it's a cool milestone for her, but I'm sure she's thinking how many over 1,000 that she can get."

Cromartie has registered 2.61 kills and 2.01 digs per set. She has found her groove with 10-plus kills in two of her last three and three of her last five outings. Cromartie tucked away 13 kills and 12 digs to compile her fourth double-double of the season against Texas A&M (10/24).

Myrick has been stockpiling the double-doubles with eight over her last 10 matches. The 12 double dips overall for Myrick are third, while her seven double-doubles in league play are second among SEC players.

Myrick has dialed up 10-plus kills in 17 of her 20 appearances. She has turned in seven of her top 10 kill performances this season. The 17 matches of 10 or more kills is tied for second in the SEC.

Lilly Gunter has been a strong force on the back row as one the SEC's top liberos where has racked up 10 or more digs in 19 of 21 matches, headed by 13 straight matches dating back to the Oklahoma match on September 10. The 19 outings of 10 or more digs is tied for second, while her seven efforts of 20-plus digs are third among the SEC leaders.

Gunter's 4.45 digs per set during league matches are fourth in the SEC rankings. She has piled up 20-plus digs in four of her last seven outings and 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.
State's setting tandem of Gabby Coulter and Margaret Dean have paired up to distribute 10.89 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 3,553 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. 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 2.77 kills and 1.74 blocks per set. Petties' .316 hitting clip is 10th on the SEC ledger with Robinson's .315 hitting ratio right behind her. Robinson has collected nine matches of five-plus blocks this season, good enough for a fourth place tie in the SEC rankings. Her 348 career blocks and 63 solo blocks are fifth in program history.

Jessica Kemp and Rebecca Walk have combined to pile up 67 kills and 21 blocks during State's last seven 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.

"For us to be successful, we need to continue to be ourselves," Dennis said. "We need to set the tone and set the pace early. At Georgia, I think there was an overall feeling that we weren't playing our best volleyball. I'm hoping that on Wednesday we can come out and set the tone early. We need to get into our routine with our middles and our outsides."

Following this weekend's matchups at Missouri, Mississippi State plays host to No. 22 Tennessee at the Newell-Grissom Building on November 13-14. First serve on both days is locked in for 1 p.m. CT with both matches carried online only via 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.