A Darty Party Like No Other
November 26, 2021 | Volleyball, Joel Coleman
Bulldogs wrap up best regular season ever and now can look ahead to first-ever postseason appearance.
STARKVILLE – Vehicles entered and exited the Newell-Grissom Building parking lot on Friday afternoon, each one unsuccessfully finding a spot before moving on to other parts of campus to continue the search. The lot at The Griss was jam-packed. The inside of the facility was crammed as well, full of the Maroon and White faithful.
There'd been plenty of Darty Parties in this venue before. There'd never been one like this one, four years in the making.
In front of a maximum capacity crowd of 2,293 rowdy fans who understood the assignment for MSU's regular-season finale, No. 24-ranked Mississippi State volleyball topped Auburn in straight sets (25-23, 25-23, 28-26). It was State's 13th straight victory, it kept MSU in the running for a share of the Southeastern Conference championship, and it put the exclamation point on a resume that'll almost assuredly earn the first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance for the Bulldogs.
A Florida win over Kentucky on Saturday would give MSU a share of the SEC crown. Regardless of what happens in the league, State will learn its NCAA fate on Sunday night. At this point, it seems not like a matter of, 'If', but a matter of 'Against who?' That fact had State head coach Julie Darty Dennis fighting back tears as she tried to put it all into words after Friday's triumph.
"This is such a special team," an emotional Dennis said. "This 2021 volleyball program is a special, special team. They had their eyes on this prize. They committed. They sacrificed. I love coaching them. I love every single one of them. I can't believe they're going to reach this milestone this quickly. It just has me so excited for the future of this program."
The future can wait at least a bit though. The present is shining bright as is.
It's incredible really. When Dennis took over the MSU program before the 2018 season, this is what she envisioned, yet she knew it'd be a process to achieve it. Year by year, the Bulldogs improved, finishing progressively higher in the SEC each season and inching towards the NCAA door. They'll have to wait until Sunday to celebrate in earnest, but on Friday, after one of the most remarkable one-year jumps in MSU sports history, the Bulldogs have figuratively kicked that door right off its hinges.
It's a credit to each Bulldog on the roster. This is a group who, before this year even began, ignored the fact they were but 5-15 a season ago and had a stated goal to get where no group before them had. No one outside the program would've thought it possible. Good thing 'no one' wasn't in the State locker room.
Against all odds, against all comers, the Dawgs just found a way. Match after match, State was up to the task.
The Bulldogs showed glimpses of greatness early, taking down Big Ten opponent Indiana and Big 12 foe Oklahoma in the non-conference portion of the schedule. When MSU split on the road with a ranked Florida team a few weeks later and followed that up with a sweep at home over LSU, it started to become apparent. Mississippi State was for real.
After a loss to Kentucky on Oct. 6, the Bulldogs haven't lost since. But the funny thing is, this hasn't really been some David and Goliath story. Yes, it started out that way, but somehow, in this version, David has amazingly become one of the Goliaths. But how? How did these Bulldogs achieve all this?
"They have chemistry. They love each other," Dennis explains. "I think our strength is our depth. I can call anybody off the bench, and I don't think our level is going to drop. I think they're going to be a spark plug and really push us. But they really are just so present and focused on the right now. There's not a stage that's too big for them. They're very composed. They're very poised. They're a very mature group. Our leaders have done a fantastic job of keeping this team very focused and level-headed. I just love them to pieces. This is a very emotional day and they played in front of a record-setting crowd with a lot of poise. It was fun to watch."
It sure was. When Shania Cromartie delivered the match-ending kill, all those people filling up The Griss exploded. Each one knew what this meant.
No one needed to wait for Sunday. Official? No, but these Bulldogs are NCAA Tournament bound. They have to be.
What a group of coaches. What a team. What a story.
"It just makes me want to tell every little girl to dream big, because why not dream big?" Dennis said. "That's exactly what we did this year and if you work hard, you can reach your dreams."
