Volleyball Turns Focus To Missouri

Saturday, November 6

Columbia, Mo.

2:00 PM

Mississippi State

Missouri

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Volleyball Turns Focus To Missouri

November 05, 2021 | Volleyball

Notes (PDF)Watch: MSU vs. Missouri (Saturday)Stats: MSU vs. Missouri (Saturday)Watch: MSU vs. Missouri (Sunday)Stats: MSU vs. Missouri (Sunday)

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

COLUMBIA, Missouri – Mississippi State's volleyball team caps a busy stretch of three matches in five days and makes the turn past the two-thirds mark of its SEC slate as the Bulldogs travel to Missouri for a pair of road tilts over the weekend at the Hearnes Center.

State (18-5, 9-2 SEC) holds possession of the SEC's longest winning streak at six consecutive matches, which also is a program record in conference play for the Maroon and White.

The Bulldogs are tied with No. 23 Florida for second place, and both teams sit a match back of No. 5 Kentucky for the top spot in the SEC standings entering this weekend's action.

First serve for both Saturday and Sunday is set for 2 p.m. CT. Both matches will be streamed online courtesy of www.ESPN.com/watch and the ESPN app.

"After the sweep of Alabama, I was really impressed with the amount of work and focus that we had during yesterday's practice in our gym," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "We had a quality two hours in there. We also had a quality walkthrough at Missouri's gym earlier today, and I feel we're prepared for a tough doubleheader this weekend."

"Missouri is hungry, and we know they want to win," Dennis continued. "They're going to scrap, they're going to claw, and they're going to serve really tough. We know they're going to be well-prepared for us. We feel that pressure of having a target on our back, but we know pressure is a privilege. I believe we're going to get Missouri's best version of themselves. There's no doubt in my mind that we're certainly going to have to play our best volleyball for us to be successful this weekend."

The Bulldogs continue to be ranked among the SEC's top half in kills per set (13.88 – 4th), assists per set (12.59 – 4th) and hitting percentage (.243 – 6th).

State has improved those marks to 14.80 kills per set, 13.56 assists per set and a .249 attack ratio during its six-match winning streak. The Bulldogs have produced over a .300 hitting clip in 10 of the last 15 sets that the Bulldogs have won.

Gabby Waden, Lauren Myrick and Shania Cromartie have racked up a combined 42 outings of 10-plus kills on the season.
Waden recently etched her name in the program's 1,000 kills club against Alabama on Wednesday. The SEC Player of the Year candidate has amassed 3.87 kills, 4.19 points and a .355 hitting percentage, all marks inside the league's top 10.

Waden has hammered home 15-plus kills in eight of her 11 SEC outings. Her career-high of 31 kills at Ole Miss (10/17) are the most by a SEC player in a conference match in 2021.

Cromartie has pumped in 2.64 kills and 2.08 digs per set. She has found her rhythm as of late with 10-plus kills in three of her last four and four of her last six matches. Cromartie provided 10 kills and nine digs to nearly captured her fifth double-double versus Alabama earlier this week.

Myrick has been a double-doubles machine with eight over her last 11 matches. Her 12 double dips overall are third on the SEC leaderboard, while her seven double-doubles in conference action are good enough for second place. Myrick has powered home 10-plus kills in 17 of her 21 appearances, headed by eight of her 10 SEC outings.

Lilly Gunter has been the driving force on the back row as one of the SEC's best liberoes. She has compiled 10 or more digs in 14 consecutive matches since the Oklahoma match on September 10 and in 20 of her 22 appearances on the season.

Gunter's 4.15 digs per set are fifth, her 20 matches of 10-plus digs is second and her seven outings of 20 or more digs is third among SEC liberoes. Her career-high of 33 digs at No 17 Florida (09/24) are tied for the second-most by a SEC player during the 2021 campaign.

State's dynamic setting duo of Gabby Coulter and Margaret Dean have teamed to pass out 10.91 assist per set, which would be fourth among SEC setters if running a 5-1 offensive system. The pair has combined for 3,588 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.

Sania Petties and Deja Robinson have tallied 2.82 kills and 1.73 blocks per set primarily from the middle blocker spot. Robinson's .323 hitting percentage is 10th in the SEC rankings, while her team-leading 1.07 blocks are just outside the league rankings. Her 351 career blocks and 64 solo stuffs are fifth-best at MSU.

Jessica Kemp and Rebecca Walk have combined to pile up 75 kills and 24 blocks during State's last eight 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.

"Every single day, we have to have tunnel vision for whatever is in front of us," Dennis said. "If that's practice, we're focused on two hours of good work, quality reps and getting better. If it's competition, we're focused on that opportunity for us to continue to climb the mountain. We're taking it day-by-day, and dialed in on each opportunity to get better and to put ourselves in a position to reach our ultimate goal, which is postseason."

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.