Volleyball Rides Momentum Past Missouri In Five Sets

Saturday, November 6

Columbia, Mo.

2:00 PM

Mississippi State

19-5,10-2SEC

Missouri

4-21,1-11SEC

Mississippi St.

Missouri

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Volleyball Rides Momentum Past Missouri In Five Sets

November 06, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Coach Dennis Interview

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

COLUMBIA, Missouri – Mississippi State's volleyball team dug deep into its toolbox to find a way to capture its fifth straight five-set victory, extend its program-best SEC winning streak to seven matches and amass its program-record 10th SEC victory on the season as the Bulldogs turned away a pesky Missouri [22-25, 25-17, 25-15, 19-25, 16-14] squad on Saturday at the Hearnes Center.

The victory marked the 100th career win for head coach Julie Darty Dennis. It also enabled State (19-5, 10-2 SEC) to move past No. 23 Florida and back into sole possession of second place in the SEC standings.

The 19 wins are the fourth-most in program history for a single-season and most for the Bulldogs since the 1989 team posted a 20-14 record. The Maroon and White also snapped a 0-15 mark all-time versus Missouri (4-21, 1-11 SEC).

Mississippi State powered home 60 kills on a .323 hitting percentage, headed by an efficient and effective 28 kills on 54 swings with only two errors during sets two and three. The Bulldogs also worked their way to season-highs with 10 aces and 12 blocks.

"During that late timeout in the fifth set, we were talking about emotional control," Dennis said. "The team that is in control of their emotions is going to be the team that wins. Gabby [Waden] went up and had that huge solo block [at 13-13]. That was the moment we were like we got this. We knew we had to stay dialed in. We can do this, and our belief came back. I think it's all about the trust they have with each other. When they are out there, they play with that composure, belief, and trust. We're an outstanding volleyball team, and we have to remember that at all times."

State showcased its balanced attack with five players belting at least seven kills. Margaret Dean and Gabby Coulter dished out a combined 45 assists and 10 digs.

Lauren Myrick served as the lead car with 15 kills and seven digs. She has ripped 10-plus kills in 18 of her 22 appearances and nine of her 11 SEC outings.

Shania Cromartie registered her fifth double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs. She has popped 10 or more kills in four of her last five matches.

Fresh off her golden milestone of 1,000 career kills, Gabby Waden provided 14 kills and equaled a season's best with five blocks.

State's middles of Deja Robinson and Rebecca Walk made their presence felt teaming up for 15 kills and 11 blocks. Walk chipped in eight kills on a .400 attack ratio, tied a season-high with six blocks and slapped a career-best three aces, whereas Robinson fired in seven kills on a .455 hitting clip and secured at least five blocks for the 10th time this season.

"The middles did a fantastic job of being available offensively," Dennis said. "We were talking in the huddles a lot about how it doesn't matter how you score. We just have to find the floor. They did a really good job of buying into that and moving the ball around Once they put their hands over the net, that's when we started to see them get some good blocks. They were doing a good job of problem solving throughout this match and getting better as it went on longer. I'm really proud of them for working through a rough start."

Lilly Gunter collected nine digs, six assists and a season-high three aces. She also converted on all 12 of her reception attempts. Jessica Kemp added two blocks and four blocks, and Yuliana Amador rattled home a pair aces.

The back-and-forth fifth set featured eight ties and four lead changes. Missouri took an early 3-1 advantage but State responded with seven of the next 11 points to snatch a 9-7 lead of its own. The flurry was capped by a Myrick tip kill.

Then, two critical challenges went the Maroon and White's way. A long rally was stopped when Waden was charged with hitting the antenna. Review showed otherwise, and the point was replayed which turned into another Myrick kill to place State ahead 10-9.

Up 11-9, Missouri's was found being in the net which resulted in a Myrick kill to give the Bulldogs a three-point advantage. The Tigers answered with four of the next six points to knot the score at 13-13.

That set the stage for Waden who delivered a clutch solo stuff to bring State to match point. Missouri wouldn't go away with a sideout kill. The Bulldogs relied on their composure as Dean found Cromartie for a 1-on-1 kill off hands. Then, a Missouri attack error brought State to the winner's circle at 16-14.

"We talked about playing Mississippi State volleyball," Walk said. "Whenever we come back to ourselves and play like we know we can – Trusting in each other and playing Mississippi State volleyball like I said, no one can stop us. That showed tonight."

The Tigers took set one 25-22 to grab the early lead and tucked away a 25-19 decision in set four to extend the match. State controlled the middle stanzas with convincing 25-17 and 25-15 triumphs, respectively.

The Bulldogs found their rhythm with a 12-5 spurt after falling behind by 10 points during the opener. State carried that momentum into the second set. A Myrick back row kill followed a Walk transition kill out of the middle kickstarted an 8-2 run.

Three straight Missouri hitting miscues highlighted by a Robinson-Myrick block made it 11-5. A Gunter service run sparked by two aces and finished off with a Walk-Waden block allowed the Bulldogs to double up the scoreboard at 18-9. Waden fired a down-the-line and a tip kill to vault State to the 25-17 win.

The third set featured a number of similar components. Gunter tough jump serve pushed a 14-10 advantage out to 18-10. Cromartie took advantage of a Missouri overpass, paired with Walk for a block and used a roll shot to stretch it to an eight-point spread. Myrick sent a tip kill over the block, and another Waden kill completed the 25-15 rout.

"In that first set, we didn't score our first point from the service line until the 10th point. Our focus on serving tough and point scoring was almost forgotten, and I felt like we weren't ourselves. The end of that first set we got some momentum and energy to head into the second set. Through set two and three, we were playing such clean volleyball. We had one attacking error in each of those sets. Credit Missouri, they came storming back in that fourth set. That fifth set was down to the wire. This group has a lot resiliency and composure. I was very proud of them for gutting it out."

Mississippi State and Missouri wrap its weekend series with a Sunday matinee match at the Hearnes Center. First serve is set for 2 p.m. CT, and the match will be carried online only via www.ESPN.com/watch and the Watch ESPN app.

The next home matches for the Bulldogs are versus No. 22 Tennessee at the Newell-Grissom Building on November 13-14. First serve on both next Saturday and Sunday is locked in for 1 p.m. CT. 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.