PREVIEW: Mississippi State Volleyball Season to Resume at South Carolina

STARKVILLE – For the first time in its 46-year history, spring has sprung for Mississippi State volleyball.

After its originally scheduled 2021 spring opener, set for January 29-30 against Georgia in Starkville, was postponed, MSU (2-6, 2-6 SEC) will begin the spring portion of its 2020-21 season with a two-match series at South Carolina (7-3, 7-3 SEC) Thursday and Friday (Feb. 4-5) at the Carolina Volleyball Center.

The series will kick off a 14-match conference-only slate for the Bulldogs after they played to a 2-6 record during the fall, highlighted by a series sweep of No. 7 Texas A&M on the road in November.

"We are really excited to open up the spring portion of our schedule," MSU volleyball coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "We took advantage of the extra time to train when last week's matches were postponed, and this group is so ready to compete against another team across the net. We enjoyed the opportunity to compete during the fall, and we are so grateful and excited about finishing up our season this spring.

"This group is special. There is a level of care for one another that I respect and admire. We have had some adversity, but they have handled it well and I am really looking forward to seeing them compete. They get after it every day in practice, and they are just such a fun group to coach and be around. The fall set the tone and changed our belief in who we are as a program and team. I am looking forward to continuing to grow and progress as a program, and that starts tomorrow at South Carolina."

Fans can watch the matches online via the SEC Network+ digital platform, with first serve of each contest coming at 6 p.m. CT.

The Bulldogs are looking for their first win over the Gamecocks since November 24, 2017, when they toppled the Gamecocks over four sets in Columbia. South Carolina swept the season series in 2019 on its way to an NCAA Tournament run.

South Carolina is coming off of three straight victories spanning back into the fall and received votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll. Last week the Gamecocks swept its series at Alabama to improve to 7-3 on the season. Senior Mikayla Robinson was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week after totaling 12 blocks between the two contests.

Match Information

Match 1
Opponent: South Carolina
Location: Carolina Volleyball Center | Columbia, S.C.
Date & Time: Thursday, Feb. 4 | 6 p.m. CT
Broadcast: SEC Network+ (No commentary)

Match 2
Opponent: South Carolina
Location: Carolina Volleyball Center | Columbia, S.C.
Date & Time: Friday, Feb. 5 | 6 p.m. CT
Broadcast: SEC Network+ (No commentary)

Series History

Overall: 13-36
at MSU: 8-12
at SC: 4-20
Neutral: 1-4
Last Meeting: Nov. 8, 2019 | Starkville, Miss. | South Carolina won, 3-1

First Serve

Mississippi State will debut a new face when it lines up in Columbia. Junior setter Gabby Coulter, who transferred to MSU from Marshall following the fall portion of State's 2020-21 season, is immediately eligible to compete for the Bulldogs this spring. Coulter is one of eight student-athletes on MSU's current roster that started her career at a different school.
The road trip to South Carolina is a homecoming for three MSU volleyball student-athletes. Sophomore Katie Culumovic (Simpsonville), graduate transfer Jessica Kemp (Fort Mill) and junior Gabby Waden (Columbia) all originated from the Palmetto State.
Junior right side hitter Gabby Waden ranks No. 9 in the SEC in kills (3.67 per set), the second-best mark among the league's right side hitters. She tallied double-digit kills in seven of eight matches during the fall.
Freshman libero Lilly Gunter's 3.36 digs per set (111 total) ranks No. 6 among the SEC's leaders and is the second highest average among SEC freshmen. She also leads her team in the category. The rookie started every match of the fall in the libero jersey.
With 55 solo blocks over three seasons, junior Deja Robinson is one away from a three-way tie for seventh among MSU's career leaders in the category.

For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching @HailStateVB.

Mississippi State University Athletics

PREVIEW: Mississippi State Volleyball Season to Resume at South Carolina

Players Mentioned

Gabby Coulter

Katie Culumovic

Lilly Gunter

Jessica Kemp

Deja Robinson

Gabby Waden

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