Volleyball Begins 2021 At Southern Miss

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

HATTIESBURG, Mississippi – The Mississippi State volleyball team will take its initial steps toward the 2021 season with an exhibition match at Southern Miss on Friday.

First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT from the Wellness Center in Hattiesburg. Admission is free, and fans can follow the match courtesy of Southern Miss' live stats.

The Bulldogs began their preseason camp on Saturday, August 7th and have participated in 16 practice sessions over a 13-day span.

"This group is experience heavy," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "Not everyone has experience here at Mississippi State, our players are very smart and are a high IQ group. Our players have done really done a good job of creating our core values and standards and holding each other to those standards. Our players are all over each other on their own because they know what they want to do and what they want to achieve. All of our players are very goal-focused and all about the mission right now."

Gabby Waden and Lilly Gunter will look to build off successful 2020-21 campaigns. Waden captured an All-SEC and AVCA All-Region pick, while Gunter earned a spot on the All-SEC Freshmen Team and was an AVCA All-Region honorable mention selection.

Waden checked in with 3.85 kills per set, sixth-best in the SEC, whereas Gunter anchored the back row with 3.43 digs per frame, also sixth on the SEC leaderboard.

Offensively, State returns 89.1 percent of its kills (794-of-891) from a season ago. Jessica Kemp, Callie Minshew, Lauren Myrick and Deja Robinson also averaged over a kill per set with Waden. Gabby Coulter, Katie Culumovic and Margaret Dean shared the setting duties, and all three are back for the 2021 season.

Itching to see an expanded role from last season are Shania Cromartie, Francesca McBride, Burgundy Walters and Alden Willis. Rebecca Walk, a native of Bay St. Louis, is ready to contribute after being named the 2020 Sun Belt's Freshman of the Year at South Alabama.

Mississippi State's freshmen class is eager to make an instant impact and features Yuliana Amador, Avery Fitzgerald, Sania Petties and Laughlin Murray.

Mississippi State's fall slate was highlighted by a series sweep at No. 7 Texas A&M, and the spring slate was headed by back-to-back wins over Ole Miss.

"I would like to see our group of 18 players get a heavy amount of experience where they feel super comfortable and super confident in the jersey, Dennis said. "That way we can open our season with confidence, poise and a competitive spirit like we've had in the past. I do think there are still some jitters with a few of our younger players, but that's normal and natural. We may make some mistakes, we're not going to be perfect but we will grow from those mistakes. That's the whole point of an exhibition is to gain some good experience."

Mississippi State will play host to Gonzaga and Southeastern Louisiana as part of the StarkVegas Classic next Friday and Saturday at the Newell-Grissom Building. 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.

Volleyball Begins 2021 At Southern Miss

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Players Mentioned

Yuliana Amador

Gabby Coulter

Shania Cromartie

Katie Culumovic

Margaret Dean

Avery Fitzgerald

Lilly Gunter

Jessica Kemp

Francesca McBride

Callie Minshew

Laughlin Murray

Lauren Myrick

Sania Petties

Deja Robinson

Gabby Waden

Rebecca Walk

Burgundy Walters

Alden Willis

Mississippi State University Athletics