Season-Opening Sweep

Friday, August 27

Starkville

4:00 PM

Mississippi State

1-0,0-0SEC

Gonzaga

1-1,0-0WCC

Gonzaga

Mississippi St.

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

August 27, 2021 | Volleyball

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by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State volleyball team fed off a raucous environment and cranked a .303 hitting percentage to roll to a 3-0 sweep [26-24, 25-22, 25-14] over Gonzaga inside the Newell-Grissom Building during Friday's season opener at the StarkVegas Classic.

Gabby Coulter and Margaret Dean ignited the Bulldogs (1-0) to 46 kills. The duo combined for 36 assists as Coulter dished out 21 dimes followed by Dean's 15 assists.

Mississippi State was effective and efficient with a 69.4 sideout percentage and converted on a sparkling 13-of-15 mark en route to an 86.7 mark during the third set.

Offensively, Lauren Myrick popped a match-leading 15 kills on a .452 attack percentage. She also secured seven digs, three aces and a block.

Shania Cromartie provided eight kills and 12 digs, while Sania Petties cranked seven kills on 12 swings for a .417 hitting clip and notched two blocks.

"I'll take a .303 [hitting percentage] any night," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "Both of our setters, Gabby [Coulter] and Margaret [Dean], did a fantastic job. They're both so different, but they bring so much good energy to the table. They have three rotations to go in and really get the job done. They both do it in their own way. I thought they were putting up good hittable balls for everybody tonight. I think we're still trying to get the middle blockers more involved in transition, but our middles Sania [Petties] and Deja [Robinson] both did a good job of getting their [Gonzaga's] middles to hold with them and create splits for our outsides. I don't think Lauren [Myrick] could have the performance she had without the middles working as hard they did."

State also received six kills courtesy of Gabby Waden coupled with five kills and four digs from Jessica Kemp. Deja Robinson chipped in four kills and two blocks.

Defensively, the Bulldogs limited Gonzaga's offense to 34 kills and a .221 hitting percentage. Lilly Gunter fueled the back row with 10 digs.

"Our defense was amazing today. Credit to Shania [Cromartie] and Lilly [Gunter]," Myrick said. "They pretty much dug everything up. The middles [Sania Petties, Deja Robinson] created [a lot of] splits for us outside hitters. The sets [from Gabby Coulter and Margaret Dean] were great today. It was really a whole team effort."

The opening two back-and-forth frames featured a combined 25 ties and 11 lead changes.

Down 23-19 in set one, Mississippi State fought through adversity and put together a strong finishing kick. Consecutive kills from Myrick and Petties wiped away set points and drew the Bulldogs all square at 24-24. Then, Dean ripped an ace, and Petties took advantage of a Gonzaga overpass to close out the stanza, 26-24.

Knotted up at 22-22 during the second set, Mississippi State once again executed in the clutch. This time it was Waden, who cranked back-to-back kills coupled with a Gonzaga hitting error to vault the Bulldogs to a two-set advantage.

Mississippi State was clicking on all cylinders in set three and ripped off seven of the next eight points to break a 3-3 tie. The Bulldogs slapped 18 kills on a .455 attack percentage. The trio of Cromartie, Kemp and Myrick did the heavy lifting with 13 kills on a combined 21 errorless swings. State's defense also improved its will and bottled up Gonzaga to eight kills on a paltry .062 hitting percentage.

"We're looking for our team to be consistent," Dennis said. "If they can be the same team for two days or even two matches in a row – that will be really exciting for us especially as we get ready for league play. There is not a lot of time to scout and to make adjustments. It's going to be another battle like it was today. Obviously, both teams will make adjustments. It's going to be fun to watch the teams play again."

Mississippi State wraps the StarkVegas Classic on Saturday with matches against Gonzaga and Southeastern Louisiana. First serves are set for 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. Both matches will be streamed online via SEC Network+ and the Watch ESPN app.

Admission is free to all home volleyball matches with gates opening one hour prior to first serve.

In accordance with Mississippi State University policies, face coverings are required to be worn at all times during all indoor athletic events unless fans are actively eating or drinking. Mississippi State Athletics has designed a socially distanced seating plan to welcome fans to the Newell-Grissom Building in the healthiest manner possible for the 2021 season.

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.