Saturday, August 28
Starkville
4:00 PM
Mississippi State
4-0,0-0SEC
3
vs
1
Southeastern Louisiana
0-2,0-0Southland
1
2
3
4
F
Southeastern La.
8
15
25
21
1
Mississippi St.
25
25
18
25
3
A 3-0 Opening Weekend
August 28, 2021 | Volleyball
by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's volleyball team protected its home floor and capped an undefeated opening weekend courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Southeastern Louisiana [25-8, 25-15, 18-25, 25-21] during Saturday's action at the StarkVegas Classic inside the Newell-Grissom Building.
State's (3-0) offensive attack was incendiary all weekend and converted on over a .300 hitting percentage in three matches. The Bulldogs ripped 67 kills and a .333 hitting percentage versus the Lady Lions (0-2). For the weekend, the Maroon and White banged home 16.1 kills per set.
Lauren Myrick, the tournament's MVP, turned in a double-double performance with 14 kills and 15 digs. She powered home a team-leading 4.1 kills per set for the weekend.
Gabby Waden, an All-Tournament pick, powered home 11 of her match-high 19 kills over the first two sets en route to a .438 attack percentage. She also tacked on five blocks.
Gabby Coulter joined Myrick on the double-double train with 32 assists and 11 digs, while Lilly Gunter sprawled out for a match-leading 21 digs and added seven assists of her own. Gunter gave State three players on the All-Tournament squad for the weekend.
"I'm excited for Lauren because she's been working so hard in the offseason," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "She has worked a lot on her serve and worked a lot on her passing game. Now, I think she's become a really well-rounded outside hitter for us. She's someone that we can rely on, and it was fun to watch her come in to her own this weekend."
"Gabby [Waden] constantly had four hands in her face, and I think she was really ready for those moments," Dennis continued. "She wanted to get back to where she left off last year in being a go-to player for our team. She was absolutely super clutch for us and also did a great job with her block. Defensively, Lilly had a great night anchoring us in the back row. That's something that everybody is excited about and confident with. For us to out-dig them, 74-44, that's huge. It just goes to show we were willing to outwork them and find a way to get the win."
Margaret Dean provided 20 assists and five digs for the Bulldogs. Her connection with Jessica Kemp led to 10 kills and a scintillating .643 hitting ratio for Kemp.
Mississippi State's block also proved to be a major factor and bottled up Southeastern Louisiana to a paltry .148 attack mark. Deja Robinson worked her way to eight kills and seven blocks, whereas Shania Cromartie stuffed the stats sheet with nine kills, 11 digs, two aces and two blocks.
"Gabby Coulter and Margaret Dean – they do a fantastic job," Dennis said. "I especially thought Margaret did a great job finding Jessica, and she [Kemp] did a really great job of keeping us in with a bunch of big swings. She gets them done quietly, but she had 10 kills on the night and was extremely efficient. There is a level of trust with both of our setters, and their connection with the middles came alive tonight to get the job done for us. I also thought Deja was incredible for us both offensively and defensively with her block."
The pistons were firing on all cylinders for State during the opening set. The Bulldogs buried 18 kills, a .455 hitting percentage and tucked away an 88.9 percent sideout ratio to fuel a 25-8 rout. Waden and Myrick carried the offensive load with six kills apiece as Gunter and Cromartie sparked the back row unit with 13 combined digs.
The Bulldogs validated their first set effort with an encore performance in set two as State struck for 18 more kills and a 73.3 percent sideout mark to garner a 25-15 decision. Rebecca Walk saw her first extended action of the regular season and notched a trio of kills.
Southeastern Louisiana spoiled the Bulldogs attempt an immaculate opening weekend and snatched the third frame, 25-18.
The fourth set settled in to be a tightly-contested affair with 11 ties and a pair of lead changes, the latest coming at 19-19. Mississippi State dug deep and reeled off six of the last eight points at closing time. Sania Petties got involved with two blocks which bookended consecutive Kemp kills to make it 23-19. At 23-21, Myrick provided the cherry on top with a sideout kill followed by a match-clinching ace.
"Our fans showed up. They were engaged, they kept us going and they kept us in it," Dennis said. "Then, they helped us push through at the end of the match. I think we played off their energy, and we can't thank them enough for coming out for both days. Going on the road is tough especially after you play at home, but we're definitely ready. Like I said, we want to be challenged. Houston is an incredible team and they're bringing in a couple more teams to make it a tough tournament. We're excited about next weekend's challenges ahead."
Mississippi State hits the road for the next two weekends. First up, a trip to Houston and the Flo Hyman Classic where the Bulldogs are scheduled to meet McNeese State (Friday – 10 a.m. CT), Houston (Friday – 6:30 p.m. CT) and Louisiana-Monroe (Saturday – 2 p.m. CT).
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.
StarkVegas Classic All-Tournament Team
Lauren Myrick (MVP) – Mississippi State
Lilly Gunter – Mississippi State
Gabby Waden – Mississippi State
Cara McKenzie – Gonzaga
McKena Marshall – Gonzaga
Crispin Adams – Southeastern Louisiana
Cicily Hidalgo – Southeastern Louisiana
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's volleyball team protected its home floor and capped an undefeated opening weekend courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Southeastern Louisiana [25-8, 25-15, 18-25, 25-21] during Saturday's action at the StarkVegas Classic inside the Newell-Grissom Building.
State's (3-0) offensive attack was incendiary all weekend and converted on over a .300 hitting percentage in three matches. The Bulldogs ripped 67 kills and a .333 hitting percentage versus the Lady Lions (0-2). For the weekend, the Maroon and White banged home 16.1 kills per set.
Lauren Myrick, the tournament's MVP, turned in a double-double performance with 14 kills and 15 digs. She powered home a team-leading 4.1 kills per set for the weekend.
Gabby Waden, an All-Tournament pick, powered home 11 of her match-high 19 kills over the first two sets en route to a .438 attack percentage. She also tacked on five blocks.
Gabby Coulter joined Myrick on the double-double train with 32 assists and 11 digs, while Lilly Gunter sprawled out for a match-leading 21 digs and added seven assists of her own. Gunter gave State three players on the All-Tournament squad for the weekend.
"I'm excited for Lauren because she's been working so hard in the offseason," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "She has worked a lot on her serve and worked a lot on her passing game. Now, I think she's become a really well-rounded outside hitter for us. She's someone that we can rely on, and it was fun to watch her come in to her own this weekend."
"Gabby [Waden] constantly had four hands in her face, and I think she was really ready for those moments," Dennis continued. "She wanted to get back to where she left off last year in being a go-to player for our team. She was absolutely super clutch for us and also did a great job with her block. Defensively, Lilly had a great night anchoring us in the back row. That's something that everybody is excited about and confident with. For us to out-dig them, 74-44, that's huge. It just goes to show we were willing to outwork them and find a way to get the win."
Margaret Dean provided 20 assists and five digs for the Bulldogs. Her connection with Jessica Kemp led to 10 kills and a scintillating .643 hitting ratio for Kemp.
Mississippi State's block also proved to be a major factor and bottled up Southeastern Louisiana to a paltry .148 attack mark. Deja Robinson worked her way to eight kills and seven blocks, whereas Shania Cromartie stuffed the stats sheet with nine kills, 11 digs, two aces and two blocks.
"Gabby Coulter and Margaret Dean – they do a fantastic job," Dennis said. "I especially thought Margaret did a great job finding Jessica, and she [Kemp] did a really great job of keeping us in with a bunch of big swings. She gets them done quietly, but she had 10 kills on the night and was extremely efficient. There is a level of trust with both of our setters, and their connection with the middles came alive tonight to get the job done for us. I also thought Deja was incredible for us both offensively and defensively with her block."
The pistons were firing on all cylinders for State during the opening set. The Bulldogs buried 18 kills, a .455 hitting percentage and tucked away an 88.9 percent sideout ratio to fuel a 25-8 rout. Waden and Myrick carried the offensive load with six kills apiece as Gunter and Cromartie sparked the back row unit with 13 combined digs.
The Bulldogs validated their first set effort with an encore performance in set two as State struck for 18 more kills and a 73.3 percent sideout mark to garner a 25-15 decision. Rebecca Walk saw her first extended action of the regular season and notched a trio of kills.
Southeastern Louisiana spoiled the Bulldogs attempt an immaculate opening weekend and snatched the third frame, 25-18.
The fourth set settled in to be a tightly-contested affair with 11 ties and a pair of lead changes, the latest coming at 19-19. Mississippi State dug deep and reeled off six of the last eight points at closing time. Sania Petties got involved with two blocks which bookended consecutive Kemp kills to make it 23-19. At 23-21, Myrick provided the cherry on top with a sideout kill followed by a match-clinching ace.
"Our fans showed up. They were engaged, they kept us going and they kept us in it," Dennis said. "Then, they helped us push through at the end of the match. I think we played off their energy, and we can't thank them enough for coming out for both days. Going on the road is tough especially after you play at home, but we're definitely ready. Like I said, we want to be challenged. Houston is an incredible team and they're bringing in a couple more teams to make it a tough tournament. We're excited about next weekend's challenges ahead."
Mississippi State hits the road for the next two weekends. First up, a trip to Houston and the Flo Hyman Classic where the Bulldogs are scheduled to meet McNeese State (Friday – 10 a.m. CT), Houston (Friday – 6:30 p.m. CT) and Louisiana-Monroe (Saturday – 2 p.m. CT).
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.
StarkVegas Classic All-Tournament Team
Lauren Myrick (MVP) – Mississippi State
Lilly Gunter – Mississippi State
Gabby Waden – Mississippi State
Cara McKenzie – Gonzaga
McKena Marshall – Gonzaga
Crispin Adams – Southeastern Louisiana
Cicily Hidalgo – Southeastern Louisiana
Team Stats
SL
MSU
Kills
36
67
Errors
15
19
Attempts
142
144
Hitting %
.148
.333
Points
48
79.5
Assists
31
63
Aces
5
3
Blocks
7
9.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballOH/RS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ Volleyball
MB
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