Taking The Next Step

STARKVILLE – When Julie Darty Dennis began her tenure as Mississippi State volleyball coach not long after New Year's Day in 2018, she immediately started laying a foundation for her program. Since then, it has solidified. Bit by bit, the Bulldogs have developed more bite. Now, MSU is ready to try and take the next step.

State began striding forward once again this weekend as the Bulldogs opened up practice ahead of the upcoming 2021 season. And you better believe Dennis is ready to push her squad and continue their trek up the Southeastern Conference's volleyball mountain.

"We have to go into this year with the mindset to compete with every single team out there," Dennis said.

The Bulldogs have every right to attack this season with more confidence than ever before.

Slowly, quietly, Mississippi State has been on an upward trajectory since Dennis' arrival. MSU has progressed higher up the SEC standings in each year of her Bulldog coaching career. So could 2021 be the biggest jump yet? Pieces are certainly in place for that to be on the table.

"We have experience," Dennis said. "We have returners. We have veterans that have played big roles. I'm hoping they're prepared to play those roles and step up and close the gap on some of those two-point matches or five-setters where we were close last year, but now we have more perspective on how to get more wins.

"I think last year was a big step for a lot of those kids to go from sophomore to junior and for their roles to go from, 'I think I'm a clutch player', to, 'I am a clutch player.'"

The Bulldogs had huge wins a season ago that gave glimpses of the upward trajectory of the program. They had series sweeps of No. 7 Texas A&M, as well as instate rival Ole Miss. They split with Georgia. Those victories illustrated MSU's ability to go blow for blow with anyone. Make no mistake though, there's much to work on and much to improve in the coming days ahead of State's season opener. Progress must continue.

Luckily MSU has a driven, talented cast to try and make that progress. There's senior right side hitter Gabby Waden, fresh off an All-SEC season in which she was sixth in the conference in kills and second among the league's right sides.

"Last year was a big coming out party for her figuring out she is one of the best right sides in the league and she is going to get scouted heavily," Dennis said. "She's going to have to learn to adapt. Once you're All-SEC, you've got that tag on you the next year. This is a year for her to step up to the plate."

Waden isn't the only Bulldog to watch out for. There are veterans and newcomers alike primed to make this the best season yet in the Dennis era.

Lilly Gunter will look for a sophomore surge after getting chosen as an All-SEC Freshman last year. She started every set in the libero jersey a season ago and ranked sixth in the conference in digs. It was the second-best mark among conference rookies.

There's senior middle blocker Deja Robinson, a former All-SEC Freshman herself. She stands alongside Waden as two of the team's leaders. Robinson was one of five Bulldogs to appear in every set last season.

Junior outside hitter Callie Minshew is back, fresh off a year where she led MSU in service aces and was once named the SEC's Defensive Player of the Week.

The list goes on and on. Oh, and don't forget about a quartet of freshmen that Dennis is excited about – Yuliana Amador, Sania Petties, Avery Fitzgerald and Laughlin Murray. All are building blocks for the future of MSU volleyball, but could certainly factor in this year as well as they get their feet wet.

"They could really push some people around," Dennis said of her youngsters. "I hope what they don't know is a good thing. They don't know what this league is about. Like Avery Fitzgerald has an energy about her that she's just going to have a blast out there. I want them all to do that and see what happens."

With the start of practice, the freshmen have already begun to feel their way around the court. So what else is Dennis looking for in the coming days? What are some areas she's looking to develop ahead of the start of the season?

"Obviously we have a very good right side attack," Dennis said. "Offensively, we're good from the right pen. I want to see more from our outside hitters. I want to see more in terms of point scoring. We have to put more balls away. Then we have to be better with our block touch over there so that our opponent right side attack isn't as terminal against us. I think our middles always have room to improve. They're tremendous blockers, but we need them to improve offensively and be a bit more balanced. I just think the first few days of practice, it's going to be interesting."

Like any preseason for any team, for the Bulldogs there'll surely be moments of optimism over the course of these opening practices. There'll almost certainly be times of frustration as well. It's all a part of finding that perfect mix to get the most out of this MSU group.

It's all a process, but the goal is clear. Keep stepping forward as the team has done over the last few years. Then, if all goes as hoped, 2021 won't be just about a new step. It'll be about a giant leap.

"Everybody knows the conversation right now is that we want to be sitting together on Selection Sunday and hear our names called," Dennis said.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Yuliana Amador

Avery Fitzgerald

Lilly Gunter

Callie Minshew

Laughlin Murray

Sania Petties

Deja Robinson

Gabby Waden

Related Videos