Myrick Vaults Volleyball Past South Alabama, 3-1

Saturday, September 18

Starkville

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

8-3,0-0SEC

South Alabama

7-4,0-0Sun Belt

South Alabama

Mississippi St.

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Myrick Vaults Volleyball Past South Alabama, 3-1

September 18, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's volleyball team made an emphatic return to the win column behind Lauren Myrick's fifth double-double of the season as the Bulldogs defeated South Alabama [25-18, 17-25, 25-13, 25-23] on day two of the Hail State Invitational at the Newell-Grissom Building.

Myrick pulverized 14 of her career-high 20 kills during sets three and four to bring the Maroon and White (8-3) to the finish line. She also tucked away 10 digs, buried three aces and was an effective 32-for-33 on her reception attempts. Myrick has provided double-doubles in three of her last five outings.

Gabby Waden and Shania Cromartie did their part to support Myrick and gave the Bulldogs three players with double-digit kills. Waden belted 13 kills to go along with five blocks, while Cromartie notched 12 kills, five digs and converted all 15 of her attempts for a perfect passer rating. Waden has fired in 10-plus kills in six of her last nine outings.

"Lauren said it best, 'She's just having fun,' head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "I couldn't have even told you that it was a career night for her because she just was enjoying it. She was passing, serving and attacking really well. So, I'm really proud of her for having a career night with another double-double. I think that Lauren is that component to our offense right now which is helping us stay balanced. It's helping us having another arm that is scoring points and killing balls. It's taking a lot of pressure off our middles and our rights. You know Gabby is still going to hit .355 on the night. That's still wonderful, but she doesn't have to do all the work. It's cool to see that come together."

Mississippi State's setters, Gabby Coulter and Margaret Dean, secured a combined 49 assists, 16 digs and four aces. The duo has now surpassed 3,000 career assists as a tandem. Coulter passed out 28 assists and added nine digs, followed by Dean's 21 dimes and seven digs.

As a team, the Bulldogs worked their way to 61 kills and a .245 attack percentage. Mississippi State also garnered a 62-50 digs advantage and registered seven of the match's 11 aces. The Bulldogs complied a 65 percent sideout ratio, headed by a 28-for-37 mark (75.7 percent) over the last two sets.

The back row was spearheaded by Lilly Gunter's match-high 17 digs and five assists. She has collected 10 or more digs during nine of 12 matches this season.

"That's what we talk about all the time, we're a serve-pass team," Dennis said. "If we can manage the first contact from the service line and our serve-receive game, good things are going to happen. When we don't pass the ball well, like in set two when we were not communicating, it gets away from us. But once we start talking again and get dialed in, I felt like we have to be the most aggressive team in the gym from the service line and serve-receive with our communication for things to go well. Thankfully, they were tonight especially in the third and fourth [sets]."

Jessica Kemp came away with seven kills and five digs, whereas Deja Robinson managed three kills and a match-leading six blocks. Sania Petties picked up three kills and six digs. Avery Fitzgerald captured her first career kills during the third set.

Mississippi State bookended the match taking sets one and four by 25-18 and 25-23 score lines, respectively. The Bulldogs used seven straight points to close out the first set and dug deep for the final two points of the fourth frame to seal the win.

South Alabama gained the momentum with a 25-17 set two decision. However, State made sure it was short-lived after leading wire-to-wire during a 25-13 rout in the third set.

All square at 18-18 during the opening set, the Bulldogs made their move. Myrick took advantage of a South Alabama overpass. Then, Robinson-Waden teamed up for a block followed by another Myrick kill and a Coulter ace to make it 22-18. State continued to push points as Waden capitalized on a one-on-one matchup, and Myrick popped her third kill of the flurry. The Bulldogs closed out the 25-18 victory with another Robinson-Waden rejection.

State busted open the third set by ripping off 12 of 13 points to extend a 12-7 advantage to a 20-8 rout. Myrick got loose for two kill and an ace, while Robinson was involved in a pair of blocks. Fitzgerald connected on her first career kill with a roll shot over the block. Then, she powered her way through the block to bring the Bulldogs to set point at 24-12. A Kemp slide kill gave State a 2-1 set edge.

After 17 ties and five lead changes during a back-and-forth fourth set, the Bulldogs got to the winner's circle and broke a 23-23 deadlock with Myrick's ninth kill of the frame. Robinson delivered the final blow and received a homestanding roll off the tape.

Mississippi State closes out its non-conference action and its fourth straight tournament weekend with a nationally-televised in-state matchup against Jackson State. Sunday's first serve is set for 2 p.m. CT from the Newell-Grissom Building. The match will be carried live by SEC Network and streamed online courtesy of the Watch ESPN app with Sam Ravech and Jenny Hazelwood on the call.

"Jackson State took the first set with both opponents today," Dennis said. "They're a [NCAA] tournament team [from last season]. They're tough, and they're a team that I think will dig balls that you think are kills. I think we're going to have to play really long rallies, extend our coverage, be really good in transition and be okay with ugly kills at times. We're not going to get a lot of clean kills because they're very scrappy in my opinion. We're going to have to use the block and find open court when we can. I think our kids are excited for one more non-conference opportunity to polish up and fine tune some things before we start SEC play. So, I hope that they're serious, focused, dialed in and ready to go."

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.