A 4-0 Start For Volleyball

Friday, September 3

Houston, Texas

10:00 AM

Mississippi State

4-0,0-0SEC

McNeese State

3-2,0-0Southland

McNeese

Mississippi St.

VB - Shania Petties and Lauren Myrick Block - Gonzaga 2021

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

September 03, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

HOUSTON, Texas – Mississippi State's volleyball team kept its 2021 ledger clean with a 3-0 sweep of McNeese State [25-12, 25-22, 25-18] during Friday's opening match of the Flo Hyman Classic at the Fertitta Center hosted by the University of Houston.

The Bulldogs (4-0) have won their first four matches for the second time over the last three seasons under Julie Darty Dennis.

Mississippi State registered a season's best 10 blocks, fueled by six players with multiple rejections and was a flawless 48-for-48 on reception attempts playing in its first match away from Starkville in 2021.

The Bulldogs smacked 37 kills, five service aces and dialed up a 66 sideout percentage. State has amassed at least a 65 percent sideout mark during all four of its matches on the young season.

Mississippi State bullied the Cowgirls (3-2) on the front row. McNeese State was limited to 23 kills and forced into 25 hitting miscues en route to negative .021 hitting percentage.

"The block was huge," Dennis said. "I thought there was nothing that was going to come over the net or through the net without our blockers getting a touch on it. There were some awesome straight-down blocks from our girls. They were doing a really good job of keeping their hands disciplined and over. For us to have 10 blocks in a three-set match, that explains why we didn't have a ton of digs. I was really impressed with our blockers today."

The Bulldogs setting tandem of Gabby Coulter and Margaret Dean divvied up 26 assists and combined for 10 digs. Once again, State's offense featured a balanced attack with six players securing at least four kills for the match. The Bulldogs ripped over a .300 attack percentage during two of three sets and have tallied a sparkling .300-plus hitting ratio during nine of 13 sets for the season.

Making a return to her hometown, Sania Petties belted five kills on a .444 hitting percentage and captured six blocks. Gabby Waden tacked on seven kills and four blocks, followed by Jessica Kemp's five kills and two blocks.

Shania Cromartie provided a match-leading nine kills coupled with five digs, two blocks and converted on all 18 of her reception attempts for the Maroon and White. Deja Robinson fired in four kills on five errorless swings for a .800 hitting clip to go along with three blocks.

Lilly Gunter tacked on nine digs and four assists, while Lauren Myrick came away with a solid all-around effort with five kills, eight digs, three blocks and posted a perfect 15-for-15 mark on her first contacts.

Ahead 5-4 during the first set, Mississippi State threw together six of the next eight points to extend its lead to 11-6. The Bulldogs received kills from Cromartie, Petties and Robinson. State also turned up the defensive pressure and forced McNeese State into a trio of hitting errors. The Bulldogs sideout efficiency of 11-for-12 for the stanza which enabled a .364 hitting percentage and two Dean aces carried State to the finish line, 25-12.

Seven ties and four lead changes were tabulated in set two. Trailing 18-17, the Bulldogs made their move behind six consecutive points. Back-to-back kills courtesy of Petties and Cromartie vaulted State up 19-18. The flurry was capped by two Kemp kills sandwiched between a Myrick ace to make the score 23-18. A block courtesy of Kemp and Robinson gave State the 25-22 decision and a two-set advantage.

"In the first set, we set the tone with serve pressure," Dennis said. "The easier we make it on ourselves from the service line, the better our game is. In the second set, we put ourselves in a hole with a bunch of errors and made it a lot tougher on ourselves than it needed to be. I thought the response was really good during the third set. At times, it felt like our confidence was a little shaky. We were just trying to find that aggressiveness and confidence to make sure we were setting the tone and pace for this match."

The Bulldogs led from start-to-finish during the third set to close out the sweep. State pushed a 4-3 lead out to 7-3 after consecutive Myrick kills and a Dean ace. The Bulldogs continued to control tempo and doubled up the Cowgirls at 14-7 after a Walden kill. The trio of Cromartie-Petties-Waden powered home a combined 12 kills for the frame as State closed out the victory, 25-18.

Mississippi State plays tournament host Houston in its first true road contest of 2021. Friday's first serve between the Bulldogs and Cougars is set for 6:30 p.m. CT. The match will be carried live for ESPN+ subscribers courtesy of www.WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.

"Getting in and getting out in three sets was the goal this morning," Dennis said. "We know we have a lot of volleyball left to play this weekend. By doing that [winning in three sets], we will have more time to rest, recover and scout for Houston tonight. We know it's going to be a tough battle tonight, but I'm really proud of this morning. We're just hoping to get back and play more good volleyball in Houston."

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.