Back At Home For The Maroon & White Invite

STARKVILLE – After two weekends on the road, the Mississippi State volleyball team is back inside the friendly confines of the Newell-Grissom Building for the Maroon & White Invite.

State turns its attention to Lipscomb who they play on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Abilene Christian on Saturday at 5 p.m. to conclude its non-conference slate.

"We are so excited to finally be back at home and get to play in The Griss," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "I know that we have one of the best atmospheres in the country because of our amazing family and fan base and we are ready to get The Griss rockin' again! We are welcoming two very good teams in Lipscomb and Abilene Christian this weekend, and these teams are certainly going to push us and continue to get us prepared as we head into SEC play next week. We need our family to come see us as we close out non-conference play this week, Hail State!"

Admission is free for all home volleyball matches with doors opening one hour prior to first serve. Promotions include Darty Party pit viper sunglasses on Thursday and Maroon and White pom poms on Saturday.

Both matches will be streamed live by SEC Network+ and on the Watch ESPN app.

Alexa Fortin Goede and Emily Oerther have combined to dish out 288 assists and 94 digs. Individually Goede has issued 5.06 assists per set on the season, while Oerther has provided 4.37 assists per set.

Karli Schmidt has ripped 3.61 kills per set on a .266 hitting percentage. She has reeled in 10-plus kills in seven out of eight matches, headed by a career-high 19-kill performance against FIU (09/02).

Sophie Agee has shined during her sophomore campaign, managing 2.75 kills and 2.39 digs per set. She tallied a career-high 21 kills and 21 digs this past weekend against Western Michigan (09/08).

Libero Lauren Myrick has reeled in 10-plus digs during seven of eight matches. She has eclipsed 20-plus digs in four out of eight matches this season, fueled by a career-best 27 digs against Louisiana (08/27). Myrick's 4.61 digs per set is the highest among SEC liberoes.

Defensive specialist Mary Neal has started her freshman season off with 2.06 digs per set. She produced a season-best 14 digs against Western Michigan (09/08).

Amina Shackelford has registered 1.71 kills per set, 0.77 blocks per set and 0.48 digs per set. She recorded a season-high eight blocks versus Louisiana (08/27) and leads the team with a total of 24 blocks.

Graduate Zoe Gonzales has managed 1.05 kills per set and 0.73 blocks per set. Caylee Sharkey has secured 1.03 kills per set, while Sanaa Williams has provided 1.11 kills per set and 0.78 blocks per set.

Lipscomb is 3-4 on the season, while Abilene Christian has a 5-5 record. The matchup between State (5-3) and Lipscomb marks the second time the teams have faced one another. The last matchup resulted in the Bulldogs earning a 3-0 victory in Nashville, Tennessee on Sept. 2, 2022.

MSU will face Abilene Christian for the first time in program history.

For more information on the Bulldog volleyball program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateVB" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Back At Home For The Maroon & White Invite

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Players Mentioned

Sophie Agee

Alexa Fortin Goede

Zoe Gonzales

Lauren Myrick

Mary Neal

Emily Oerther

Karli Schmidt

Amina Shackelford

Caylee Sharkey

Sanaa Williams

Mississippi State University Athletics