Preview: #19 Florida

STARKVILLE - The Mississippi State Bulldogs hit the road to Gainesville for their first ranked contest of the season against the #19 Florida Gators. The match will be streamed on SECN+.

Gameday Info

Friday, October 11 (6 p.m CT.)

Live Video: hailst.at/4eEaEGS

Live Stats: hailst.at/3zVWYrK

The First Serve

State enters Gainesville 7-5 after dropping their last two matches.
The Bulldogs and Gators will face off for the 56th time in history.
The Bulldogs have knocked off the Gators only twice with both wins coming in the past three seasons.
Kailin Newsome picked up her team-leading seventh double-double of the season against LSU one week ago. She leads the team with 148 Kills and 134 Digs
Arissa Smith leads the Bulldogs with a .481 attacking percentage. She has attacked above .400 eight times this season, with six of those coming in the last eight matches.
The Bulldogs are 6-0 in matches when Smith attacks above .400 on 10 or more attacks.
Mississippi State ranks seventh nationally and second in the SEC with 13.39 assists per set.
The Dawgs rank 14th nationally and third in the SEC with 13.95 kills per set.
McKenna Yates became the first freshman in program history to win an SEC Defensive Player of the Week Honor on Sept. 23. She averaged 5.00 digs per set that week, while picking up a career-high 19 digs in the second of two matches against Southern Miss.
Newsome picked up a season-high of 25 kills against Notre Dame earlier this year. She became the first Bulldog to pick up 25+ since Gabby Waden picked up 29 in 2022.

Scouting The Opponent

The Gators enter Friday's matchup with a 10-4 record. They've dropped their last two matches against Kentucky (1-3) and Texas (0-3)
The head coach of Florida is Mary Wise.
Wise has picked up 974 victories in 34 seasons with the Gators.
Florida ranks first in the SEC and 10th nationally with 2.13 aces per set. They've tallied a conference leading 111 service aces.
Taylor Parks leads the team with 22, which is fourth-most by any player in the SEC.
The Gators also sport a conference-best .300 hitting percentage, which is fifth-best int he nation.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on volleyball. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching 'HailStateVB' on X, Facebook and Instagram.

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Players Mentioned

Kailin Newsome

Arissa Smith

McKenna Yates

Mississippi State University Athletics