Preview: Green Wave Classic

STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State Bulldogs are back on the road after the StarkVegas Classic, as they travel to New Orleans for the Green Wave Classic. They will face Tulane, ULM and Grambling State.
The first match is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday against the Tulane Green Wave. That match will be broadcasted on ESPN+. Then, the Bulldogs will take on the ULM War Hawks on Saturday at 12 p.m., then Grambling State on Sunday at 12 p.m.

Gameday Info
Friday, September 6 (6:30 p.m.) at Tulane
Sunday, September 8 (1 p.m.) vs ULM
Sunday, September 8 (12 p.m.) vs Grambling State

The First Serve

Last Time Out: The Bulldogs fell just short of the reverse sweep of Notre Dame, falling 2-3
Kailin Newsome picked up her fourth double[1]double in the Bulldog's fourth game of the season. She tallied 25 kills (2nd best in SEC) and 22 Digs (4th best in SEC)
Newsome's 25 kills were the first Bulldog to get 25+ since Gabby Waden in 2022 (29). She was also the first Bulldog to attack 70+ times since Orshi Kriegel (73) did in 2005
Against Tulane: The Green Wave has won 12 of the 14 matchups against the Bulldogs, with the last taking place in Starkville in 2017. The last Bulldog win came in five sets at New Orleans in 2012. This will be just the third time they have matched up in the 21st century
Against ULM: State owns a 11-5 record against the War Hawks, sweeping their last matchup in Houston, Texas against ULM in 2021.
Against Grambling: State is 4-0 against the Tigers, sweeping all 4 matchups.
Leading the Way: Kailin Newsome has started the season hot for the Dawgs, as she leads the team in kills (59) and digs (61). She's tallied a double-double in every match this season
Digging Setters: In their last matchup against Notre Dame, setters Ceci Harness and Erin Kline both picked up double-doubles. Kline picked up her first career double-double with career-highs in assists (32) and digs (18).
Middle Kills: Against Notre Dame, Becca Walk hit a team-best .667 with 12 kills on 18 attacks, tying the best hitting percentage of her career.
Attackers Beware: Sanaa Williams picked up 8 total blocks against the Fighting Irish, the fifth best performance in the SEC this season
Amina Shackelford attacked at a .414 percentage against Samford - the fifth time she has attacked at .400+ in her two seasons in the Maroon and White.
Double-Double x2: In her first two appearances as a Bulldog, graduate Kailin Newsome tallied two double[1]doubles (13 K, 16 DIG vs SAM) (10 K, 13 DIG vs UAB)
Along with Newsome, Harness tallied a double-double in her Bulldog debut against Samford with 27 assists and 12 digs.
New Faces, Same Goal: 11 new faces will be donning the Maroon and White for the first time. Of these 11, six are transfers, while five are freshmen. • Half A Century: The Bulldogs will enter the 50th season in program history when they take the court against Samford.
Back for More: Mary Neal, Karli Schmidt, Amina Shackelford and Rebecca Walk highlight the returning Bulldogs this season. The four played in more than 80% of all sets throughout the 2023 season.
Block Party: Last season, Shackelford and Walk ranked first and second on the team in blocks, as they combined for 152 total blocks.
After finishing 8th in the SEC last season, the Bulldogs opened the season after being placed 14th in the SEC Preseason Rankings

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Players Mentioned

Ceci Harness

Erin Kline

Mary Neal

Kailin Newsome

Karli Schmidt

Amina Shackelford

Rebecca Walk

Sanaa Williams

Mississippi State University Athletics