Dawgs Win Sixth Straight After Defeating Gamecocks

Friday, September 27

Columbia, S.C.

6 p.m.

Mississippi State

7-3, 1-0SEC

South Carolina

9-3, 0-1SEC

Mississippi State

South Carolina

Dawgs Win Sixth Straight After Defeating Gamecocks

September 27, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: William Simmons, Communications Fellow

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Mississippi State Bulldogs picked up their sixth straight victory on Friday night, as they won their 2024 SEC debut against the South Carolina Gamecocks 3-1.

"What a way to start SEC play, love to start conference play 1-0. I'm just really proud of this team," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "I thought we had an incredible defense across the board. Our blockers and backout were both scrappy and relentless. I also thought we handled the ball exceptionally well and got our middles going early.

As a team, the Bulldogs picked up a season-high 16.0 blocks. Rebecca Walk led the way in the middle, as she was credited with 10 assisted blocks. Both liberos tallied double digit digs, with Mary Neal collecting 11 and McKenna Yates picking up 10.

Four Bulldogs tallied double-digit kills tonight. Karli Schmidt led the Dawgs for the third time this season with 17 kills. Amina Shackelford and Arissa Smith picked up 11 and 10, respectively. Kailin Newsome picked up her sixth double-double of the season after collecting 16 kills and 10 digs.

The opening set saw Mississippi State have to climb from behind, as they trailed by as many as six. Coming down to the wire of set one, South Carolina had secured a lead of 21-16. The Bulldogs would then claw back, as they went on a 9-2 run to win the opening set 25-23.

Set two saw a back-and-forth battle with eight ties. State earned the lead at 14-13 and would never forfeit it again, as they took the set 25-18. The third set saw a similar theme, but South Carolina take the third point 25-22.

The penultimate set saw a tie at 14-14. The Bulldogs went on a 4-0 run from that point and never surrendered the lead, picking up the set and the match 25-16.

The Bulldogs return to Starkville on Friday, October 4th as they take on the LSU Tigers. The match is scheduled to broadcast on SECN+.

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