Volleyball Bulldogs Entered In Second Annual SEC Coaches Beach Championships
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State University looks to build on its successes from a year ago when the Bulldogs, under the direction of first-year MSU head coach Jenny Hazelwood, compete in the second annual Southeastern Conference Coaches Beach Volleyball Championships Saturday in Siesta Key, Florida.
"Our players are excited about and looking forward to being a part of this outstanding spring event and the opportunity it provides them to further develop their volleyball skills against top-flight competition," said Hazelwood. Hazelwood established single season and career records for assists during her four-year playing career at Mississippi State (1996-1999) and was named head coach at her alma mater in January.
MSU is expected to field five two-player teams in the day-long event that showcases the Fiesta of Siesta Key beach volleyball championships.
All 11 volleyball-playing schools from the Southeastern Conference will be represented in the 2009 SEC Coaches Beach Volleyball Championships while an even greater number of non-SEC schools will compete in the Collegiate Beach Volleyball Challenge.
Seniors Dorey Gray and Ioana Demian enter the competition as MSU’s strongest entrants. Gray, a setter from Indian Harbour Beach, Fla., and Demian, an outside hitter from Baia Mare, Romania, enjoyed success in last year’s event, the inaugural beach volleyball competition for State. Gray teamed with former Bulldog Eva Kriegel to go undefeated in pool play and advanced to the second round of last year’s gold division competition. Demian, paired with another former Bulldog, Cristina Jucan, reached the semis of silver division competition.
While Gray and Demian are the veterans of the MSU team, Hazelwood looks to field solid teams with junior Kaitlin Wheatley (Lexington, Ky.) and sophomore Caitlin Rance (Kingwood, Texas), junior middle Ashley Newsome (Florence, Ala.) and sophomore Leanna King (Huntsville, Ala.), sophomore middle hitter Mandy Mellencamp (Prescott, Ariz.) and junior Kayla Woodard (Addison, Ala.), and a fifth tandem comprised of sophomore Grace Hoyt (Suwanee, Ga.), redshirt freshman Hillary Hunt (Tampa, Fla.) and sophomore Aynne Swindell (Germantown, Tenn.).
Demian paced the ’08 Bulldogs with 325 kills (3.04 KPG) and 30 aces and finished second on the squad with 224 digs. Newsome backed her 186 kills with a team-best 115 total blocks, while Mellencamp, in her first collegiate season, totaled 159 kills, 59 blocks and a team-best .199 attack percentage.
"Our players and staff have been working hard in preparation for this tournament," said Hazelwood. "Assistant coach Branden Higa has extensive experience playing and coaching beach volleyball, and his expertise should be a huge advantage for the Bulldogs as we head to Florida."