Following in the footsteps of similar student support groups, a few Mississippi State University students founded a new fan group, the DawgHouse, and pack Newell Grissom to cheer for the Maroon and White volleyball team.
Jerry Cherry, a graduate student and residence director of McKee Hall, said he started the group when he and a group of friends attended one of the first volleyball games of the season.
 “It started out with me going to a game with a couple friends. We realized there wasn’t a lot of student support in Newell Grissom,” he said. “The next game I thought, ‘I’m going to invite my resident advisers and a couple of residents.’ We got there, and a few ideas came across like, ‘Let’s yell this, or let’s do this,’ and actually a lot of these things became traditions.”
Traditions like pointing fingers during serves, yelling during kills and dog barks have become staples in the cheers that fans and players have come to enjoy. Another tradition started when the opposing team started bouncing the ball before a serve. With each bounce comes a creative yell to distract the opponent.
“We yell English numbers. We yell ABC’s. We yell Spanish. A couple of us know German, so we’ll even yell in German. German sounds like a very angry language in general, so you can just yell that as well,” Cherry said. “We try to get in their head and try to give our girls the home-court advantage.”
The cheers and chants have not gone unnoticed. MSU volleyball coach Jenny Hazelwood said the fans have played a key role in the team’s performance on the court.
“I can’t even describe how important it’s been to have them here for matches,” she said. “When we’re playing and you get some momentum and they’re adding energy, it just carries you that much more. They’ve just been really helpful to our program. It just means a lot to our girls. They appreciate their peers supporting them.”
Hazelwood’s 2013 team features seven freshmen along with six sophomores. With little experience on the court, Hazelwood said fan support helps the younger players settle into games.
“It can kind of help just ease them into, ‘OK, we’re playing, and this is fun.’ Sometimes when it’s a little quieter you don’t have that kind of fan support. Then that’s when it probably allows them to think too much and overthink things,” she said. “When we’ve got great fan support and they’re super loud, it’s just a fun environment. It does help them relax a ton.”
Freshman opposite Kimmy Gardiner said not only do the fans support the home-team performance, but their chants and cheers get in the minds of the opponent.
“I think they bring a lot of fire to the court. We want to get pumped and win because it gets them excited,” she said. “I think it also gets the other team on their toes, too. They really help us keep the energy up, even when we’re down.”
Cherry, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Austin Peay State University in 2011, and some of the group traveled to the Nashville area the same weekend MSU played in the Belmont Bruins Classic hosted to Belmont University. The group visited family, friends and, of course, made time to support the team in the tournament.
Hazelwood, who coached the APSU volleyball team from 2007-2008, said she admires the group’s creativity and reflection to the university. 
“Their creativity has been really impressive,” she said. “I feel like they represent Mississippi State in a positive way, but also help our team play at a higher level.”
The group’s creativity also extends to social media platforms. Via Twitter, @MSUdawghouseVB interacts with fans, coaches and players.
Cherry said the group is increasing in size and traditions, most recently adding the phrase ‘Hazelnuts’ to its list of cheers. He also claims he and Hazelwood were destined to land at MSU to lead each group.
“I like to think Jenny Hazelwood and I came to Mississippi State as a package deal. She came from Austin Peay, and I did as well. I knew of her but never really met her, but I went to some Austin Peay games and came here to find she was the coach,” he said. “The term Hazelnuts actually came from the group at the scorer’s table after seeing how rowdy we get. It fits.”
MSU returns to the court Oct. 11 and 13 for a weekend road trip at Texas A&M and LSU.