The Mississippi State University volleyball team battled Kennesaw State University, the University of Houston and the University of South Alabama in Starkville this weekend during the Maroon and White Invitational. 
On day one of the Maroon and White Invitational, MSU swept Kennesaw State.
The Owls had early momentum in the first set until the Bulldogs fought back and took over. MSU won the first set 25-17 and finished with a .429 hitting percentage.
With a total of 14 kills against Kennesaw State, MSU increased their hitting percentage to .520. The squad was firing on all cylinders as MSU secured a ten-point lead for the final score of 25-15 in the second set.
The third and final set was a bit more narrow win for the Bulldogs. A kill by MSU’s Gabby Waden and an error by Kennesaw State concluded the final score 25-19. Waden, Sania Petties and Lauren Myrick led the Bulldogs with a total of 30 kills and a hitting percentage of .494 between the three of them during day one. 
Head coach Julie Darty Dennis expressed her thoughts on the match.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been at the Griss, on our home court, and it’s awesome to get a clean sweep at the start of the Maroon and White Invite. Overall, it was super balanced. It’s nice to see three attackers with ten kills apiece. I think that says a lot,” Dennis said. 
Day two was a hard-fought matchup between Houston and Mississippi State. Houston won the close game in five nail-biting sets. 
The Bulldogs took the first two sets against the Cougars. The first set ended with a 25-17 win, with three consecutive kills by Shania Cromartie and Gabby Coulter to conclude the game. Their second, last reigning set ended with a close score of 25-22.
Roles reversed during the third set when Houston rebounded with a 25-22 win. The Cougars got the best of the Bulldogs and maintained the lead throughout the entire set.
Houston got the best of the Bulldogs, and the fifth set ended in a five-point lead for Houston. The final score was 15-10 to break the tie, breaking MSU’s undefeated streak much earlier than Bulldog fans would have liked. 
On day three, to close out the Maroon and White Invitational, the Dawgs executed a 3-0 victory over South Alabama. Although all three matches were tightly-contested, MSU came out on top.
After dropping the previous day’s match to the Houston Cougars, the Bulldogs portrayed their hard work and talent in a sweep against the Jaguars. 
South Alabama held the lead during the first set until about the 10-point mark. MSU’s momentum began to rise as they secured a total of 20 kills led between Waden, Myrick and Rebecca Walk.
After set two, the Bulldogs’ confidence had been restored when they took the win with an 11-point lead. South Alabama’s errors and MSU’s sharp performance ultimately won the set for the Dawgs.
South Alabama came back to the court with more momentum during the third set. The Jaguars held the lead during a large portion of the game. The MSU Bulldogs stood their ground to secure a close win, 25-23. The Dawgs put forth a total of 52 kills, 46 assists and 76 digs throughout the three sets against South Alabama.
“I think they are all doing a great job, and I am a pretty proud coach right now. I think we’re just going to have to keep figuring out who we want to be and rise to the occasion every single day,” Dennis said. 
MSU now has a 7-1 record and will go on to compete in the Michigan Invitational starting on Sept. 16 before returning home to begin SEC play.