There was one bright spot in the Mississippi State volleyball team’s weekend, and it didn’t involve a win. In fact, the Bulldogs (6-12, 1-6 SEC) didn’t even win a set last weekend against Ole Miss and Arkansas. It didn’t come in the form of improved offense, as the team once again let hitting errors take over its game.
The one bright spot came in the form of a freshman. Freshman outside hitter Faith Steinwedell, of La Jolla, Calif., who is developing into a consistent player for the Bulldog offense, finished the weekend with 23 kills. Steinwedell led the offense in both contests.
The stellar performances from the young hitter came in losing efforts, however, as the Bulldogs continued to overcome their offensive woes.
Friday night, MSU fell to in-state rival Ole Miss (8-8, 4-3 SEC) 3-0, by scores of 25-20, 25-20, and 25-22. It was only the second time Ole Miss has defeated State since fifth-year head coach Tina Seals has been at the helm for the Maroon and White.
“We continue to make too many mistakes to be successful on the road,” Seals told MSU media relations following the Ole Miss loss.
The Bulldogs hit a dismal .068 in Friday’s contest, compared to Ole Miss’ .198.
MSU was led by the two freshmen who have turned out to be anchors for the team: Steinwedell and Mandy Mellencamp, of Prescott, Ariz.
Steinwedell put up 11 kills on a solid .261 performance against the Rebels. She was also one dig short of tallying a double-double on the contest.
Seals said the losses from the weekend might have come from a lack of focus, but Mellencamp believes it to be the polar opposite.
“We are desperate to win,” Mellencamp said. “We’re taking it too seriously and perhaps focusing too hard, to where we become tense and start playing
unlike we usually do.”
Seals said she thought the team played hard Friday against the Rebels and she was pleased with some aspects of the match.
Sunday, however, was a completely different story.
The Bulldogs were shut out by the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks (5-12, 2-5 SEC) by scores of 25-17, 25-20, and 25-22. What was extremely disappointing was that the Bulldogs fully expected to be able to compete with Arkansas, and that just didn’t seem to happen.
“We actually expected to win because we’ve been playing so well,” Steinwedell said. “It came as a shock to us.”
Steinwedell topped her Ole Miss performance with a career-best 12-kill afternoon in Fayetteville, this time hitting at a concrete .320 mark.
However, as a team, MSU was out-hit by Arkansas .308 to .080 and was out-attacked 41-28 in kills.
The Bulldogs improved with each set, at least according to the scoreboard.
Seals said the most prominent flaw in MSU’s loss to Arkansas was faulty serve reception and other errors in the contest.
“If you can’t serve and you can’t pass, you’re not going to do very well,” Seals said. “That pretty much controlled the match.”
An obviously distressed Bulldog team will continue its SEC schedule Friday and Sunday as it prepares to host defending SEC West champion LSU (9-6, 4-4 SEC) Friday in a 7 p.m. contest. Sunday will bring Fox Sports Net South to the Newell-Grissom Building, as MSU will take on the Georgia Bulldogs (10-9, 3-5 SEC) in a regionally televised contest at 1 p.m.
Steinwedell, emerging as one of the team’s leaders after almost being thrust into that role, said the team will focus on improving upon its mistakes from the weekend, but is excited about getting to play at home.
“We always have great home matches,” Steinwedell said. “We’re not going to roll over on our home court. We’re going to be in the gym every day this week, sticking together. It’s only up from here.”