The Mississippi State volleyball team will get to experience something it doesn’t normally get to between the months of September and November tonight: a free Friday.
The Bulldogs (5-8, 0-2 SEC) are off tonight after losing two matches last weekend to their first two SEC foes.
Last Friday, the Bulldogs fell to Tennessee, while Sunday, Kentucky toppled the Maroon and White, with both matches ending in 3-0 scores.
Tennessee and Kentucky’s combined record on the season thus far is a solid 18-6. Sunday, however, MSU will face a conference foe with a record more similar to MSU’s. In fact, Auburn will enter the weekend with an identical 5-8 record to the Bulldogs, along with an 0-2 conference record.
Sophomore middle blocker Ashley Newsome, of Florence, Ala., currently leads the Bulldogs with 53 total blocks. She is also third on the team with 85 kills. Newsome said she doesn’t expect the team to head into Sunday’s match thinking any differently because of Auburn’s record.
“It’s still competition,” Newsome said. “We have to go out and play Auburn just like we would play any other team.”
Fifth-year head coach Tina Seals believes the team is improving.
“[The team] practiced so hard last week and were very focused heading into the matches,” Seals said. “Tennessee and Kentucky were just able to pull away from us. We’ve improved with every week, though, and I don’t really see any change in the team’s mentality.”
The Bulldog offense, which has struggled immensely with committing errors this season, is led by junior outside hitter Ioana Demian, of Baia Mare, Romania. Demian has tallied 123 kills this season on a low .150 hitting percentage.
The storyline of the Bulldog season so far has been the contribution of nine freshmen on the roster. The freshman class is led by hitter Faith Steinwedell, of La Jolla, Calif., who has chalked up 74 kills on the season. Middle hitter Mandy Mellencamp, of Prescott, Ariz., has also contributed offensively, pitching in with 66 kills on a team-leading .217 clip among starters. Steinwedell and Mellencamp are the only two freshmen who have started in all 13 of MSU’s matches so far on the season.
Auburn is heading into the weekend coming off losses to Arkansas and Ole Miss by 3-2 and 3-0 scores, respectively.
“Auburn will be looking to come over here and prove themselves here this weekend,” Seals said. “They have a tough match [tonight] against Alabama and will be ready to give a good performance.”