The Mississippi State volleyball team (5-6) will head into its first two SEC contests with cloudy vision regarding its offense.
The Bulldogs, who were held to a dismal .012 hitting percentage in their most recent match against Memphis in the Bulldog Club Invitational, may have to take on Tennessee and Kentucky without one of the team’s offensive leaders.
Outside hitter Cristina Jucan, MSU’s lone senior, only saw a little action in the contest against Memphis, and Bulldog head coach Tina Seals said it is uncertain whether or not she will play this weekend.
She said Jucan has not practiced this week.
The potential loss of Jucan leaves fellow Romanian Ioana Demian as the head of the Maroon and White offense. Demian, a junior, leads MSU with 111 kills so far on the year, averaging 2.71 kills per set. Demian is also second on the team with 87 digs.
Demian said the Bulldogs, coming off a 1-2 weekend at home, are showing signs of improvement, despite their win-loss record.
“The freshmen are working better with the team,” Demian said. “We’re better than when we started. It’s just that sometimes we fall. We just have to work on being more consistent.”
Fifth-year MSU head coach Tina Seals said though the team has a lot of work to do, she still sees a lot of potential for the season.
“We need to try to focus on the positive and the things we are improving on,” Seals said. “When you’re making errors, that means you can fix them. It’s when you don’t have the talent when you need to worry. We have the talent, and we’ll get better.”
Freshman hitter Faith Steinwedell, of La Jolla, Calif., will need to step up this weekend in Jucan’s absence.
Steinwedell has notched 70 kills on a .181 hitting percentage on the year. She has started in all 11 matches, one of two freshmen to do so.
If Jucan is unable to play, only one other starter from last season’s team can anchor the court – sophomore defensive specialist Kayla Woodard, of Addison, Ala. Woodard has seen action in 10 matches this year for the Bulldogs as the team’s acting libero. She leads the team defensively with 91 digs.
“We’re coming off a hard weekend, but we’ve been working hard this week,” Woodard said. “We’re mentally ready and excited to start SEC play.”
The Bulldogs open their conference schedule tonight against Tennessee (5-4).
UT owns a 32-7 record over MSU all-time. However, the Bulldogs came away with a win in the teams’ last meeting by a 3-2 score in Starkville. Prior to the Bulldog win, Tennessee had won 15 consecutive matches against the Maroon and White.
As lopsided as the MSU-UT series is, the record against the Bulldogs’ Sunday opponent is even more so.
The Bulldogs will take on Kentucky (10-2) Sunday in a 12:30 p.m. CT pairing.
The Wildcats own a 34-1 lead over MSU all-time, with MSU’s only win coming in 1994.
UK is coming off a sweep in the UK Invitational, with wins over Indiana, Eastern Kentucky and Albany.