In a season that is still young in more ways than one, the Mississippi State volleyball Bulldogs are still trying to find their consistency. The Bulldogs (5-6) went 1-2 on the weekend in the Bulldog Club Invitational held Friday and Saturday at the Humphrey Coliseum.
The Bulldogs, peppered with nine freshmen, have struggled against solid opponents while trying to reduce errors and capitalize on scoring opportunities.
MSU second-year assistant coach Don Perkins said that though it’s nice to win pre-conference tournaments, especially at home, the team was satisfied with some of the things it accomplished over the weekend.
We did try out some new rosters,” Perkins said, “and we wanted to give everyone a chance to compete. Some things looked good, and some didn’t, necessarily. As long as we are making progress toward becoming a better team, we’re doing fine.”
The Bulldogs opened the tournament in impressive form with a 3-1 win over Centenary College. MSU lost the first set to the Ladies 25-21, but the Bulldogs bounced back and took the next three sets by scores of 25-22, 25-20 and 26-24. Ioana Demian paced the Bulldogs offensively with 12 kills against the Ladies, but freshmen Mandy Mellencamp and Faith Steinwedell led the team with .600 and .348 hitting averages, respectively.
MSU didn’t fare so well against its other opponents in the invitational, however. In Friday’s nightcap, the Bulldogs fell to the Sugar Bears of Central Arkansas by a score of 3-2. UCA defeated MSU in scores of 17-25, 25-12, 23-25, 25-14 and 15-6.
In Saturday’s tournament finale, MSU bowed to tournament champion Memphis by a 3-0 margin. The Tigers held MSU to a miniscule season-low .012 hitting percentage en route to the victory in scores of 25-14, 25-15 and 25-22.
Freshman hitter Steinwedell, of La Jolla, Calif., represented the Bulldogs on the all-tournament team and finished the weekend with 17 kills.
Romanian hitters Cristina Jucan and Demian led the Bulldogs offense with 25 and 25 kills, respectively.
“We are working to become more consistent on offense, which is something you’ve got to have to control momentum,” fifth-year Bulldog head coach Tina Seals told MSU media relations. “Our middle blockers made some progress this weekend, but we’ve got to continue to improve as a team as we head into a tough SEC schedule.”
The Bulldogs are finished with the non-conference portion of their schedule for the 2008 campaign, and now turn their attention to the SEC.
This year marks the second season in a row the Bulldogs enter the SEC season without having finished undefeated through a pre-conference-season tournament.
The Bulldogs’ losses weren’t total defeats, however, according to Seals.
“I was proud of the way our kids fought back late in the [Memphis] match,” Seals said. “They showed a lot of fight and determination, which will need to build on for the challenges ahead.”
MSU opens its 20-match SEC schedule this weekend with a road trip. Friday the Bulldogs will take on the Kentucky Wildcats (9-2), and the Tennessee Lady Vols (4-4) will host MSU Sunday.
“It’s a cliche, but in the SEC, on any given day, anybody can beat anybody,” Perkins said. “‘Ready’ means that you’re playing at your highest potential. With our youth, we’re working toward that. We are ready to compete, though.”
Last weekend the Wildcats were in action as they swept the UK Invitational, building their winning streak to six matches.
Tennessee hosted the Comcast Lady Vol Classic Friday and Sunday, defeating Gardner-Webb and Dayton, but bowing to Illinois.