The Mississippi State volleyball team earned a weekend sweep Friday and Sunday, defeating South Carolina and Georgia over the weekend.
With the wins, MSU clinched several school records, including seven conference wins and back-to-back winning seasons for only the second time in MSU history.
“These two wins were important wins because we lost the last two matches on the road,” MSU head coach Tina Seals said. “The fan support is always an advantage for us at home, and we thank them for that. These wins bring back some confidence to us to play these games on the road.”
MSU (16-10, 7-9 SEC) defeated South Carolina (12-14, 5-10) Friday night by a score of 3-0. The Dawgs swept the Gamecocks with scores of 30-24, 30-21 and 30-20.
Martina Gregusova led the Bulldogs offensively with 15 kills on a .379 hitting performance. She also contributed with 5 digs, 2 blocks and a service ace on the match.
“Martina has been such a consistent performer for us since her 26-kill break-out performance in our win at South Carolina last month, and she turned in another strong showing tonight,” said Seals. “She has developed into the go-to player and the force on the court that we thought she would be. What that does is create opportunities for the other players. Tonight we were able to take advantage of those opportunities.”
Orshi Kriegel also pitched in to the Bulldog victory, chalking up her 11th double-double of the season with 10 kills and 10 digs.
Sunday afternoon brought a 3-1 victory to MSU over the Georgia Bulldogs (6-20, 2-14) by scores of 30-19, 30-20, 23-30 and 30-26.
Four Bulldogs finished the match against UGA with double-digit kills.
Gregusova once again led MSU offensively with 17 kills on a .389 outing. She also notched 11 digs, completing her fourth double-double of the year. Gregusova has now led the Bulldogs in kills in the last seven matches.
Junior outside hitter Eva Kriegel tallied her fourth triple-double of the season against UGA, chalking up 14 kills on a .333 performance, with 45 assists and 15 digs.
With her excellent setting performance, Kriegel passed Patty Hepler on the MSU all-time assist chart into fifth place.
Cristina Jucan came off the bench to match Jamie Joyner’s production of 12 kills apiece.
The two also comibined for 13 digs in the match.
“We were flat in the first game, and Cristina came in off the bench and played a good match,” Seals said. “She maintained us well, and when the momentum shifted, we changed up our lineup.
“Even though she didn’t get in the last game, she still had a great outing. She was a huge factor in getting us going today.”
Mississippi State has four matches left in the 2006 season, and the Dawgs will need to win out and have a little luck to have a chance at the NCAA tournament.
“We would really like to set an attendance record over the last two home matches of the year,” Seals said. “They are very tough matches and very crucial matches. LSU is ranked 11th right now, and Arkansas beat us a month ago.
“I’d like to see everyone come out and cheer for us, and hopefully we’ll get the job done for them.”
MSU goes on the road on Nov. 10 and Nov. 12 for games at Auburn and Florida, and closes out the 2006 regular season in Starkville on Nov. 17 and Nov. 19 against LSU and Arkansas.