For the Mississippi State volleyball team, Sunday proved there is more to sports than simply living for the postseason and trying to win championships.After losing a heartbreaker in five games to LSU Friday night, perhaps eliminating the team from the possibility of an NCAA tournament bid, the VolleyDawgs (12-15, 7-11 SEC), led by their five-member senior class, ended their home season with a victory against archrival Ole Miss.
“Every game matters,” senior middle blocker Erin Seago said. “Whether we’re going to go to the tournament or not, our season is never over until it’s over. We went into this weekend knowing that regardless of our place in the conference, we wanted to take a win.”
On Friday night, the Dawgs found themselves quickly in a 2-0 hole against the LSU Tigers (22-6, 13-5 SEC). LSU jumped ahead of the Bulldogs by taking the first two games 30-24 and 30-27.
With five kills in the set, Erin Seago took charge in game three, as State gained an early lead that was never relinquished to win 30-26.
MSU then took another victory from LSU in the fourth game, notching a 31-29 win-by-two victory, before losing to the Tigers in a 15-12 deciding fifth game.
“I thought we showed a lot of heart and spirit [against LSU],” fourth-year MSU head coach Tina Seals said. “I was proud of the way we battled back from a 2-0 deficit to send the match to a fifth game. Our seniors once again stepped up and performed well against a quality opponent.”
Sunday’s match was what mattered most to the Bulldogs, however, as defeating Ole Miss (22-7, 12-6 SEC) had been a goal of the team all week and the seniors for all of their careers.
State downed the Lady Rebels 3-1, in scores of 30-22, 27-30, 30-23 and 30-27, earning a season-series split with Ole Miss. The Oct. 5 loss to the Lady Rebs was the first and only loss at the hands of the Rebels since the 2007 senior class has been at State.
For the fourth-year seniors, it was the first time in school history that any class went 4-0 throughout its career at home against any SEC opponent.
“We were able to turn around [from Friday night] against Ole Miss,” Seals said. “The seniors played hard and very well again. Erin Seago had an exceptional match. Senior leadership was there all the way down the board. They wanted this match because it was senior day. We’re an excellent team this year. We’ve just had so many injuries, we haven’t been able to show it.”
Seago did not put up a career night statistically, but she may remember the Ole Miss match for a long time. She led the team offensively with 14 kills on an amazing .636 performance. She also had three blocks.
“In the second game, when we didn’t win, I realized in the locker room that this was really going to be the last time I played in front of our home crowd,” Seago said. “Playing Ole Miss made me want to step up so much more, and I knew I had to. I tried my hardest out there and it just happened.”
Seago was not the only senior who had a solid day for the Bulldogs. Senior opposite hitter Jamie Joyner closed out her home career with 13 kills and 13 digs on the day.
Continuing to climb up the MSU charts, senior libero Megan Lukasek notched 24 digs against the Lady Rebs and now enters the final weekend of the season needing just 26 more to take the all-time career record.
Senior setter Eva Kriegel posted 45 assists and was one dig away from posting up a double-double on the afternoon.
Senior middle blocker Lauren Kowal dominated at the net throughout the day with eight blocks, matching a career high.
Ole Miss attempted to spoil MSU’s “Senior Salute” day, as they brought a hefty amount of fans that taunted the Bulldogs loudly throughout the entire match, making for a surprisingly hostile home atmosphere for the match.
Ole Miss and MSU fans alike had to be calmed down several times by facility officials for taking the cheering and jeering too far.
“The fans made a huge impact on the match, just as they have all season,” Seago said. “Ole Miss brought a huge crowd with them and came out cheering, but I’m glad our crowd was able to shut them up a little bit.”
MSU will close out its 2007 season on the road Friday and Saturday, as the Dawgs will take on South Carolina (12-15, 5-13 SEC) and Florida (24-1, 17-1 SEC).