Mississippi State Volleyball (4-7) pulled out a 3-2 victory against Eastern Michigan (1-10) on Saturday after going into the break 0-2. State claimed runner-up honors in the MSU Bulldog Invitational.
The match against EMU gave fans and players a look at the killer instinct head coach Jenny Hazelwood has been aiming for.
“EMU had match point a number of times, and we had the determination to not let them win,” she said. “At the break, the players were saying, ‘We’re not losing, we’re winning the next three sets,’ and they took that and brought it out on the floor.”
Senior offensive hitter Ioana Demian and junior middle blocker Ashley Newsome combined for 38 kills in the match. Demian hit .450 in the game with 20 kills, a season high, while Newsome tallied a double-double hitting 18 kills and a career-high 15 digs.
The duo also represented MSU on the All-Tournament Team.
EMU had a 74-63 kill advantage due in part to freshman offensive hitter Rachel Iaquaniello, All-Tournament team selection, with a match-high 23 kills.
The Bulldogs began the weekend against eventual tournament winner Arkansas State (9-1), losing 1-3 despite going into the break 1-1.
Hazelwood said errors were a contributing factor to why the Bulldogs struggled due to the team’s youth and inexperience.
“We can’t give teams points, especially good teams like Arkansas State,” she said.
ASU had 63 kills with 16 attack errors compared to 50 kills and 21 attack errors by MSU.
ASU sophomore middle blocker Cayla Fielder, who received tournament MVP honors, had an impressive performance against State, hitting .531 with 18 kills and only one attack error. Redshirt freshman offensive hitter Brittany Hoag added 16 kills as ASU hit a solid .305 in the match.
MSU beat Northwestern State (0-7) in straight sets to give the team momentum heading into the afternoon match against EMU.
The Bulldogs had their best outing of the weekend against NSU hitting .308 – the team’s second-highest percentage of the season.
“We got the mind set that we’re stepping up and finishing the game,” Hazelwood said.