Mississippi State volleyball concluded what might be the toughest road test for the team this season. The Bulldogs were unable to stay afloat in the swamp as MSU endured a straight-sets loss to No. 5 Florida (10-1, 4-0 SEC) in Gainesville on Friday and another loss in straight sets against South Carolina (10-3, 2-2 SEC) in Columbia on Sunday.
The Gators chomped the Bulldogs (25-12, 25-14, 25-18) in front of 2,725 fans at the O’Connell Center. Florida also maintained its perfect record against MSU (35-0, 17-0 in Gainesville) dating back to 1984.
The team then traveled to Columbia, S.C., to take on the Gamecocks and came away with confidence in a hard-fought loss (25-22, 26-24, 25-17).
Head coach Jenny Hazelwood said playing the Gators in the O’Connell Center in front of a large crowd was tough for a young team facing a high-powered offense.
“The girls were certainly nervous and with so many freshman and sophomores, it was intimidating,” she said. “We got in some good defensive positions. Our effort is there but we need to make plays when we get in position to make them.”
The Bulldog’s best overall performance came in the last set. Having just 12 kills in the first two sets combined, MSU tallied 13 and hit a .229 clip in the third. The Bulldogs came within two points of tying (16-18), but only managed two kills the rest of the set – one coming from senior setter and Florida native Dorey Gray.
“Warming up to the cameras, we had a deer-in-the-headlight type of feeling on Friday,” she said. “It’s a great atmosphere to play volleyball.”
Against the Gamecocks, MSU was dealt a tough loss in a match that saw 25 tie scores and 14 lead changes.
Despite close scores, South Carolina led in kills per set throughout the match. The largest gap came in the second set with a 20-9 kill differential as MSU was unable to capitalize on set point, losing 24-26 while heading into the break down 0-2.
With a 17-kill performance by senior outside hitter Meredith Moorhead, USC held a 55-34 kill advantage in the match.
Despite the large kill differential, hitting errors on the Gamecocks (20) proved to be the factor that allowed the scores to remain close no matter what the box score indicated.
“When we went back and looked at the statistics, we were surprised at how many kills they had,” Gray said.
The Bulldogs hit a .283 clip for the match, the team’s highest hitting percentage against an SEC opponent since hitting .302 against Auburn in 2007.
“We finally got to the point where we’re sick of losing and almost getting there, and I think we’re about to turn the corner,” Gray said. “We’ve found a line up that works for us and we’ll continue to take steps and get a win.”