Mississippi State University (5-2) came into their match against Georgia State University (5-4) on a four game win-streak Sunday. This included Feb. 12’s two wins on the road and head coach Daryl Greenan was worried the long break might have negated their momentum going into Sunday.

“There was kind of a long break between our last match last Thursday, so there was kind of a long break,” Greenan said. “Which was kind of good, we used it to get ready for this one, that was nice. Now I was a little worried that that long break would negate some of the momentum we had.”

Early on in the match, Greenan thought they competed well and played a very dominant game in doubles. MSU won courts two and three in doubles to go up 1-0 over GSU.

”Our girls did look good coming into the match and I thought they competed well,” Greenan said. “There were not any easy outs, we played very well in the doubles and we were pretty dominant in the doubles, so I was happy with that.”

Midway through the game, there was a rain delay, this kept the two teams off of the courts for a while. The effect a rain delay has is based on how well a team handles it, and both teams had to face this obstacle.

“The thing is that both teams have to wait, so it depends on which team handles it better, and I felt like we handled it well,” Greenan said. “I am not going to say that we handled it better, but it is out of our control. We just had to be patient, just like in between the match.”

The team went through a three-hour rain delay before closing out the match, and Greenan thought his team played hard in a game where Georgia State fought hard for every point.

“Definitely appreciate our facilities staff for making it happen out here. It was tough, it was a long day for everybody,” Greenan said. “Georgia State really battled hard, and I am proud of our girls for coming out on top. Every other match could have gone either way. We need that because we are going to have a lot of tough battles moving forward.”

The matches which could have gone either way were Magda Adaloglou (MSU) who defeated Daniela Ramirez (GSU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Ariana Taluyenko (GSU) played Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) 7-6 (2), 6-6, 2-3, and as set three was suspended, Sara Lizariturry (MSU) vs Damira Muminovic (GSU) 6-3, 3-6, 4-1. MSU won 4-1 as they played until clinch because of the rain delay, thus suspending the remaining games.

The close games are something Greenan believes can prepare them for the next match, which is a week away against the University of Memphis. This match will be played Feb. 24 at home.

“I think Memphis is going to be a lot like Georgia State, they are going to be a tough challenge,” Greenan said. “We have less time to turn around and get ready for that one, so that will be tricky. I see our girls improving every week and that is encouraging.”

This Memphis team is on a one-game losing skid, and MSU will look to make change it to a two-game losing skid as Greenan said the team is ready to battle the Tigers at home.

“They are all in, and we love to compete, so we are looking forward to that battle on Saturday,” Greenan said.