‘Size matters.’ This expression was never before so true Sunday afternoon when the Arkansas Razorbacks (21-5, 12-2 SEC) towered over the Mississippi State Bulldogs (10-18, 1-13 SEC) for a 30-26, 30-23, 30-20 sweep. Standing 6 feet 5 inches tall, Sara Kincaid hit an outstanding .625 and led the ‘Hogs with 11 kills. Libby Wendell and Jennifer Haaser, both 6 feet 2 inches, added nine kills apiece.
State traded thumps with Arkansas throughout Games 1 and 2 before the Razorbacks out-blocked MSU 10-2 and took control down the stretch.
“We came out aggressive; we were doing a lot of things right,” MSU head coach Brenda Bowlin said. “Arkansas is a good team. When they got some opportunities, they made the most of them. They brought the heat, and we weren’t able to respond.”
Lone senior Misty Hubenthal once again led the Bulldog attack with 10 kills and added seven digs to the MSU defensive effort. Junior Nicole Broome racked up eight kills and hit a stellar .429. Junior Lauren Bounds led the defense with 11 digs.
The loss followed a grueling five-game match against the LSU Tigers (17-8, 9-5 SEC) Friday as MSU held senior night festivities to honor Hubenthal, who delivered her 12th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 16 digs.
Win-hungry and determined, MSU edged LSU 30-28 in the opening game. LSU fought back and returned the favor 31-29 in Game 2.
“We executed some things that we haven’t been doing,” Bowlin said. “Even though we only show eight blocks, we touched a ton of balls.”
The Tigers returned following intermission and spiked the Dawgs 30-20 in Game 3.
“We did not take care of the ball in Game 3, and when that happens you can’t run an offense,” said Bowlin. “In Game 4 we started passing better, and everything else clicked.”
“We just said ‘Dominate’ before Game 4, and that is what we did,” said junior Jennifer Rousey, who hit a stout .480 and tied Hubenthal for the team lead in kills. Junior Hilary Chambers posted 10 kills of her own to boost the Bulldog attack.
“We did things we’ve never done,” Hubenthal said. “We were covering our hitters, winning long rallies and picking up balls that we usually don’t pick up. We were so close, we hadn’t won a single game in forever and to take LSU to five was really good.”
“You could tell people were breathing harder, but we were so pumped to be going five with such a great team,” Bounds said. “There was more emotion out there than we’d ever seen before.”
Game 5 was a point swap before the Tigers nipped the vanquished Dawgs 15-13. Jennifer Hampton led LSU with 24 kills and 17 digs. Kyra Lancon, Regan Hood and Katie Kubena added 15, 13 and 11 respective kills.
The Dawgs’ defensive effort was led by Bounds with 21 digs at the libero position. Bounds returned to the defensive specialist spot Friday due to a season-ending medial meniscus tear suffered by junior Tanika Taylor.
“It took me a couple of minutes to get in the swing of things,” Bounds said. “First, I was a little nervous because I had not played libero in half a season. It took me a little while, but then I felt cool and confident.”
“We just had such a desire to win,” Rousey said. “Everybody played hard and had a positive attitude.”
“The team definitely wanted to get a win for Misty,” Bowlin said. “We really fought hard tonight. With our record, the team could easily pack it in. But they don’t; they play hard and show character.