The Mississippi State Bulldog volleyball team’s return to Newell-Grissom was bittersweet.
The MSU/Ramada Inn Classic did not go as well as expected for the senior-laden Bulldogs. MSU finished 1-2 in the tournament, beating UT-Martin in four games Friday night before falling to both Austin Peay and Southern Miss in three straight games.
“We played sporadic (this weekend). We played well in spurts and played poorly in spurts,” MSU head coach Brenda Bowlin observed. “Unfortunately, those poor spurts were usually at the end of the game. We got to 28 points and just ran into a wall.”
“It wasn’t any one person. As a team, couldn’t find a way to win. And that’s frustrating, to be close and not be able to close the door. It just knocks you down mentally, rather than building you up like a win.”
That was the bitter.
The sweet came from solid play by the Bulldog interior. Senior middle blocker Jennifer Rousey was the only Bulldog named to the All-Tournament team.
Fellow senior middle blocker Hilary Chambers led the team in attack percentage and tallied 24 kills for the tournament.
“I thought the middle played pretty well this weekend,” Bowlin said.
“Jennifer and Hilary both had great games. Our outside is where we need to get better. Volleyball is a true team sport and you need good play from all six players. We just really need more consistent play from the outside positions.”
While the Maroon and White has started off slow, the season is still fresh, and the Bulldogs are not giving up.
They will try to improve on their 2003 slate this weekend with a trip to West Lafayette, Ind., to participate in the Purdue University/Mortar Board Invitational.
“Obviously we struggled this weekend,” Chambers said. “We just played down. We all have to hold ourselves responsible, so we just need to find our own individual motivations and go from there. We really need to get a mental turnaround at Purdue next weekend.”
The tournament will be no cakewalk for the reeling Bulldogs. They will face Purdue, Middle Tennessee State and Indiana State.
Purdue returns five starters off last year’s 12-21 team, but the Lady Boilermakers are 4-2 in two road trips this season under first year head coach Dave Shondell.
Middle Tennessee State will be making its second trip to the Hoosier State in as many weeks. MTSU went 0-3 in the Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational last weekend. Indiana State is 3-3.
“The schedule doesn’t get any easier,” Bowlin said. “We’re going up north, where volleyball is big. We need a win to get our momentum rolling.”
“This team wants to win. We just need to get in the gym (this week) and fix some things. We need more mental toughness.”