Homecoming weekend was not an enjoyable one for the Mississippi State volleyball team. They dropped matches to both South Carolina and Tennessee in their first home weekend of SEC competition, losing in straight games in both contests.
“This weekend was another learning experience for us,” said head coach Tina Seals. “We learn from everything we do. You win, you learn. You lose, you learn.”
Friday Oct. 8
In their battle in Knoxville two weeks ago, 18th ranked Tennessee dominated the Lady Dawgs with Kristen Andre’s 17 kills.
This weekend’s match displayed much of the same, as Andre went for a game-high 14 kills and the Volunteers again won by a 3-0 tally.
Rachel Cooper and Orshi Kriegel led the Bulldogs with 10 and 11 kills respectively, while five Lady Dawgs had seven or more digs. However the Volunteer defense was able to hold MSU to a .132 attack percentage and cruise to the victory by scores of 30-20, 30-21 and 30-24.
“Tennessee is an outstanding team,” Seals said. “They kept us from getting any momentum, and played like the SEC contenders that they are.”
Sunday, Oct. 10
Sunday’s match with South Carolina was a chance for the Bulldogs to sweep the season series after notching a 3-0 road victory at Columbia.
However, the Gamecocks were ready for a fight, as the opening game was a 35-33 decision with Carolina taking the victory.
The Lady Dawgs never recovered, and in a fit of unfocused frustration, lost 30-14 in the next game. Down 2-0 in the match, the team played close with the Gamecocks early in the third game, but eventually were tamed 30-19.
“We had our chances in that opening game, but South Carolina kept coming up with the big plays,” Seals said. “(They) have a very athletic team. They played together more as a team than we did. We had some mental letdowns and it got a hold of us. That is something that we need to work on.”
Cooper led all competitors with 12 kills, passing Shauna Owens for 10th-place on the school’s all-time kills list. Megan Lukasek chipped in a team-high 11 digs, while setter Andrea Mead paced the offense with 29 assists.
“We really didn’t play to our potential this weekend,” Mead said of her team’s effort. “We’re a young team, and we learned a lot about ourselves. We need to focus more on coming out and ending strong, also.”
The two weekend losses dropped the team’s record to 9-9, 2-4 in conference play.