“We were out-played, out-coached, out-everything-ed.”
Those were the words of MSU volleyball head coach Tina Seals after Sunday’s demoralizing 0-3 loss to the Auburn Tigers. Auburn entered the game 2-7 in SEC play, a game behind the Bulldogs for the final spot in the SEC Tournament. The two schools are now tied with five matches left on the schedule.
Sunday’s loss capped off a tough weekend for the Bulldogs, who lost 0-3 to Alabama just two nights earlier. This marks the second time this season that the Lady Dawgs have hosted an SEC weekend series and not won a single game. The team lost the weekend by a total score of 180-135, posting only a .200 attack percentage in its six losses.
Seals was noticeably troubled after the weekend’s matches, saying no positives could be drawn from the team’s performance.
“Everything is a problem for us right now,” Seals said. “We didn’t show up to play at all, we were taken advantage of.”
Junior Rachel Cooper led the team with 20 kills on the weekend, while libero Megan Lukasek paced the team in digs with 20.
Lukasek said the team was disappointed in their performance, but sees some simple things the team can do to improve.
“Obviously we didn’t play as well as we could have,” Lukasek said. “I thought we lacked communication and focus.
“We need our upperclassmen to step up and be leaders,” Lukasek said. “We need to be more focused all week, not just during the game or in practice, because these games we are losing are all mental games.”
The Lady Bulldogs will continue their season-long home stand this weekend with critical home matches against Georgia Friday at 7 p.m. and No. 8 Florida Sunday at 2 p.m.