The Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs dropped two more SEC matches Friday and Sunday.The Dawgs fell on the road Friday to Ole Miss and Sunday to No. 20 LSU by scores of 3-1 in both matches.
“It took a little time to get our injured players back into the game at full force,” head coach Tina Seals said. “Ole Miss has a great team and were able to come out with a victory, though we fought hard. We won the first game against LSU, but we just fell short against a top 20 team.”
MSU (6-11, 1-7) is off to its worst conference record since 2003, when the Dawgs opened SEC play with 10 consecutive losses. The team would only win two SEC matches that season.
The start is the worst so far since Seals’ arrival at MSU.
Seals, who is in her fourth year at the helm of the Bulldog program, held an undefeated record against all in-state rivals prior to the weekend’s match against Ole Miss. Overall, State was boasting a six-match win streak over the Lady Rebs.
“Our streak ending just makes us want to work harder and be ready to take them down next time. We just have to get ready for the next week instead of thinking about the past,” Seals said.
Ole Miss, who is off to a fast start this season, turned back the Bulldogs 3-1 in scores of 30-22, 30-28, 22-30, and 30-27. It was Ole Miss’s 53rd win in the series of all time. State has only 15.
Senior outside hitter Cristina Jucan led the Bulldogs offensively in the match, chalking up a match-high 18 kills.
Jucan also notched 13 digs and served up her eighth double-double of the season, the best on the team.
Senior opposite hitter Jamie Joyner and sophomore outside hitter Ioana Demian also contributed offensively, pitching in with 11 kills each.
The weekend turned out to be a career weekend for senior libero Megan Lukasek, as she turned in two career performances over the spread. Against the Lady Rebels, she led MSU’s defense with a career-high 26 digs.
“I think Megan is still hurt, she’s just dealing with the pain better and getting better each match,” Seals said. “She’s beginning to lead on defense again, and that’s what we need right now. She’s doing a great job in her role.”
Senior middle blocker Lauren Kowal led MSU at the net with five total blocks.
MSU fell to the No. 20 LSU Tigers Sunday, also by a score of 3-1. State gave the Tigers a scare early on and threatened for the upset after taking the opening set by a score of 30-19.
LSU made adjustments, however, and bounced back to sweep MSU in the next three games by scores of 30-22, 30-19, and 30-25.
Jucan once again led MSU’s offense with 15 kills. With 11 digs, she performed for her ninth double-double of the year.
“Cristina underwent a second series of shots and was out of practice all week,” Seals said. “The second set did her a lot of good. She was trying to work through a lot of the pain then, but now that she feels better, I think we should be seeing her make a big difference from now on.”
Lukasek once again had a career afternoon, contributing with 27 digs, just one more than she had the match before.
MSU’s biggest bright spot on the box score came in the form of service aces. MSU served up 11 on LSU for its second-highest total of the season. Jucan served up five of those aces.
With the win, the SEC West-leading Tigers improved to 15-2 on the season, with a 7-1 record in conference play.
MSU will return home this weekend to face two more conference opponents in an attempt to attain the team’s first SEC win since beating Arkansas on Sept. 21.
State will take on Georgia (13-5, 4-4) on Friday at 7 p.m. and will square off with Auburn (10-9, 2-6) on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.