Rivalries don’t always bring out the best in teams. Such was the case in Wednesday night’s volleyball contest against the Mississippi Rebels.
The Bulldogs led the first game 19-11 before mental errors and inept offense eventually gave the Rebels a 30-28 victory.
“We should have won game one,” said head coach Brenda Bowlin. “After we blew the big lead, that broke our spirits and our energy.”
The Dawgs never recovered. MSU posted a dreadful .106 attack percentage, with no member recording double-digit kills.
“Offensively, we had a very poor night. We didn’t execute, and we made a lot of unforced errors which turned into easy points for them.”
“It’s disappointing,” said co-captain Jennifer Hadden, who paced the Bulldogs with 36 assists. “We usually get up for these games, but tonight we just didn’t show up.”
MSU will close out its 2003 campaign at 7 tonight in the Newell-Grissom Building against the Tennessee Volunteers. This will be the final collegiate game for the team’s six seniors.
“After the game I just told them that Friday night is it,” said Bowlin. “I asked them ‘How do you want to go out?’ It’s up to them as to how they want to be remembered.”