Over the weekend, the Mississippi State University volleyball team suffered losses in both of its conference matchups against No. 3 Florida and Arkansas.
MSU (9-7, 0-2) put forth a valiant effort against the nationally-ranked Gators (13-1, 2-0), who were selected by the coaches of the league to win the SEC title. Ultimately, the young Bulldog team struggled with consistency in the three-set loss, but head coach Jenny Hazelwood said she feels the team will improve with time.
“I thought we played very well at times. I felt like our girls responded well to the challenge but just could not stay consistent enough to pull it out,” Hazelwood said. “We saw spurts of how good we can be when this team matures and becomes more consistent.”
The Gators quickly worked their way to a 7-3 lead in the first set of the match. However, the Bulldogs, headed by senior Dani McCree charged back with a 4-2 run to cut the lead to 9-7. The teams dueled over the next several points, and MSU managed to reduce the Gators lead to 15-13.
The Gators began a run of their own though, a 10-2 outburst brought the first set to an abrupt close at 25-15.  
Florida began the second set in a similar manner as it began the first, immediately jumping out to a 5-0 lead and forcing a Hazelwood timeout. The timeout proved exactly what the Bulldogs needed, as they surged ahead to a 10-9 lead. MSU would use this run to build a 19-15 advantage over Florida.
It was at this point the Gators constructed yet another 10-2 run to end the second set 25-21.
 Despite the runs by the Gators at the start and end of the set, Hazelwood said she thought her team showed resilience in the second set.
“They jumped up pretty quickly, but I thought we responded well,” Hazelwood said, “Unfortunately, we just could not stop their run at the end of the set.”
Unlike the first two sets, MSU struggled to find any kind of momentum in the third set, as the Gators won the final frame 25-11 to secure the match.
MSU’s second conference matchup ended in a three-set loss Sunday at the hands of Arkansas (9-4, 2-0), bringing the Bulldog record in the SEC to 0-2. 
MSU took control of the first set early, gaining a 16-9 advantage before the Razorbacks regained the momentum and claimed the set 27-25. The momentum shift was evident from the beginning of the second set as Arkansas jumped out to an early 7-1 lead.
The Bulldogs managed to reduce the margin to 24-21 late in the set before the Hogs closed the door on a possible comeback at 25-21.
The third and final set of the afternoon was much more closely contested, going back and forth for much of its duration. MSU went ahead 15-14 before a 7-0 run by the Razorbacks sealed the set and the match for Arkansas. 
Bulldog freshman sensation Kimmy Gardiner continued to exhibit the skills that garnered her SEC Freshman of the Week honors earlier this season, tallying 18 kills and 16 digs total in the losses. Those numbers bring her totals to 223 kills and 143 digs on the year. 
The true freshman said she thought the match against the No. 3 Gators was a good gauge of MSU’s ability in the always-competitive SEC.
“I think we played really well,” Gardiner said. “This game was a good start to see where we stand in the SEC. We came out and played with a lot of ambition.”
This marks the tenth time Gardiner has led the team in kills and the third time in as many games. 
Gardiner is quickly becoming the leader of the MSU team, and is compiling an impressive stat line along the way as one of only seven freshmen in the top-20 in the SEC in kills. She is also sixth in the league in double-doubles with seven.  
McCree, the team’s lone senior, had solid performances and turned out 20 kills in the losing efforts, bringing her kill total to 79. 
McCree said she feels the game against Florida was a good learning experience.
“This was an eye-opening experience,” she said. “We are a young team, and now we know what we need to work on and what we are good at.”
Suzanne Horner had good outings in the opening games against SEC foes as well, with 57 assists and nine digs total. The freshman setter is fifth in the SEC with 600 assists.
2012 All-SEC Freshman Team member Roxanne McVey posted 33 digs in the losses. The sophomore defensive specialist currently averages 5.71 digs per set.
This year’s MSU volleyball team boasts 13 underclassmen, second only to the University of South Carolina. MSU volleyball’s seven true freshmen also ranks second to USC’s 10.
MSU has an open week before it returns to conference play Oct. 11 at Texas A&M and Oct. 13 at LSU.

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Jason Simpson | The Reflector

Freshmen Chelsea Duhs (13) and Suzanne Horner (10) get set for a block against Arkansas.