The youthful Mississippi State University volleyball team swept Wofford and Niagra in the Bulldog Invitational Tournament last weekend held in the Newell-Grissom Building.
MSU came into the weekend looking to improve on its 3-4 record on the year. 
MSU took no time getting its record above .500, beating Niagra 3-0 and Wofford 3-1 in Friday’s matches.
The Bulldogs were in the same situation a few weeks ago during the Maroon Classic, where they saw themselves jump to a 2-0 record on Friday, only to lose the next two the following day. 
For the Bulldogs not to have déjà vu this tournament, coach Jenny Hazelwood said the team needed to keep its focus going into Saturday.
“That’s actually what we have been working on for the past few weeks,” Hazelwood said. “When you’re tired and you know you have to come out and play the next day, you have to stay focused and do all the little things right. Our girls had a great week of practice. They were fighting through drills, even though they were tired. We have grown a lot since our last home tournament.”
The team kept its focus on Saturday, winning both of its matches against Wofford and Niagra without losing a single set to go a perfect 4-0 for the tournament and improving its record to 7-4.
Freshman middle blocker Chelsea Duhs had a breakout tournament, tallying 45 kills on the weekend to lead the team, including a career-high 16 kills against Wofford on Friday. Her great play also helped her earn the Bulldog Invitational MVP award. 
Duhs said she believes her success this weekend came from practicing hard during the week.
“This week we worked so hard on our fundamentals,” Duhs said. “We were all just pushing each other, and I think that really paid off for us.”
Freshman Kimmy Gardiner recorded another solid weekend with her seventh double-double of the season, leading the SEC. With her impressive stat-line, even she is surprised with the success she has shown so far in her first year of collegiate volleyball.
“I did not come in here with that expectation,” Gardiner said. “But I did come in here looking to make a difference, and I think my teammates expect me to do that every game, so that is my goal.”
With the non-conference schedule nearly over, Hazelwood said she believes her team will be ready for SEC play.
“That is kind of the purpose for non-conference play, to get ready for SEC play,” she said. “Obviously, the competition level goes up a bit in SEC play and playing so many matches can help correlate into the confidence level in which you are playing at, and with these girls the goal is to get better every day. If we can do that, we can have a pretty good team by then.”
Sophomore libero Roxanne McVey led the Bulldogs with 76 digs on the weekend, while freshman setter Suzanne Horner helped out the team with a tournament-leading 126 assists. 
MSU returns to action Sept. 20 and 21 in the Belmont Bruin Classic in Nashville, Tenn., against Arkansas State, Belmont and UAB. The Bulldogs then return home to open SEC play against No. 5 Florida on Sept. 27.

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Ian Prester

Freshman opposite Kimmy Gardiner spikes a ball during MSU's Bulldog Invitational sweep.