The Mississippi State University volleyball team ended the 2022 regular season with a clean sweep against the University of Missouri Tigers at The Griss on Nov. 25 and Nov. 26.
MSU’s offense dominated the Tigers in game one, as Gabby Waden led the Bulldogs with 17 kills and 12 digs. Waden earned her fifth double-double of the season in the game one win over Mizzou and crossed the 1,500-kill threshold in her career in this series.
Shania Cromartie and Lauren Myrick also recorded stellar performances against the Tigers with 13 kills apiece. Myrick tacked on 18 digs, which earned her the ninth double-double of the season.
After the win Friday, Bulldogs head coach Julie Darty Dennis discussed her thoughts on the performance against the Tigers.
“It was an awesome win on our home court,” Dennis said. “This was our senior weekend, so I think we were really fired up to play for each other and our seniors. We came out with a lot of pride, and I was really proud of us after the second set.”
Gabby Coulter tacked on her sixteenth double-double of the season with 51 assists and 12 digs, as well as adding four kills and an ace. The Bulldogs took the first set 25-22 but fell in the second set, 25-19. MSU rallied and finished the last two sets with 25-21 and 25-19, securing the home win on Friday night. The Bulldogs totaled 76 digs, 62 kills and 60 assists in the victory over Mizzou in game one.
MSU rallied on Saturday’s senior day with the momentum from Friday night to finish out the Tigers in a 3-0 match, [25-16, 25-14, 25-20].
“Today was all about our seniors,” Dennis said. “They changed the culture here, they changed what is in our gym and they helped set the tone to give us momentum to head in the direction that we want to as a program.”
Waden led the offensive attack for MSU again on Saturday with 14 kills, seven digs, and four blocks. Cromartie ended with eight kills and two digs, while Myrick issued 11 digs, four kills and two blocks. Coulter finished her final game of the season with 32 assists, seven digs, five kills and an ace.
Saturday night, the Bulldogs honored seniors Coulter, Lacey Jeffcoat, Burgundy Walters, Katie Culumovic and volleyball manager Courtney Clevenger.
As a team, the Bulldogs tallied 44 digs, 39 assists and 41 kills to end Saturday night’s series. The win over the Missouri Tigers was the final game for the Bulldogs in 2022, as they were not selected to participate in the NCAA Tournament.
The Mississippi State volleyball team finished the season with a record of 15-13 (8-10 in SEC play). Since becoming the Bulldogs’ head coach, Dennis has a record of 63-77.
