The Mississippi State University volleyball team dropped a four-set match to the University of Mississippi Wednesday in the Magnolia State showdown.
MSU fought hard in the first set and came out with a victory of 26-24, but after the first set, it was all Rebels. Ole Miss battled back to win the next three sets (25-18, 25-18, 25-23).
After the tough loss to the Ole Miss Rebels, Bulldogs head coach Julie Darty Dennis said MSU lacked consistency on the court Wednesday night.
“I think we were looking for consistency. We keep talking about being consistently good volleyball players and following our game plan, and tonight we didn’t do that,” Dennis said. “We’re not doing the same thing over and over for long periods of time.”
Graduate senior Gabby Waden led the Bulldogs with 14 kills, 13 digs and a .300 hitting average, while junior Shania Cromartie completed her seventh double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs. Sophomore Sania Petties finished the night with 10 kills, a block, two assists and three digs. Redshirt senior Deja Robinson also recorded a season-high with eight blocks and three kills to round out the top performances from MSU volleyball in the tough loss to the Rebels.
Coach Dennis spoke to the media postgame about the Bulldogs’ ability to play consistent ball week-to-week.
“We just need to be the same team every single day,” Dennis said. “I don’t want to be a super-aggressive serving team one day, not be able to serve the next day. We just have to figure out who we want to be and what our brand of volleyball is.”
The Volleydawgs currently hold a record of 11-9 (4-6) and will look to snap their four-game losing streak against Louisiana State University in a two-game series in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Game one against the LSU Tigers is set for 6 p.m. Saturday and game two is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Bulldogs return to Starkville Friday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. against the University of Kentucky Wildcats.
