In women’s volleyball, the Bulldogs lost a home conference game to the Arkansas Razorbacks(21-25,23-25, 27-29) 3-0. The game started with a moment of silence to mourn the loss of Keith Joseph Sr. and Keith “MJ” Joseph Jr., who were killed in a car wreck Friday night. 

Joseph Jr. played for Mississippi State football and his father was also a respected football alumnus. Arkansas proved to be too much for the Bulldogs in the first set. Their high speed tempo was enough to throw State off as Breana Jones would repeatedly  serve the ball and spike it quickly. Many mix ups with the officials made things harder for State as their concentration was shifted back and forth constantly. 

Set 2 was still in favor  of Arkansas with many serving errors committed by State that eventually stacked against them. The momentum began slightly shifting as Arkansas’ early lead was beginning to diminish. The Bulldogs attempted to mount a comeback but it was cut short as Arkansas closed the set 25-23. 

Set 3 was a thriller as the score was even between the teams fourteen times. The Bulldogs brought massive attack kills in the second half of the match. 

“That was a tough one to leave out there, especially in the third set,” Head Coach David McFatrich said. When the squad was down 18-14, it was a critical part of the game. Arkansas was beginning to feel confident as they were on the brink of winning the match.  A combination of kills and an aggressive defense and offense from the Bulldogs tied the Razorbacks and  MSU  at 20 as they successfully outscored them 6-2. The Bulldogs took the lead at the 21st point, but after a service error went back to Arkansas they took a one point lead.

The game’s intensity tightened up as the ending score surpassed 25 with both teams going back and forth. The Razorbacks would eventually go up by two to close the set and win the match. The last tied point was at 27, after Chelsea Duhs’ service error. , Evie Grace Singleton was blocked by Breana Jones to win the match 29-27. The Bulldogs led in kills, 53-32. Alex Warren had her personal best of a .424 percentage and 18 kills during the game. Warren and Singleton ran the offense with Single ton being responsible for 14 kills and 6 digs.

On the Razorback’s side, Breana Jones and Danielle Harbin carried their team heavily as they combined for 20 kills and 33 total attempts. Breana Jones had a .636 percentage herself during the game. McFatrich remained positve but said the team needs to work on performing better in clutch situations. 

“Our girls put their all on the court, but fell short. We have to get better at playing in the pressure situations and making those key plays to win sets and matches,” McFatrich said.

“ Now  we have to regroup, get back to practice and prepare for next weekend against Auburn and Texas A&M.”

With the loss, the Bulldogs are 12-14, and 3-9 in conference play. The next game will be Friday at Newell Grissom at 5p.m.against Auburn.