The last nine months of planning from the end of the 2007 season, including graduating seniors, players leaving for other various reasons, signing new freshmen and coaches, off-season workouts, beach volleyball, official pre-season practices and scrimmages will come to fruition at 7 p.m. tonight.
That’s when MSU puts 2007 in the archives of program history and officially kicks off 2008, taking on the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff at the Newell Grissom building in the Bulldogs’ first match
of the season.
A lot of talk has been made this pre-season about the youth of the Bulldog team, composed of nine freshmen and only one senior. The program should have a new look this season, according to the
coaches and players.
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it a rebuilding year; I’d probably call it a refreshing year,” said first-year assistant coach Lindsay Shondell. “These new girls have given a new energy to the team. It’s not really the age of the players that matters. It’s how well we play together as a team.”
Shondell also contributes a young spirit to the team, joining the coaching staff as a 2007 graduate from Purdue University.
MSU finished a somewhat disappointing 12-17 (7-13) last season with a team that boasted five seniors. The Bulldogs will be looking to completely overcome the odds to finish with a better record on the year with more inexperienced players. It seems to be a high challenge.
MSU is returning only two starters from the 2007 edition of the team: senior outside hitter Cristina Jucan and sophomore defensive specialist
Kayla Woodard.
“It’s hard trying to fill shoes of players that left last season, but that’s not what we’re trying to do,” Woodard said. “We should be able to do well this season. Our new players have stepped it up and are doing a good job.”
MSU’s first opponent, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, finished the 2007 campaign with a 6-17 mark. The Lady Lions are returning four seniors this season.
The Bulldogs will duel the Trojans of Troy University Saturday at 10 a.m. The Trojans boasted the best record last season of all the MSU Classic teams, finishing 16-17 overall. The Trojans return with six seniors on the squad, the most in the tournament.
The final match of the MSU Classic will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, with the Bulldogs taking on Colorado. The Buffaloes finished a disappointing 6-22 last season, but return five seniors on the tournament’s biggest roster.
Shondell said the scrimmage game last Saturday was to get all of the early-season jitters out, and that she hopes the team will be ready to
play tonight.
“I’m very excited to get to play someone besides ourselves,” Shondell said. “We’ll hopefully rise to the occasion and not be nervous.”
The three teams facing the Bulldogs in the MSU Classic will also be facing each other throughout today and tomorrow.
Despite the team’s young age, the Bulldogs are hoping for quite a bit of success this year in the win-loss column on the season. In fact, they are expecting it.
“That’s always the goal,” Shondell said. “People tend to get stuck on the fact we are young. But we’re going to try to use that as an advantage rather than an excuse.”
One of MSU’s six returning players, sophomore middle blocker Ashley Newsome, agrees, and said the team is ready to get started.
“Everyone is looking at us as ‘young Mississippi State,'” Newsome said. “But I think we’re going to shock a lot of people this year.”