The Mississippi State volleyball team lost its first two home games of the season over the weekend.
The Bulldogs (10-4, 1-3) fell to the Kentucky Wildcats (9-3, 2-2) and Tennessee Lady Volunteers (12-2, 3-1). Each bested MSU by scores of 3-1, though the matches played out very differently from each other.
“We had a good team effort this weekend,” said junior libero Megan Lukasek. “We played the best we’ve played so far. The Tennessee loss really hurt because we played our heart out, but it just didn’t fall our way. Hopefully, we will keep pushing and eventually come out with a win.”
Mississippi State jumped out early to a 4-1 lead in the opening game of the UK match then pulled away from a 20-20 tie to beat the Wildcats 30-27. Sophomore opposite hitter Jamie Joyner led the Dawgs in the opening-game victory, tallying four kills. Two of her kills gave the Bulldogs their final two points of the win.
Though MSU entered the match with the best hitting percentage in the SEC, the Bulldogs fell apart offensively in game two. UK held MSU to a .079 hitting percentage in the second game, winning 30-25.
Kentucky matched that score in game three, ousting the Bulldogs 30-25 once again. Kentucky dominated the third period, leading all the way after breaking an 8-8 tie.
Down 2-1, Mississippi State battled back in game four. The Dawgs took a 20-17 lead on a combined block by Erin Seago and Orshi Kriegel but fell to Kentucky on a 5-0 run.
UK went on to pull ahead from a 27-27 tie to win the game and match 30-27 and 3-1.
Sophomore outside hitter Cristina Jucan led the Bulldogs against UK with 20 kills and was third in the match with 16 digs.
Megan Lukasek led the team in digs with 19, and Eva Kriegel contributed with 45 assists.
“We picked up our defensive play against a very solid Kentucky team,” said MSU head coach Tina Seals. “After winning that first game I felt like we had a good opportunity to pick up a win over a Top 50 team, but we let that opportunity slip away.”
Mississippi State followed that pattern Sunday, jumping out to a quick start against Tennessee but falling in four games.
MSU displayed a strong opening against UT, tallying impressive 17-11 lead, but seven service errors by the Bulldogs eventually led to a heartbreaking loss in game one, 30-28.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in game two, but UT battled back to lead 17-12.
The game featured 10 tied scores and four lead changes. Eventually, MSU pulled ahead late 24-21 and won the game 30-23, tying the score at one apiece.
“In the Tennessee match, we talked about not only starting strong but playing hard through the entire match,” Lukasek said. “In the second game, we shifted the game to match our tempo, and kept the ball where we wanted to go.”
Tennessee took the third game, placing the Dawgs on the brink of a loss. In the fourth game, MSU and UT switched leads and shared ties for the entire game until the game became deadlocked at 28-28.
An MSU service error and a UT kill gave the Vols the win for the game 30-28 and the match 3-1.
“We fell a little short, but the effort was there,” Seals said. “We had hustle, we had fight, and we had the want-to. We held our focus a little better in this match, and I feel like the next time we’re put into this situation, we’re going to be the ones coming out on top.”
The Bulldogs continue SEC play Friday and Sunday as the Dawgs travel to Fayetteville, Ark., and Baton Rouge to battle Arkansas and LSU.