Playing every single game like it’s a game that matters is how a team grows to become a championship-caliber team.
Some might look at non-conference tournaments as times to slack and simply focus on skill development. MSU, however, looks to win.
The Mississippi State Bulldog volleyball team left Lafayette, La., last weekend with its first three wins of the season, getting the 2006 season off to a strong start.
The Bulldogs (3-0) swept the Capital One Classic over the weekend, held at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
The ULL Ragin’ Cajuns also participated in the round robin event, as well as the Southeastern Louisiana Lions and the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles.
Tina Seals improves to 3-0 in season openers and 7-0 against all other teams in Mississippi.
Though Eva Kriegel took home the trophy of tournament MVP, new starter Cristina Jucan was the highlight of the weekend, closing off any skepticism from coaches and fans as to how solid she will be on the court this year for the Bulldogs.
The sophomore outside hitter tallied a staggering 51 kills over the weekend, nearly doubling Orshi Kriegel’s 28, which is second most on the Bulldog roster.
Through the first three games, Jucan is hitting at a solid .400 mark, second on the team behind Eva Kriegel.
Jucan was named to the Capital One Classic All-Tournament Team, and she was joined by Hungarian sisters Orshi and Eva Kriegel. Tournament MVP Eva led the team in hitting percentage, with an impressive .458 mark.
Eva also was the team’s leading setter, setting up for 89 of the Dawg’s 143 total kills.
“This was a good team effort this weekend,” Seals said. “Orshi, Eva and Cristina made the all-tournament team, but we had so many players make key contributions throughout the weekend.
“This is something we can build on as we continue getting our team set for Southeastern Conference play next month,” Seals added.
Junior libero Megan Lukasek is still sidelined with a back injury. and did not make the trip to Lafayette, La.
This provided an opportunity for freshman backup libero Jennifer Hauskey to get a feel for NCAA season play.
Hauskey played in all nine of MSU’s games over the weekend and finished the tournament with 21 digs.
MSU 3, USM 0
Southern Mississippi (2-1) was first on the schedule for the VolleyDawgs this year.
The Bulldogs opened the season with a bang, clipping the Golden Eagles 3-0, by scores of 30-17, 30-14 and 30-18.
The opening match was Jucan’s explosive debut as a Bulldog starter, as she tallied a career high 24 kills against USM. Jucan also finished with 11 digs, beginning the season with a double-double outing.
MSU 3, Southeastern La. 0
Saturday morning of the tournament pitted Southeastern Louisiana (0-3) against the Maroon and White.
Mississippi State cruised over the Lions 3-0, clobbering them by scores of 30-12, 30-22 and 30-15.
Jucan recorded her second double-double in a row against the Lions and was joined on the leader board by junior middle blocker Erin Seago, who served up a career high five aces in match two of the season.
MSU 3, La. Lafayette 0
One opponent stood in the way of MSU’s march toward a tournament championship, and it was tournament host Louisiana-Lafayette (1-2), who earlier had blanked SLU as well.
The Ragin’ Cajuns played hard against MSU but couldn’t muster a win in any of the three games it took for the Dawgs to snatch the victory.
State won by scores of 30-26, 30-27 and 30-24, sending the Cajuns down to third place in the tournament, and earning the Dawgs their first tournament trophy of the season.
Jucan earned her third double-double in as many matches against ULL, though she tallied only 12 kills and 10 digs in the tournament finale.
Jucan’s hitting percentage in match three fell to a not-so-hot .250, but Eva Kriegel picked up the slack, tallying a .429 percentage against ULL.
The Bulldogs travel to Atlanta, Ga., to RSVP their place in the Regency Suites Midtown Invitational, hosted by Georgia Tech (0-0).
Georgia State (1-0) and Northern Iowa (2-1) will also test the Bulldogs in Atlanta, as State will look to notch three more wins under their season belt for 2006.