Emotions are sure to soar this weekend as the Mississippi State volleyball team plays its final home matches of the 2007 season. The matches will be the final appearances in Starkville for the first senior class that MSU head coach Tina Seals has coached since their freshman year.”We have a great challenge ahead of us,” Seals said. “We’ve got five seniors who have put in a lot of hard work and sweat over the last four years, and they’re really looking forward to this weekend. They’re looking forward to playing on our home court against two great teams.”
Senior libero Megan Lukasek recognizes the season as successful, even if the Bulldogs happened to fall short of the NCAA Tournament.
“We’ve overcome a lot,” Lukasek said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries throughout the whole season that we’ve had to work through, and we’ve had some key people stepping up and filling those roles.”
The team has four matches left in the season with two at home and two on the road. MSU will face two teams this weekend that topped the Bulldogs by scores of 3-1 in matches earlier this season.
“We’ve been cleaning up things that we had a problem with on Sunday to get us where we need to be for this weekend,” Seals said. “We’re getting our two freshmen, [Ashley Newsome and Meaghan Schlueter], more familiar with the outside position, taking Cristina [Jucan’s] spot.”
Mississippi State junior outside hitter Cristina Jucan is still nursing a nagging back injury she has dealt with all season. Seals said she would determine before game time whether Jucan would be able to play.
Tonight the Dawgs will face off against LSU (20-6, 11-5 SEC), who defeated the Bulldogs in early October with scores of 19-30, 30-22, 30-19 and 30-25.
Though the Bulldogs are not overlooking the bout against the Tigers, the team is chomping at the bit even more to take on Ole Miss for the second time this season on Sunday.
Ole Miss (22-6, 11-5 SEC) downed State on Oct. 5 with scores of 30-22, 30-28, 22-30 and 30-27. The Lady Rebs’ victory was the first since 2003 and was the first Mississippi-team victory against the Bulldogs in Seals’ tenure. In the previous three seasons, Ole Miss tallied a 36-53 overall record, with a dismal 13-39 SEC record. This season has been a turnaround, however.
“Last year, even though we beat Ole Miss twice, they made the NCAA tournament,” Seals said. “They were a very good team. Their attitude on the court is that they’re ready to win. They are going to fight until the last point, and that is what is going to make Sunday’s match so exciting. Our seniors want the win, and Ole Miss needs the win to improve their ranking.”
Along with the Lady Rebels’ first win against Seals comes the fact that it was the first Ole Miss victory against this year’s senior class. Lukasek said she is anxious for the upcoming weekend.
“I just can’t wait for all of the seniors to come together and play a good match, especially since we’re playing Ole Miss,” Lukasek said. “It’s a big rivalry. We’re going to come out strong and I think we’re in for a good weekend.”
Seals and Lukasek both acknowledged that the Bulldog fan support has been a large factor in the team’s success over the last four years.
“The fans have been awesome,” Lukasek said. “When we hear them yell ‘Maroon, White,’ it helps us to know that they’re enjoying what we do. It helps us to play, not only for us, but for them also.