Though last weekend felt like a finale of sorts for the Mississippi State volleyball team, the true culmination of the season lurks just around the corner.The Dawgs (12-15, 7-11 SEC) head into the final weekend of the 2007 season on the heels of a dramatic 3-1 victory over in-state archrival Ole Miss Sunday, in what was the seniors’ final home match of their Maroon and White career.
Tonight, MSU will begin its final road trip of the season as it takes on South Carolina (12-15, 5-13 SEC) in a 6 p.m. contest in Columbia.
MSU’s season will come to an end Sunday as it battles SEC-leading Florida (24-1, 17-1 SEC) in a 12:30 p.m. match.
Senior opposite hitter Jamie Joyner, of St. Louis, Mo., leads the Bulldogs offensively with 345 kills on a .255 percentage on the season, and she likes the general attitude of the team following the emotional victory over Ole Miss.
“Last weekend, there was a lot of emotion going on, and now we just have to focus in at practice to get ready for South Carolina this weekend,” Joyner said. “Once we get there, we just have to focus and play our game. The attitude is pretty good on the team. This is the last week for everything, and so we’re trying to go out with a bang.”
Tonight, MSU will duel the South Carolina Gamecocks, who downed the Bulldogs in Starkville on Sept. 30, by a score of 3-1. USC downed the VolleyDawgs in scores of 30-19, 26-30, 30-28 and 30-27.
The Gamecock win snapped a two-match win streak MSU had over South Carolina coming into the season.
MSU fourth-year head coach Tina Seals said the team is riding the momentum of another MSU sports team’s big accomplishment over last weekend and is adopting one of the same team policies.
“I like Coach Sylvester Croom’s rule where you’ve got 24 hours to think about the victory, and then move on to the next match,” Seals said.
Seals said she likes Croom’s philosophy and plans to build off it for her own team.
“I think we’ve been able to do that so far this week,” she said. “South Carolina beat us here and we know that we can beat them, but we have to focus. We just want to do the best we can right now and really work hard to secure both wins this weekend.”
Sunday will pit the Bulldogs against a formidable foe in the No. 7 Florida Gators, who downed the Bulldogs earlier this season 3-0, just like they have done to 17 of their 25 opponents so far in the season. The Gators have won 23 sets in a row leading up to the weekend. UF beat MSU by scores of 30-26, 30-23 and 30-14 on Sept. 28.
MSU’s underclassmen are heading into the weekend with a different outlook.
Freshman defensive specialist Kayla Woodard, of Arley, Ala., is currently fifth on the team with 166 digs.
She has started in 23 of the Bulldogs’ 27 matches this season, and currently looks to be the leading candidate to replace Megan Lukasek next season as the team’s starting libero.
“It’s definitely important that we win this weekend,” Woodard said. “We’ll be losing five seniors next season, and it’s crucial for us to work hard in the off-season.
Woodard said once the seniors are gone, it will be time for the returning players to step up.
“We’re remembering that even though these are the seniors last matches, it’s like the beginning of next season for us,” she said.