After completing four non-conference tournaments with a record of 9-6, the Mississippi State University (9-7, 0-1 SEC) volleyball drops its SEC opener (25-19, 17-25, 24- 26, 25-22) against South Carolina (7-5, 1-0 SEC), to begin SEC play.

Redshirt freshman Liv Benner opened up 2017 SEC play with a kill to put the Bulldogs on the board first. The Bulldogs then dominated the first set with an unmatchable defense, ending with a score of 25-19, overpowering the Gamecock’s offense by capitalizing off of their opponent’s mistakes.

Leading the Bulldogs in kills and digs in the first set was senior Jelena Vujcin, with four kills and two digs. Junior Khristian Carr was not far behind Vujcin with three kills and one dig.

Sets two and three were dominated by the Gamecocks, and were completely different from set one. The Bulldogs started off a bit lethargic for the second and third set, and the Gamecocks took advantage of their jagged start.

USC’s defense in sets two and three was night and day compared to their first set. The Gamecocks had fewer errors, and went on a 6-0 run. Their defense amplified their offense, hitting at .500.

Despite rallying back from the deficits in both sets, the Bulldogs were unable to capture the victory both sets, hitting only .107 in the second set and .053 in the third. The Gamecocks ultimately won the second set with a score of 25-17 and the third set 26-24.

In the fourth set, the Bulldogs had a comeback though they struggled with dropping the set and committing several attack errors. The Bulldogs hit at .162, and rallied back to win the set 25-22; taking the match to a fifth set. USC ultimately benefited from the Bulldogs’ errors, and went on to quickly take the fifth set 15-6.
The Bulldogs will travel to Knoxville, TN., Sunday, Sept. 24, to meet the Volunteers (7-3, 0-1 SEC) at 12:30 p.m.