The Mississippi State volleyball team returns home this weekend after dropping matches at Arkansas and LSU last weekend. The Bulldogs host the Wildcats of Kentucky Friday night at 7 and then take on the Tennessee Volunteers Sunday afternoon at 1:30. The team is looking to bounce back after a disappointing road trip.
LSU, a front runner in the hunt for the SEC championship, ousted State in straight sets for the second time this season. The Bulldogs were held to a season low 18 kills, nine of which were by junior Caitlin Rance. The team gave up leads in the first and third sets due to the continual fire power of a fast pace LSU offense.
State defeated Arkansas in the first matchup, but the Razorbacks took the second meeting in three sets. Again, Rance paced State with eight kills as the team only managed 28 overall. The Bulldogs had early leads in all three sets, but they could not hold onto them. Head coach Jenny Hazelwood said her team struggled some during both of these matches.
“It’s always tough to play on the road in the SEC, and LSU is one of the top blocking teams in our conference, while Arkansas had a really good blocking match and played good defense,” Hazelwood said. “At times, we just were struggling to bring it all together.”
Sophomore middle blocker Mandy Mellencamp agreed the team did not play its best last weekend.
“We weren’t very confident going in, and I felt like when we made one mistake in the beginning, it affected us the whole time,” Mellencamp said. “After we made a mistake, it tore us down, but we’re getting better at that.”
The key to this improvement is practice. The girls have been playing very well during practice but have struggled to carry that into matches. They have been focusing on making practice more like a game to help in this area. This includes practicing harder, doing tougher drills and executing even more.
The Bulldogs hope the practice efforts this week will pay off in the two matches this weekend. Kentucky’s high-powered offense is led by two of the top players in the SEC, Becky Pavan and Lauren Rapp. Also, the Wildcats run a 6-2 offense, which means it has two setters, so the setter is always back row. This allows the Cats to have three good hitters on the front row at all times. The Volunteers are ranked 22 and boast a 10-4 SEC record going into the weekend. UT has several offensive weapons who produce consistently for them. Hazelwood said the team is focusing on taking the strong practice play and putting it into the matches.
“This weekend, we are looking to play like we do in practice with that kind of intensity, hustle and execution,” Hazelwood said. “We know that we’ve got some tough competition, so the things we’re working on are things that are going to help us defend their strengths and hopefully give us more chances to take advantage of their weaknesses.”
Even though Kentucky and Tennessee are not in the same division of the SEC as the Bulldogs, the girls are preparing no differently for the matches. Senior Ashley Newsome realizes that these matches are still important.
“Every match is going to be tough; just cause they aren’t in our division doesn’t mean it’s not going to be a tough game,” Newsome said. “We just have to go out, stay focused and compete.”
With an off weekend in football, the volleyball team is hoping that the fan support is a big advantage for them this weekend. Hazelwood said that it is evident at football games and other sports how much a loud crowd can give an indescribable momentum to the home team.
“It’s hard to even make people understand how important a big crowd is,” Hazelwood said. “The crowd is incredibly important, and I know Bulldog fans across the border are excited about the athletic program and everything that’s going on, so we hope that carries into the weekend for us and that people will come out and support.”