The MSU volleyball Bulldogs fell to 0-3 in SEC play over the weekend, losing two matches on a road trip that began in Columbia, S.C., and ended in Knoxville, Tenn.
They dropped their match Friday night against the South Carolina Gamecocks by a score of 3-1 and by 3-0 to the Lady Vols of Tennessee Sunday night.
This is the Bulldogs’ fourth straight loss after opening the season winning nine straight.
The VolleyDawgs will resume play at home on this weekend, welcoming Auburn on Friday, and Alabama on Sunday.
Friday vs. South Carolina
South Carolina opened the match strong, racing out to a 6-1 lead in game one and not allowing State to lead at all in that game. USC won game one 30-19.
The Gamecocks scored 14 of those points off of MSU errors-10 hitting errors and four service errors.
“We made way too many mistakes tonight to be competitive on the road against a talented South Carolina team,” MSU head coach Tina Seals said. “We were never able to get our offense on track for very long.”
MSU still couldn’t get the offense jumpstarted in game two, falling behind early 4-1. Sophomore Eva Kriegel stepped up, however, with six kills in game two, to lead the Dawgs to a 30-23 win, evening the match score.
Mississippi State seemed to be in good position to take game three from the Gamecocks, winning at one point 25-21, but USC scored five straight points to get back in the game, rallying to a 30-27 win. MSU trailed 2-1 and had to win game four to stay alive.
Trailing 10-4 in the fourth game, all hope seemed lost for MSU. The Dawgs managed to bounce back, however, closing the gap to 14-11.
The Gamecocks were simply too strong for the Bulldogs, though, and won the game 30-20, handing the Bulldogs their second loss of the SEC season. Rachel Cooper led the team with 17 kills and 12 digs, followed by Orshi Kriegel with 14.
Megan Lukasek was the defensive leader for State with 18 digs.
Sunday vs. Tennessee
Mississippi State opened up fairly strong against defending SEC champ Tennessee, battling to an early 4-4 tie in the first game.
Tennessee then began to play like champions, jumping out to a lead by as much as 12 points. The Lady Vols took game one by a score of 30-26. MSU’s Jamie Joyner had two blocks and five of her nine kills in game one.
UT jumped out to a 12-3 lead in game two, but MSU battled back to 26-24 with a kill from Cristina Jucan. UT was just too strong, however, and took the second game by a score of 30-27. Rachel Cooper had six kills in game two, and freshman Nicole Palazzo had two kills and three blocks.
The intermission seemed to benefit MSU, as the Volleyball Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-1 lead. The Dawgs then led by 8-2. The Vols climbed back, however, and proved why they are the SEC Champions.
They defeated the Bulldogs 30-24 in game three, shutting out the Dawgs for the first time in SEC play all year. Rachel Cooper led MSU with 11 kills, followed by Cristina Jucan with eight. Megan Lukasek led State in defense with 14 digs, while Eva Kriegel tallied 12 with 20 assists.