Fresh from a championship-clinching 2-1 showing in the UNO/Wyndham-Metairie Classic last weekend in New Orleans, Mississippi State (9-5) hits the midpoint of its 2002 campaign and opens Southeastern Conference competition with a pair of league matches at the Newell-Grissom Building this weekend. State opens its 20th season of league volleyball competition Friday, hosting the Georgia Bulldogs (10-5) in a 7 p.m. match. The Bulldogs then cap the weekend Sunday with a 2 p.m. match against No. 3 Florida (9-1). There is no charge for admission.
This weekend’s two-match set opens a season-longest four-match home stand for the Bulldogs, who open the October portion of their schedule Oct. 4-6 by entertaining SEC Western Division rivals Auburn and Alabama.
Georgia and Florida have maintained the upper hand in their volleyball series with Mississippi State, combining for a 48-4 record against MSU. The Georgia Bulldogs are 26-4 against MSU, including a 3-0 Georgia win last year in Athens. But in their last meeting in the Newell-Grissom Building, State notched a 3-1 match win, snapping a run of 25 consecutive Georgia wins in the series.
Eleven-time defending SEC champion Florida has enjoyed even greater success vs. State, winning all 22 of the previous meetings dating back to 1994. Over that span, State has won just two games from the powerful Gators.
The Bulldogs are looking to repeat their SEC-opening night success of a year ago. State hit the road for a 3-0 win at Auburn, registering MSU’s second win in 19 season-opening SEC matches and the first away from Starkville.
MSU is 1-8 in SEC season openers at home, topping Alabama 3-2 in 1989. The shutout win at Auburn a year ago is State’s lone win in 10 SEC season openers on the road.
A 2-1 showing in the UNO/Wyndham-Metairie Classic last weekend in New Orleans netted State its second September tournament title of the 2002 campaign. The Bulldogs blanked Mercer and Centenary 3-0 and then dropped a closely-contested 3-2 decision to host New Orleans. State’s 8-3 record in tournament games played enabled MSU to break a three-way deadlock and claim the tournament title.
A pair of MSU players were named to the all-tournament team. Senior outside hitter Misty Hubenthal, who led MSU with 45 kills and 33 digs, earned her second all-tournament team honor of the year, while junior middle blocker Hilary Chambers, with 32 kills, a .446 hitting percentage and 15 total blocks (four solos), was tabbed as the tournament’s MVP. She becomes the fourth different Bulldog to earn all-tournament team honors this fall.
Other Bulldogs turned in solid performances in the two-day event. Freshman Rachel Cooper opened the tourney with 17 kills against Mercer and finished with a match-high 19 against UNO. Nicole Broome matched her career-high with 12 kills against Centenary and registered a career-high eight blocks against UNO.
State matched and surpassed its 2001 season wins total with two victories in the tournament. State finished 8-17 last fall. The Bulldogs’ home stand continues next weekend when State tests SEC Western Division rivals Auburn (Oct. 4 at 7 p.m.) and Alabama (Oct. 6 at 2 p.m.) at Newell-Grissom. State will be going after its fourth consecutive win over Auburn and looking to snap a six-match series win streak by Alabama.