With one weekend of SEC experience under its belt and a new national ranking, Mississippi State volleyball will try to build on its success.
A tough road trip awaits a Western Division swing against LSU and Arkansas. Although the team upset South Carolina on the road a week ago, they also lost convincingly at Tennessee, proving there is still work to be done.
“There are definitely some areas where we need improvement, and Tennessee exposed those on Sunday,” said head coach Tina Seals. “A lot of what we are dealing with, though, is just mental things. It was hard to focus on Sunday after the big win on Friday. We need to learn how to put the good out of our heads just like the bad.”
LSU will enter the match with a 9-3 overall record, but losers of two straight matches. They are 1-1 in the SEC.
“LSU is a very talented team,” Seals said. “We played them in the spring, and they’ve added even more talent since then.”
Arkansas is also a perennial favorite in SEC West play. They are coming off 10 straight winning seasons in the SEC under head coach Chris Poole, and they are 1-1 in conference play so far this season.
“Arkansas is a tough game for us,” Seals said. “If for no other reason than the tradition that they have, as well as their coaching staff.”
The players are aware of the challenges they face this weekend. But they also feel like they are ready for whatever their opponents can throw at them. Junior setter Andrea Mead, who leads the team with 501 assists on the year, says the team is learning quickly and getting better with every ball.
“We need to get good serves,” Mead said. “If we can minimize the little mistakes we make and I can do a better job of spreading the blocks to get my teammates open looks, we will be fine.”