Mississippi State was in position to pick up two big road wins over the weekend, but squandered leads in five-set losses to Alabama and Ole Miss.
On Friday evening in Tuscaloosa, MSU dropped the first set against the last-place Crimson Tide but took the next two before falling short in the fourth and fifth as Alabama took the match 25-21, 19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-6.
The Crimson Tide won the first seven points of the match with former Bulldog Sophie Agee serving, and Agee had four aces during that run. MSU battled back and briefly pulled ahead 15-14, but the hosts responded to secure the opening set. The Bulldogs gradually created separation from Alabama to win the second and broke away late in the third, but the Tide won a see-saw fourth set and then dominated the decisive fifth, using an 8-0 run to break a 5-5 tie.
Karli Schmidt had 17 kills to lead MSU (10-12, 4-9 Southeastern Conference), Rebecca Walk added 13 and Arissa Smith chipped in with 11. Smith did not commit an error on 18 swings for a .611 hitting percentage. Walk was also big on the defensive end with eight blocks, freshman McKenna Yates had 25 digs and grad transfer setter Ceci Harness finished with 48 assists.
Two days later in Oxford, the Bulldogs trailed for most of the opening set before grabbing the last five points to take the lead in the match. MSU also won a marathon third set, but the Rebels secured a split in the season series between the bitter in-state rivals with a 22-25, 25-19, 28-30, 25-21, 15-11 victory.
The Bulldogs blew five set points in that pivotal third set and had to stave off just one, but MSU took a 2-1 lead in the match after back-to-back errors from Ole Miss. The visitors had a chance to close it out in four, but the Rebels kept the Bulldogs at arm’s length for most of that set, then won six straight points to take the lead for good in the fifth.
Schmidt, Smith and Kailin Newsome each finished with 14 kills and Amina Shackelford added 10, but errors were a problem for MSU throughout the match — the Bulldogs finished with 29 of them to just 19 for Ole Miss. Yates had 26 digs and freshman Mele Corral-Blagojevich had 15. Harness recorded 51 assists, two shy of her season-high 53 in the first meeting against the Rebels.
MSU concludes its three-game road swing at No. 13 Kentucky, which currently leads the SEC by a game over Florida and Texas, on Wednesday.
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