Soccer returns to Starkville today when Mississippi State hosts Louisiana at 1 p.m. The match will be broadcast on SEC Network+ with Chris Nasuti and Anthony Craven on the call.
Louisiana is coming off of a Friday night win over Prairie View A&M, benefiting from an own goal. Meanwhile, State enters the match riding a four-game home winning streak after closing the 2020-21 season with three consecutive shutouts in Starkville.
“We are looking forward to playing on our home field in front of our fans,” head coach James Armstrong said. “Louisiana has a lot of exciting new players and are very well organized on both sides of the ball. Our girls are excited to play.”
Admission is free for all MSU home soccer matches. Fans in attendance on Sunday can look forward to an end-of-summer luau complete with free pizza and cupcakes. Cowbells are welcome at the MSU Soccer Field, and fans with a cowbell will have a chance to win a $50 gift card.
Volleyball wins exhibition match
Mississippi State’s volleyball team stormed back to the take the final three sets of a 3-1 exhibition victory over Southern Miss (23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22) on Friday at USM’s Wellness Center.
The Bulldogs imposed their will on the front row and racked up a 10-3 advantage in blocks. The Maroon and White also improved its sideout percentage each set, fueled by a 77% clip during the fourth set.
State had three players register 10-plus kills, and three players collected double-doubles.
Gabby Waden fired in 15 of her match-leading 17 kills following the first set and ripped a .444 hitting clip to lead a balanced attack. Shania Cromartie chipped in 15 kills, eight digs and a sparkling 97.3 reception percentage on 36 attempts. Lauren Myrick provided a spark off the bench with 11 kills and 12 digs over the last three sets.
Gabby Coulter handed out 24 assists coupled with 16 digs, while Margaret Dean distributed 15 assists. Anchoring the back row, Lilly Gunter delivered 19 digs and 12 assists.
Sania Petties contributed six kills, five blocks, eight digs and three aces. Jessica Kemp tacked on five kills and three blocks for the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State will play host to Gonzaga and Southeastern Louisiana as part of the StarkVegas Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Newell-Grissom Building. Friday’s season opener with Gonzaga gets underway at 4 p.m. Admission is free to all home volleyball matches, with gates opening one hour prior to first serve.
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