Mississippi State’s volleyball team faced its first ranked opponent of 2021 on the road and was blanked by No. 21 Georgia Tech 25-16, 25-22, 25-19 during Thursday’s evening session of the Georgia Tech Classic at O’Keefe Gymnasium in Atlanta.
The Bulldogs (6-2) were limited to 30 kills and a .161 attack percentage, while the Yellow Jackets (5-1) countered with 45 kills and a .286 hitting clip.
A key for Georgia Tech was controlling the first contact battle with 7 aces, which also held State to a 58.9 sideout percentage.
“Ultimately, not the result we were looking for facing our first ranked opponent in their building,” head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. “Credit to a Georgia Tech. They showed why they’re a top 25 team. They were able to put us on our heels with their serve-pass game, and they were able to get their outside hitters more involved that we were.”
Earlier Thursday, the Bulldogs battled from behind twice to record a hard-fought 23-25, 33-31, 22-25, 25-23, 15-10 victory over Indiana.
The victory over the Hoosiers (5-2) marked the Bulldogs’ second win over a Big Ten opponent. The last time was a four-set win over Purdue on Sept. 17, 1994 at the Louisville Classic.
Mississippi State saved its best for last, crushing 11 kills on 26 swings and converting on 8 of 11 sideout attempts during the deciding set.
Men’s basketball
SEC releases game dates for men’s hoops schedule
The 2021-22 schedule for the Mississippi State men’s basketball team is now complete after the SEC office revealed the conference slate Thursday.
Game time and TV network assignments will be released at a later date by the SEC and its television partners.
The 18-game league schedule includes home-and-home matchups with defending SEC champion Alabama, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Arkansas and Missouri and single games against the rest of the conference.
The SEC Tournament is set for March 9-13 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, home to the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bulldogs won the 2009 SEC Tournament, the last time the event was played in Tampa.
2021-22 Mississippi State men’s basketball schedule
Nov. 10 NORTH ALABAMA
Nov. 13 MONTANA
Nov. 17 DETROIT MERCY
Nov. 21 MOREHEAD STATE
Nov. 25 Louisville at Nassau, The Bahamas
Nov. 27 Maryland or Richmondg at Nassau, The Bahamas
Dec. 2 LAMAR
Dec. 5 MINNESOTA
Dec. 11 Colorado State at Fort Worth, Texas
Dec. 14 GEORGIA STATE
Dec. 17 FURMAN
Dec. 29 ARKANSAS
Jan. 5 at Missouri
Jam. 8 at Ole Miss
Jan. 12 GEORGIA
Jan. 15 ALABAMA
Jan. 19 at Florida
Jan. 22 OLE MISS
Jan. 25 at Kentucky
Jan. 29 at Texas Tech
Feb. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA
Feb. 5 at Arkansas
Feb. 9 TENNESSEE
Feb. 12 at LSU
Feb. 16 at Alabama
Feb. 19 MISSOURI
Feb. 23 at South Carolina
Feb. 26 VANDERBILT
March 2 AUBURN
March 5 at Texas A&M
March 9-13 SEC Tournament at Tampa, Florida
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