STARKVILLE — As redshirt junior Amina Shackelford celebrated on the court following her game-winning kill on Wednesday night, jubilation came from her Mississippi State teammates, who quickly ran onto the court to celebrate.
It was almost a sigh of relief after what turned out to be a chaotic five-set thriller against Auburn.
Controversy and confusion became the main storyline toward the end of the fourth set, one that the Tigers won in extra points to force a fifth set.
“I didn’t know what it was going to come down to,” Shackelford said. “I just know we wanted to win. I was going to do whatever I had to. I wanted the ball again.”
However, once the dust settled, the story flipped, ending in the Bulldogs playing spoiler to an NCAA Tournament hopeful.
“They were trying anything,” head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. “It just felt like they were desperate. They’re very much worried about where they are for postseason play. They know what’s at stake. … We’re playing loose and free right now. We’re more loose when the pressure is on the opponent.”
Southeastern Conference struggles have plagued Mississippi State (12-13, 5-10 SEC) this season, but that didn’t seem to bother the Bulldogs, who pulled out an impressive win against an 18-win opponent in Auburn.
That started in the first set, virtually an error-free set for MSU that saw it hit .378 with 15 kills and one attack error.
That performance proved crucial in the end, but this match was as see-saw as they come, with Mississippi State and Auburn trading set wins through the fifth set tiebreaker.
What made the Bulldogs victorious in the end was their ability to weather the storm, ride the wave of ebbs and flows, and come up big when asked to.
“When we win, when we’re successful, it’s about the balance of the offense,” Darty Dennis said. “We’re not a one-trick pony.”
The Bulldogs played together on Wednesday, with five players recording seven kills or more. Shackelford finished with 10 kills on the night, one of two on the team to finish in double-digits.
Karli Schmidt had an impressive night offensively, recording 17 kills with a .268 hitting percentage and .415 hitting percentage, but that balance paid dividends for the team.
Three matches remain to make a dark horse run at postseason play, and the Bulldogs are playing with house money here on out.
“We really are just trying to figure out what team we are at this point,” Shackelford said. “We’re trying to work together, figure out what works best for us. Winning games like this shows us everything we need to know moving forward.”
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