Mississippi State was on the verge of taking a two-set lead Sunday evening in a critical Southeastern Conference battle at LSU.

Had the Bulldogs finished off the Tigers in that second set, it would have put them well on their way to a fourth win in their last five matches against LSU — pretty heady stuff considering the Tigers came in holding a 65-12 all-time edge against MSU. But the hosts found their rhythm just in time, winning nine of the last 10 points to take the set before winning the third and fourth sets as well.

MSU (8-6, 1-3 SEC) is sorely missing Zoe Gonzales, who remains sidelined with an injury. Gonzales, among the Bulldogs’ top blockers, has missed the last three matches and is tied for second on the team in blocks per set. The block was actually still a bright spot Sunday even without Gonzales, but the offense struggled to find consistency.

Sophie Agee led MSU with 12 kills, while Rebecca Walk was the Bulldogs’ most efficient offensive player with eight kills and no attack errors on just 16 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage. Libero Lauren Myrick led all players with 21 digs, and setter Emily Oerther, who has taken over more playing time at that spot over Alexa Fortin Goede, had 23 assists.

But MSU had few answers for LSU’s Sanaa Dotson, who finished with a match-high 14 kills on 22 attempts with just one error. Jade Demps was also efficient with 11 kills and one error on 27 attempts to go along with 12 digs, and Tigers setter Maddie Waak had 50 assists.

The visitors took control late in a back-and-forth first set, closing it out on a 10-4 run. After squandering a late 21-16 lead in the second, the Bulldogs had their chances in both the third and fourth sets but could not stop Waak from setting up LSU’s attackers.

MSU is back home Friday, when Georgia visits Starkville for a battle of Bulldogs. First serve will be at 6 p.m.