Mississippi State took a narrow opening set against Oklahoma on Sunday, but the Sooners claimed the next three to earn a 23-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-22 victory over the Bulldogs at Newell-Grissom Building.
MSU trailed early in the first set before pulling ahead with six straight points. The set was back and forth the rest of the way, but down 23-21, the Bulldogs took the last four points to close it out on back-to-back errors from Oklahoma.
In the second set, MSU (10-10, 4-7 Southeastern Conference) led by as many as four, but this time the Sooners (12-8, 6-6) came on strong late. All four sets were tight throughout, but Oklahoma found what it needed in the closing moments and the Bulldogs could not quite finish. MSU was on top 12-5 in the fourth set but let it slip away.
The Bulldogs turned in one of their worst offensive performances of the season, hitting .153 as a team. It was MSU’s second-lowest hitting percentage in a match all year, ahead of a .133 mark four days earlier against two-time defending national champion Texas.
Still, Julie Darty Dennis’ team had three players with double-digit kills, all of them fifth-year seniors. Grad transfer Kailin Newsome led the way with 16, Karli Schmidt added 15 and Amina Shackelford chipped in with 12. Another grad transfer, setter Ceci Harness, racked up 45 assists for her fifth straight match with at least 30. Defensively, freshman McKenna Yates recorded a season-high 28 digs.
The Bulldogs will play four of their last five regular-season matches on the road, and they have actually played better away from Starkville, with a 4-3 road record compared to 4-7 at home. MSU is next in action Friday evening at Alabama, which is in last place in the SEC at 2-9 in conference play.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
