STARKVILLE — Julie Darty Dennis was quick to admit that Mississippi State was inefficient on offense Thursday evening against Lipscomb, and the numbers certainly back up the Bulldogs’ head coach.

MSU hit just .075 as a team — their second-worst hitting percentage in a game this year, trailing only the .033 percentage in last Sunday’s straight-sets loss to Wake Forest. But this time, the Bulldogs played well on the defensive end and took advantage of sloppy serving by the Bisons to win in a sweep (25-22, 25-21, 25-18).

“We talked a lot this week about how we start, how we finish and everything in between, and sustaining a level of play that we can be really proud of,” Dennis said. “We did a really good job staying patient, staying the course. We put a tremendous amount of service pressure on them and we did a great job executing our service plan and our defensive plan. It was a really good team win.”

Entering the final weekend of non-conference play, MSU (6-3) had lost six straight sets to end its time at the Kennesaw State Invitational, blowing a two-set lead to host Kennesaw State and then suffering the aforementioned sweep at the hands of the Demon Deacons. The Bulldogs trailed at some point in each set Thursday, but rallied late every time.

Middle blocker Zoe Gonzales was a force at the net with a season-high 10 blocks, with the last one coming on match point to seal the victory.

“Zoe loves to block, and she loves to tell people she loves to block,” Dennis said. “When she gets her hands up across the net, she’s pretty hard to get past.”

Both teams seemed to be feeling each other out early, and MSU was lucky to stay in the first set as its first seven points came on Lipscomb errors. The Bisons (3-5) had 17 service errors in the match to just five for the Bulldogs, and MSU held the visitors to an .045 hitting percentage. Cora ter Kulie, who had a match-high 10 kills, was Lipscomb’s only consistent source of offense.

The Bulldogs’ defensive effort was led as usual by Lauren Myrick, who led all players with 17 digs. Myrick played at Lipscomb as a freshman and is now in her fourth and final season in Starkville, and she has helped defeat her old team in back-to-back years. Previously an outside hitter and defensive specialist, Myrick switched to libero this season and is thriving in her new role.

Myrick delivered an ace to bring up set point in the first set, then wisely let the next ball land outside the boundary to wrap it up.

“Lauren had a great night. This is always a fun one for her,” Dennis said. “This one means a little bit more, especially because she’s playing a new position and it’s just something for her to prove. She was staying involved, she was running the show with our serving pass, she just did an excellent job. From the service line, she gave us a ton of momentum.”

Trailing 16-15 in the second set, MSU reeled off seven straight points, with Gonzales accounting for three of them on a kill and two blocks. The Bulldogs then faced an early 7-2 deficit in the third set but soon went on a 6-0 run that included consecutive aces from Alexa Fortin Goede to take the lead. Five of MSU’s six aces on the night came in that third set.

The Bisons rallied back to tie the set at 17 points apiece before the Bulldogs won eight of the final nine points. MSU will host Abilene Christian on Saturday for its last non-conference match before kicking off Southeastern Conference play on Wednesday at Texas A&M.

“We’re going to be working hard for this entire season,” Gonzales said. “We’re going to keep getting better every practice and every day, and this is just the beginning for us.”