Mississippi State’s new one-setter rotation continues to be a smashing success.
The Bulldogs grabbed their biggest victory of the season Sunday, defeating Texas A&M 25-21, 25-18, 25-18 at Reed Arena in College Station to extend their winning streak to three. With grad transfer Ceci Harness running the offense, MSU hit .361 for the match, its best hitting percentage in any match all year.
“There is so much fight in this team,” Bulldogs head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. “We’re becoming the aggressors and we’re willing to go head-to-head with anyone, no matter who is on the other side of the net.”
MSU (10-8, 4-5 Southeastern Conference) trailed by four points at the first-set TV timeout but gradually reeled the Aggies (15-5, 6-4) back in. Freshman libero McKenna Yates set up Kailin Newsome for the set-tying kill, and Rebecca Walk gave the Bulldogs the lead on the next point. MSU closed it out with four straight points, clinching the set when Harness fed Newsome for a kill.
Texas A&M again took the early lead in the second set before the Bulldogs clawed their way back with an 8-0 run to go ahead 23-17. Back-to-back errors from the Aggies gave MSU a two sets to none lead in the match.
The Bulldogs carried that momentum into the third set in which they never trailed aside from after the first point. Karli Schmidt had six kills in the set, and a kill from Walk completed the sweep.
“We came into Reed Arena focused and walked out with a win,” Darty Dennis said. “Overall, it was about executing a game plan, keeping it simple and fighting harder than our opponents. At the end of the day, I can say that is what we did.”
Schmidt led MSU with 13 kills while Newsome added 10, and Newsome, Walk and Arissa Smith all posted hitting percentages above .400. Smith also had nine blocks, setting a new career high in that department. Harness had 33 assists, her third straight match with at least 30.
The Bulldogs are back home Wednesday evening to battle two-time defending national champion and No. 9 Texas.
“Ceci had a great day. She did everything we asked and more,” Darty Dennis said. “She put Karli and Kailin in the spots she needed to.”
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