After defeating Alabama in straight sets on Oct. 27, Mississippi State failed to win even a single set in the last three of four straight matches on the road. The Bulldogs were swept at Georgia on Oct. 29, and this weekend went down in three to Missouri on Friday and No. 8 Arkansas on Sunday.

MSU (11-12, 4-9 Southeastern Conference) got off to a slow start against the Tigers, hitting .059 in the first set and .121 in the second set. The Bulldogs turned things up in the third set, with 11 kills and just one error for a .333 hitting percentage, but it did not matter because Missouri (15-9, 7-6) hit a blistering .625 in that set — with kills on 22 of its 32 attacks — to cap off a match in which the Tigers hit .458, by far their best mark of the season.

Amina Shackelford led MSU with 11 kills and Sophie Agee added nine. Emily Oerther finished with 21 assists.

The Bulldogs were right with the Razorbacks in the first set, rallying from a five-point deficit to push it to extra points, but Arkansas pulled it out in the end, 26-24. The Razorbacks (21-4, 11-2) then dominated the second set, 25-12, but MSU still had some fight left, taking an early four-point lead in the third. Arkansas took eight of nine points to take a four-point lead of its own, and again the Bulldogs answered, going on a 5-0 run for a 17-14 lead.

Even after the Razorbacks won six straight points to go up 20-17, Shackelford delivered four kills in a span of five points to tie the set at 21. The magic ran out there, though, as Arkansas took the set 25-22 to close out the match.

Shackelford again had 11 kills, but did so with just an .088 hitting percentage. Oerther recorded a season-high 30 assists, and Rebecca Walk chipped in with six blocks to go along with a team-best .417 hitting percentage.

MSU is back home Wednesday for the first time since Oct. 22, as the Bulldogs will host South Carolina, one of just three teams behind them in the SEC standings.