STARKVILLE — Sophomore outside hitter Sophie Agee knew the play was designed for her.
Coming out of a timeout in the fifth set of Sunday’s in-state rivalry match against Ole Miss, Mississippi State was one point away from victory, leading 14-13.
On the ensuing serve, the ball found its way to Agee, who threw down an exclamation point in a five-set win, a clean kill that sent more than 1,000 fans in the Newell-Grissom Building into a frenzy.
Wins have been tough to come by in Southeastern Conference play, but this one against a rival felt all the better as the Bulldogs won, 14-25, 25-12, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13.
“They kept battling,” head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. “We’ve talked about it all week. Nobody is going to give us anything. It’s going to be hard. It’s supposed to be hard, but we’re going to embrace and enjoy it. … That third win in (the) SEC feels a little bit more special than the other ones.”
Agee’s kill finished off another dominant performance from her, leading the team with 16 kills, the second time in three matches she’s eclipsed that mark.
Three Bulldogs (10-9, 3-6 SEC) finished with 10 or more kills in the win, a balanced attack that started out slowly, with the team hitting .032 in the first set.
However, Mississippi State regrouped quickly, hitting .275 or higher in each of the last four sets to hit .253 in the match as a team, solid and efficient to close things out.
“I didn’t start off too great like I wanted to, so it was really imperative for me to come out in the second set and go all the way through the fifth set and score some points for my team,” Agee said. “Our passing definitely improved after the first set and then we were able to have everyone ready to hit so it made it a lot easier to spread out the offense.”
Sunday’s match was a roller coaster throughout, with both teams trading set wins until Mississippi State won two straight to end things.
The Bulldogs are no strangers to back-and-forth matches, and the team kept its composure and consistency through the ebbs and flows.
“It felt like deja vu,” Darty Dennis said. “In spring, we went four sets with them, so hey, we just had to take that final fifth set. That’s some scrappy good volleyball. Super proud of the resilience and composure from our team.”
Everything culminated with Agee’s game-winning kill, a relief of sorts, and an outburst of emotion as the largest home crowd of the season went home happy.
“I was excited,” Agee said. “I was ready for it. We talk about that in practice all the time. That’s a point that you want. I knew my teammates were behind me and supportive of me, so I went up there and it was awesome.”
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