STARKVILLE — Mississippi State and Texas were heading in opposite directions entering Wednesday evening, but the Longhorns looked every bit like the two-time defending national champions with a four-set victory over the Bulldogs.
MSU had won nine straight sets prior to this match, while No. 15 Texas had lost three straight five-set matches. The Longhorns, though, have Madisen Skinner, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American last season. Skinner pounded out 25 kills as Texas won 25-8, 25-15, 21-25, 25-17 before a crowd of 1,657, the third-largest home attendance in Bulldogs program history.
“She has every shot in the book,” MSU head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. “She’s a talented player and we’re fortunate to have her in the league. It’s hard to defend her. When they’re setting somebody else, that’s a great thing. When they’re setting her in the back row, you have to defend it like it’s the front row. She’s hard to stop.”
Skinner and Texas came out firing in the first set, opening up leads of 7-1 and 17-4. The Bulldogs (10-9, 4-6 Southeastern Conference) hit -.250 in the set with three kills and 10 attack errors, and four of MSU’s eight points came on service errors.
The Bulldogs were more competitive in the second set but still never led. The Longhorns (13-6, 8-3) used a 6-0 run to go ahead 14-7, and an unassisted kill by Skinner put Texas up two sets to none.
MSU dropped the first three points in the third set but bounced back as setter Ceci Harness settled into the rhythm of the match. The Bulldogs hit .342 in the set, with nearly 45 percent of their swings resulting in a kill.
“We had a lot of jitters. I don’t know if it was being at home with such an awesome crowd, or just the fact that this was us playing Texas for the first time since they joined the SEC,” Darty Dennis said. “We just have to trust our system and trust our training and start executing at the very beginning of the match, and not wait until the third set when our backs are against the wall.”
The fourth set was back and forth before the Longhorns gradually took command, led by Skinner, who had nine kills in the set. Averi Carlson had 45 assists in the match, leaving her sets for Skinner high in the air for the 6-foot, 2-inch outside hitter to blister past the MSU block.
Harness had 35 assists for the Bulldogs, her fourth straight match with at least 30 since she became MSU’s lone setter. Karli Schmidt led the hosts with 12 kills, and Kailin Newsome had a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs.
MSU hosts the SEC’s other new team, Oklahoma, on Sunday at 2 p.m.
“Offensively, it was hard. Texas is a very physical, very good blocking team,” Darty Dennis said. “I appreciate everybody coming out. It was great volleyball, and I hope they want to come back for more on Sunday.”
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