STARKVILLE — In three years at Kansas, Karli Schmidt played a part-time role, totaling 93 kills over 71 sets played across 37 matches for the Jayhawks.
Wanting to be more of an offensive focal point, the product of Lansing, Kan. left her home state and found a new home in Starkville. Schmidt led Mississippi State this fall with 3.04 kills per set, capping off her season with a career-high 20 kills Saturday to finish with 301 and lead the Bulldogs to a four-set win over LSU.
“It really means a lot to me,” Schmidt said. “It’s been a process for me. Hard work is always going to pay off. As a team, we have a lot to be proud of, and I’m really glad we can send off our seniors on such a positive note. That win feels really good.”
MSU (13-15, 6-12 Southeastern Conference) went back and forth with the Tigers (11-17, 6-12) in the first set, rallying from a four-point deficit to take a 24-22 lead. LSU staved off a pair of set points, but setter Emily Oerther set up Schmidt for back-to-back kills as the Bulldogs closed it out.
The Tigers jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the second set, forcing a quick MSU timeout, and although the Bulldogs pulled as close as 18-16, LSU won seven of the next eight points to even the match. But after hitting .115 in the second set, MSU came roaring back in the third with 15 kills and no errors on 24 attacks for a .625 hitting percentage.
“We were just playing loose. We were playing with no pressure,” Bulldogs head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. “We know this was the last time this group of 16 people was going to be on the floor, and we wanted to enjoy the moment and go out the best way we possibly could. We wanted to go out swinging. Our attackers were aggressive, they were really clean, they managed the ball really well.”
MSU never trailed in the fourth set, with Schmidt and Shackelford — who finished with 13 kills — carrying the Bulldogs’ offense. The two setters, Emily Oerther and Alexa Fortin Goede, had 25 and 15 assists, respectively, on their Senior Day. As a team, MSU’s hitting percentage of .299 was its highest since an upset win over then-No. 14 Florida on Oct. 13, and Schmidt, with just four errors on 36 attacks to go with those 20 kills, hit .444.
Oerther, Fortin Goede, Zoe Gonzales and Lauren Myrick played their final game in the maroon and white Saturday, but the victory sends the Bulldogs into the offseason with some positive energy as Darty Dennis will surely look to add more talent via the transfer portal. She will have to take some time off in the spring, though — the coach is expecting her first child in April 2024.
“We had some older people, but they hadn’t been in roles that were this big,” Darty Dennis said. “Overall, we grew up. We graduate four great players, but we bring back a solid group, and we’ve got our work cut out for us this spring. We’re certainly going to go out and get ready to get to work in January and not take the offseason lightly.”
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