STARKVILLE — Through two matches since switching to a one-setter rotation, Mississippi State has showed signs of turning its season around.
The Bulldogs picked up their most impressive win of the year Sunday with a three-set sweep over Arkansas, 25-23, 25-21, 25-15. Following five straight losses, MSU has now won back-to-back matches after defeating rival Ole Miss in four sets on Wednesday.
“That was clean, that was impressive,” Bulldogs head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. “I think we’ve turned the corner. Ceci (Harness) did a great job with our offense, finding the hot hitter, finding the hot hand, finding the middle. It’s just incredible to watch a group of people come together and work so hard for a common goal.”
Against a Razorbacks team receiving votes in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, MSU (9-8, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) started strong, winning the first three points in the opening set and ultimately opening up a 14-9 lead. Arkansas (14-6, 4-4) scored five straight points to even it up, and the teams went back and forth from there.
Fifth-year seniors Amina Shackelford and Rebecca Walk teamed up for a pair of blocks to bring up set point, and the Bulldogs closed it out when the Razorbacks’ Olivia Ruy misfired. Karli Schmidt, coming off 19 kills in the win over the Rebels, had eight in the first set alone Sunday and 16 in the match.
“We’re just really working hard on defending our home court,” Schmidt said. “We take a lot of pride in the work we put in all week long. It’s a good win and we feel really good about it.”
Arkansas took an early 4-1 lead in the second set before MSU responded by winning six of the next seven points. Sophomore Arissa Smith began to take over in the middle, with seven of her 11 kills coming in the set. Harness, who had 36 assists, put plenty of air under her sets for Smith to wind up and smash over the net.
Smith’s 11 kills Sunday came on just 18 swings without an error for a .611 hitting percentage. Through Thursday, she was seventh nationally in that category at .442.
“I know the blockers are respecting me, so (I’m) just trying to find any area of the court where they weren’t there,” Smith said. “Ceci gets me the ball high. If I’m able to reach above the blockers, it’s harder for other teams to defend.”
The teams were deadlocked early in the third set, but after the Bulldogs scored four straight points to go ahead 9-5, MSU never trailed again. The Bulldogs hit .368 in the set with 17 kills and just two errors. Arkansas hit just .122 in the match — MSU held the Razorbacks’ leader in kills per set, Aniya Madkin, to nine kills and eight errors on 51 total attacks. Madkin is the daughter of former Bulldogs quarterback Wayne Madkin.
Freshman libero McKenna Yates had 19 digs, with Harness and Mary Neal each adding 12. MSU has six days off before hitting the road to battle Texas A&M next Sunday.
“Their energy was just infectious,” Darty Dennis said. “They were ready to go. For us to get a sweep against a very good Arkansas team on our home court, it’s going to give us a ton of confidence going into a tough stretch for us. It’s going to remind them and instill that everything we’re doing in practice and all that hard work pays off. We cannot let up for one second.”
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