Walk’s Sparkling Performance Lifts Volleyball To 20th Win

Sunday, November 7

Columbia, Mo.

2:00 PM

Mississippi State

20-5,11-2SEC

Missouri

4-22,1-12SEC

Mississippi St.

Missouri

Walk’s Sparkling Performance Lifts Volleyball To 20th Win

November 07, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

COLUMBIA, Missouri – Mississippi State's volleyball team took another important step on its journey towards program history as the Bulldogs captured their 20th victory of the season during a grind-it-out style 3-1 triumph over Missouri [25-16, 25-27, 25-15, 25-23] on Sunday afternoon at the Hearnes Center.

The Bulldogs (20-5, 11-2 SEC) extended the SEC's longest winning streak to eight straight matches and dialed up their program-record 11th conference victory to pull within a half-match of No. 5 Kentucky for the top spot in the SEC standings.

The 20 overall wins equal the third-highest total in program history for a single-season and the most for the Maroon and White since the 1989 squad secured a 20-14 mark.

"The Volley Dawgs had a will to win today, you could feel it," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "That first set was a great response from yesterday. We had a good turnaround last night with recovery and preparation for today. We knew that Senior Day for Missouri was going to be emotional, and they were going to come out firing on all cylinders. That second set was a tight one, and that third set was another one of good clean volleyball on our side. Missouri gave us their best shot during the fourth, but I'm super proud of our goals and the commitment to getting the job done and executing."

During a season where State has showcased its balance and its depth, it was Rebecca Walk's turn to shine. The sophomore was unstoppable with a blistering 14 kills on 18 errorless swings for a scorching .778 hitting percentage and tacked on a quartet of blocks from her middle blocker post. The .778 attack ratio was the second-best for a SEC player with at least 12 kills during a match in 2021.

"Rebecca was unbelievable," Dennis said. "All week, we've been talking about working hard in transition and being available. She really took that to heart. The middle is a very tough position, but it's a very simple job. If you're up and you're available, you're going to have a lot of angles to work with. She went up there and hit it hard. Again, very proud of her. She is coming into her own and becoming a threat for us. It's fun to see the connection between her and the setters."

Lauren Myrick and Shania Cromartie boarded the double-double train for the Maroon and White. Myrick notched 14 kills, 12 digs and a trio of aces to compile her 13th double dip on the season, while Cromartie provided 10 kills and a match-leading 14 digs. For Cromartie, she has pieced together 10 or more kills in three consecutive matches and five of her last six outings.

"Lauren did a good job managing out-of-system swings," Dennis said. "I liked that both outsides [Myrick and Cromartie] were really getting creative with their attacking. They knew we couldn't just power it through their block. We had to use the block, use the edges, tip it and roll it to move the ball around. For Shania to have a double-double, that kid is one of the toughest I've ever coached. She was very impressive today in serving and defense."

Gabby Waden pumped home 13 kills and four blocks. The SEC Player of the Year candidate has been a model of consistency and fired in double digit kills during 12 of 13 SEC appearances.

Gabby Coulter and Margaret Dean spearheaded State's offense to 63 kills and a .301 hitting clip. The tandem handed out a combined 51 assists and registered 12 digs. The Bulldogs have posted over a .300 attack mark in 15 of the 24 sets during the team's eight-match winning streak.

Coulter nearly joined Cromartie and Myrick on State's double-double express with 27 assists, eight digs and tied a season's best with three aces. Dean came away with 24 assists and four digs.

Deja Robinson secured five kills and a match-high seven blocks followed by Jessica Kemp with six kills and three blocks to give the Bulldogs six hitters with at least five kills for the second straight match.

Lilly Gunter tabulated nine digs, three assists and was a flawless 13-for-13 on her reception attempts from the libero position. The Bulldogs garnered a 63.4 sideout percentage for the match.

"[Getting our 20th win is] A really big milestone for us," Myrick said. "It was important for us to emphasize how we have to stay together as a team, play our game and play Mississippi State volleyball. These two road wins this weekend were really big for us."

Mississippi State set the tone on the defensive end forcing the Tigers into eight hitting miscues to build a 17-11 advantage during the opening stanza.

Walk was involved early and often with six clean kills, the final one came in transition to push the spread to 22-12. Back-to-back kills courtesy of Robinson and Waden closed out the 25-16 win.

Missouri was able to draw even in set two as the Tigers used an 8-3 run to flip a 19-16 hole into their favor at 24-22. State wouldn't go down without a fight and wiped away three set points. A Robinson-Waden double stuff knotted the scoreboard at 24-24, and a Waden kill through the block tied it up at 25-25. However, Missouri was able to emerge with the 27-25 decision and tie the match at a set apiece.

The third set turned State's way on a Coulter serving run. The Bulldogs ripped off eight consecutive points to surge ahead 19-12.

A Kemp-Walk block gave State a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Then, Coulter tacked on a pair of aces sandwiched between a Kemp crosscourt kill, a Cromartie tooling of the block and another Kemp-Walk rejection. The Bulldogs arrived at a 25-15 rout on a Cromartie back row kill to snatch a 2-1 sets edge.

State had to work its way to the winner's circle with 20 kills and a .459 hitting percentage during the fourth set. The Bulldogs crept out to a 17-12 lead on the strength of three straight points as Cromartie went off hands, Myrick notched a tip kill and Walk soared through the middle in transition.

Missouri was pesky on its Senior Day and turned away three match points. Once again, the Bulldogs relied on their composure to put the finishing touches on their 20th win of the season.

Myrick dialed up a line clipper to make it 23-19, and Cromartie powered her way through the block to place State at match point. Missouri charged back within 24-23, but Myrick delivered the match-clincher off the block on an out-of-system swing for the 25-23 triumph.

"We're excited to get home," Dennis said. "It's going to feel nice to be back in The Griss and be back in StarkVegas. We know that we have a lot work to do before we welcome a very good Tennessee team. We certainly need the support of the best fans in the country to come out on Saturday and Sunday. We need the Maroon and White to be loud and proud. They help us through and give us that extra energy and juice on our home court. It will be nice to be at home, get some rest, have some recovery time and get to work on ourselves for a few days before we have to play a really talented Tennessee team."

Mississippi State plays host to a weekend series of its own as the Bulldogs welcome No. 22 Tennessee to the Newell-Grissom Building on November 13-14. First serve on both Saturday and Sunday is locked in for 1 p.m. CT.

Admission is free for all home volleyball matches with gates opening one hour prior to first serve.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the volleyball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateVB' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.