State Secures Scrappy Sweep Over Aggies

Sunday, November 3

College Station, Texas

2 p.m.

Mississippi State

10-8,4-5SEC

Texas A&M

15-5,6-4SEC

Mississippi St.

Texas A&M

State Secures Scrappy Sweep Over Aggies

November 03, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: William Simmons, Communications Fellow

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Mississippi State leaves College Station with another win, as the Bulldogs took down the Texas A&M Aggies in three straight sets. The Dawgs hit their best percentage of the season in the contest, as they finished with a .361.

"What a day for the Dawgs, we came into Reed arena focused and walked out with a win," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "Overall, it was about executing a gameplan, keeping it simple and fighting harder than our opponents. At the end of the day, I can say that is what we did"

Ceci Harness continued to excel in the single setter system, as she picked up 33 assists in the contest. She also tallied a season-high three kills against the Aggies, as well as having six digs.

"Ceci had a great day," Dennis said. "She did everything we asked and more, she has the most fight I've ever seen in a Dawg. She put Karli and Kailin in the spots she needed to."

The duo of Kailin Newsome and Karli Schmidt led the Bulldog attack on the day. Schmidt finished the contest with a team-high 13 kills on 31 swings. Newsome picked up an efficient 10 kills on 21 swings, finishing with a .429 kill percentage.

Arissa Smith was a force to be reckoned with again, as the SEC's hitting percentage leader once again finished with an above-400 hitting percentage, as she picked up 6 kills on 13 swings. She picked up a career-high nine total blocks and two service aces.

Also shining on the block was Amina Shackelford, who picked up four total blocks on the contest, which was second most behind Smith. McKenna Yates, Mele Corral-Blagojevich and Mary Neal held the back line of the Bulldog rotation down, as the trio all picked up eight digs to lead the team.

The Dawgs scratched and clawed in the opening set of the contest to secure the first set point. The set began with a State point, but the Bulldogs would not hold a lead again until the 19th point. State would once again knot the match up at 21 apiece. The Bulldogs ended the set on a 4-0 scoring run, with two of those coming off the arm of Newsome, securing set one, 25-21.

The second set followed a similar story. After picking up an early point from Amina Shackelford, State relinquished the lead until the 13th point. After trailing 15-17, the Bulldogs would go on a 10-1 run to win the second point, 25-18.

The final set saw a different way to end the match, as State trailed only once to the Aggies, which was the first point of the set. A kill from Newsome and an ace from Neal gave the Dawgs a 2-1 lead, and they never looked back as the Bulldogs were able to secure the sweep against the Aggies, 25-18.

The Bulldogs will be back in Starkville this Wednesday against the defending national champions, the Texas Longhorns. First serve is set for 6 p.m. on SECN+.

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