Bulldogs Open Home Slate With Victory Over Iowa

Thursday, September 3

Starkville

7 p.m.

Mississippi State

3-1,0-0SEC

Iowa

3-1,0-0Big Ten

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Iowa	25	23	26	20	1
Mississippi St.	27	25	24	25	3

Bulldogs Open Home Slate With Victory Over Iowa

September 03, 2026 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Will Simmons, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State women's volleyball opened their home schedule and the Big Ten x SEC Challenge with a victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes, 3-1. Bernardita Aguilar excelled for the Bulldogs on the day.

We were constantly talking about having a sense of urgency, digging deep and making plays throughout the contest," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "We let the third set get away from us. We had to remember that we are under pressure all the time and that we have to make plays all the time. We made some scrappy plays, managed a lot of swings and had really good block touches. I thought our team stayed on assignment and did a good job executing their specific responsibilities.

Aguilar, a 5-11 junior from Buenos Aires, Argentina, collected a season-high of 20 kills at a .400 hitting percentage. She set two new career highs with three service aces, along with 17 digs. She also tied her career high in scoring with 24.5 points.

Lindsey Mangelson was right alongside Aguilar throughout the duration of the match, picking up 19 kills at a .333 clip. The 19 kills were a season high for the sophomore from Fishers, Indiana. She also picked up her second consecutive double double with 11 digs.

On the defensive side, McKenna Yates led the Bulldogs with 22 digs, followed by Aguilar's 17 and Mangelson's 11. Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss had a hand in five blocks, while Noella Obi collected four total, two of which were solos.

"McKenna is an incredible libero that does not get a ton of credit," Dennis said of her junior libero. "She is so good at making incredible plays. I think our blockers also did a good job of making Iowa do things they did not want to do. McKenna was insane tonight, like she is every night, but she really stood out defensively."

The Bulldogs will return to action on Friday for the final match of the Big Ten x SEC Challenge against Northwestern. First serve is set for 6 p.m. on SEC Network+.

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