Mississippi State
9-4 (1-1SEC)
Arkansas
7-7 (1-2SEC)
Bulldogs Knock Off Arkansas In Five-Set Thriller
September 24, 2010 | Volleyball
Each team claimed both a lopsided and a hard-fought two-point win to send the match into a deciding fifth stanza, with the Bulldogs scoring the final three points of the night for the win, their fourth in the last five Newell-Grissom Building matchups with Arkansas.
“It's a huge win for us,” said second-year head coach Jenny Hazelwood. “We saw tonight how good Arkansas can be when they get on a roll. We had problems passing the ball at times tonight, but we maintained our patience. It was a true team effort, with so many different players stepping up and contributing in some difficult situations.”
Caitlin Rance had 14 kills and Ashley Newsome added 12 to lead the Bulldogs. Dani McCree followed with eight kills and Paris Perret six. State survived a season-high 34 attack errors and a .113 hitting night. Kayla Woodard registered a season-high 27 digs while Perret notched her third double-double backing her 36 assists with 18 digs. Kellye Jordan, who had six kills on the night, set a career-high with 15 digs. Perret led MSU at the net with a season-best six blocks. Newsome followed with five.
Arkansas had four players reach double figures in kills. Jasmine Norton finished with 15, Stipanovich had 13, Janeliss Torres 11 and Amanda Anderson 10.
The Bulldogs close out their weekend set Sunday playing host to No. 17 LSU (12-0, 3-0 SEC), a 3-0 Friday night winner at Alabama.
State sprinted to a quick 4-0 lead in the opening set. But sophomore Jasmine Norton led an impressive turnaround, registering seven of her team-leading and match-high 15 kills as the razorbacks pulled away from a 14-14 deadlock for a match-opening 25-23 win.
The Bulldogs answered in impressive fashion, parlaying a 7-0 run midway in the second set for a 25-13 win to even the match at the break. State, after hitting a coolish .140 in the opening set, warmed up with .296 hitting and got a five-kill effort from Caitlin Rance.
In a nip and tuck third set that featured eight ties and four lead changes, the Bulldogs trailed 23-21 before rallying for a 26-24 decision. Rance started the rally with her fifth and final kill of the stanza and gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead in the match with a set-ending service ace.
The most lopsided of the sets went Arkansas' way, with the Hogs keeping the match alive with a 25-17 fourth-set win. Amanda Anderson and Kelli Stipanovich combined for eight kills while the Bulldogs committed 11 attack errors. Arkansas hit .321 for the set and at one point held a 22-9 advantage.
MSU bolted to a 7-2 lead in the 15-point fifth set but had to fend off a late charge by the Razorbacks. Arkansas fought off a pair of match point serves by the Bulldogs and took a 16-15 lead with a kill by Kendall Cleveland. Ashley Newsome drilled a kill to knot the score before Parker served up an ace and Perret and Mellencamp blocked an attack by Stipanovich.
