October 31, 2009
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State faces its stiffest home test of the 2009 volleyball campaign Sunday afternoon when the Bulldogs(6-18, 2-11 SEC) take on No. 10 Florida (17-3, 11-2 SEC) in a 1 p.m. (CST) SEC match at the Newell-Grissom Building. Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS) will be on hand for a live regional telecast of the inaugural "white-out" match for MSU.
Bulldog fans are encouraged to wear white to the match. White MSU tee shirts will be distributed while supplies last. There is no charge for admission to the match.
State notched its first SEC home win of the season Friday night as the Bulldogs rode a career performance by Ashley Newsome to a season series-evening 3-1 win (25-22, 24-26, 25-21, 25-17) over SEC Eastern Division rival South Carolina. The junior middle blocker from Florence, Ala., pilled up a career-best 22 kills with four blocks and a .459 attack percentage. Newsome leads the Bulldogs for the year with 262 kills and 88 blocks.
Sophomore Caitlin Rance added 13 kills, Ioana Demian added eight with a match-high five blocks, and Chanelle Baker and Faith Steinwedell chipped in seven kills apiece. Junior libero Kayla Woodard registered 18 digs to lead a foursome of Bulldogs with double figure digs totals. Senior setter Dorey Gray finished with 43 assists, the second-highest total of her MSU career, and with 14 digs notched her third double-double of the season. Gray raised her career assists total to 1,167 and climbed to ninth among MSU's all-time career leaders.
State totaled 59 kills, its highest total in league play, and a .262 attack percentage, its highest in 10 matches.
Florida, which topped State 3-0 Sept. 25 in MSU's first SEC road match of the campaign, blanked Alabama in Tuscaloosa Friday night (25-20, 25-22, 33-31). The Gators have won 18 consecutive SEC volleyball championships and own a 35-0 all-time series lead against the Bulldogs.
Courtesy: mstateathletics.com
