VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Mississippi College volleyball team saw its rally fall short at the Complex on the campus of Valdosta State University as the Choctaws (7-10, 1-5 Gulf South Conference) fell in five sets to VSU on Friday, Sept. 28. The Blazers improved to 7-11 on the season and 3-3 in conference play.
MC fell behind 2-0 early in the match, but forced the contest to a deciding fifth set after clinching victories in the third and fourth set. It marked the fourth time this season the Choctaws had played in a five-set contest and the first time the Navy and Gold had rallied down two sets to force the deciding set.
Game Score: Mississippi College 2 | Valdosta State 3
Date: Friday, Sept. 28, 2018
Location: Valdosta, Ga. | The Complex
Records: Choctaws 7-10, 1-5 GSC | Blazers 7-11, 3-3 GSC
TURNING POINT
After seeing a 2-0 lead slip away, Valdosta State opened the fifth set with a 6-2 run forcing Mississippi College into its first timeout of the set. The Choctaws rallied back in the set to pull within three, 8-5, on a service ace from freshman
Kendall Platt. However, VSU closed out the deciding set with a 7-2 run en route to a 15-7, match-clinching win.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Platt totaled her team-leading 13th match with double figure kills with 16 and logged her 200th career kill in the match. She becomes the first freshman since 2014 to accomplish 200-plus kills in their debut season.
- Freshman Jamie Boros collected her 10th match with double-digit kills with a team-best 17.
- Three Choctaws posted four-plus block performances on the night led by freshman Gwenyth Prenter. Prenter recorded a season-high with five blocks in the match. Her previous best was four last matched against Union University.
- Freshman Lexie Laurendine tied a season-high with seven kills. It marks the third time this season the Clinton, Miss., native has tied the mark with the last coming against Southwest Baptist University on Aug. 31.
- The nine service aces matched the total set against the University of Texas-Permian Basin – second-best mark of the season.
- Laurendine and Rylee Markham each logged their sixth contest with 20-plus assists. The freshman duo recorded 23 each in tonight's five-setter.
- The Choctaws posted their best set, attack percentage to capture the third set. MC hit 51.9 percent en route to a 25-17 set win.
NEXT UP
Mississippi College returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 29 as it travels to Carrollton, Ga., for a GSC contest against the University of West Georgia. First serve is set for 1 p.m. central.
