HUNTSVILLE, Ala. --- The Mississippi College volleyball team made history securing the best start in program history on Saturday, Sept. 17 at Spragins Hall on the campus of the University of Alabama in Huntsville in dramatic five-set fashion. The victory gave the Choctaws (11-1, 2-1 Gulf South Conference) their 11th win of the season.
The previous best start was 10-2 recorded by the 1994 squad.
MC is 2-0 this season in five-set contests. The Navy and Gold downed Rollins College earlier this season on its home floor as well en route to history-making start.
The win also marks just the second over the Chargers on their home floor and snapped a six-match skid in the series.
Three Choctaws posted double figure kills in the five-set thriller led by
Lydia Paulette with a season-high 17 kills – one off her career-best.
Caroline Chastang added a season-high 16 kills as
Kendall Platt chimed in 12.
Lexie Laurendine and
Ali Wiggins helped set up the offensive attack as they combined for 41 of the team's 51 assists in the match. Laurendine led the way with 23 assists while Wiggins supplied 18.
Julia Sumrall continued to impress at the net this season as she recorded nine blocks in the match to pace the squad. Paulette added four blocks to join her fellow sophomore teammate. Platt helped in the defensive effort with a team-best 20 digs.
Missy Beber added 16.
A back-and-forth outing in the final set, Mississippi College grabbed an 11-8 midway through behind three consecutive kills from Platt and a fourth coming from Paulette. However, the Chargers weren't going quietly on their home court and they fought back to notch the contest at 11-all. The Choctaws had different plans as it responded with four of the next six points as it closed out the match with a block assist from Sumrall and
Sloane FitzHenry. Chastang set up the game-ending rejection as she posted a kill to place the Navy and Gold into the match-point situation.
The Chargers opened by taking the first set of the match, 25-22, after they closed with the final two points. MC had pulled within a point, 23-22, as it capitalized on two UAH miscues, but couldn't climb over the hump. MC knotted the contest at a set each in the second as it ended a four-set slide to capture the victory at 25-21. The Navy and Gold used a 5-2 run to end the set and even the match.
The Choctaws took a 2-1 lead with a 25-23 victory in the third set and looked to close out the match in four sets, but the Blue and White had other ideas on its home floor as it picked up a 25-21 win to send the contest to the deciding set.
Mississippi College returns to action on Friday, Sept. 23 as it hosts Auburn University in Montgomery in GSC action. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
