The thought for the day is belief.
That's one thing that I love about you guys
is that every day that you have come to practice, you've worked hard,
you've stayed loving each other through this whole process.
So today when we go out there, believe in yourself,
believe in each other and we have a great opportunity.
We have a great opportunity to get a win on our home floor.
[MUSIC]
Today ESPN and the SEC Network proudly bring you
this big-time rivalry showdown between the Mississippi State Bulldogs
and the Ole Miss Rebels.
It is always a big match when the Bulldogs stroll into town.
A record-breaking crowd of over 1200 packed Gillom
and it was very clear the importance of this matchup.
You know it means a lot to both of our universities.
It's the only time that we both will be playing each other.
So it's really important for us to get the win
in order to hopefully get some momentum for the rest of the season.
I knew going in every year a lot of people always come
and it's always a fun atmosphere.
And no matter where they are in the conference it's always a good game
because we're so competitive with each other.
The Bulldogs would come out strong, taking eight of the first 12 points.
Bars is going to push Kendall Murr to the back corner.
Good swing again by Cooks.
Here's Bars right side, Mulkey rejected by the Bulldogs.
Top spin serve, Lauren Bars attacked on the Ole Miss side of things.
The Khristian Carr swing on the far side, off the hands of Bar and out of play.
More than anything I thought we just weren't executing very well.
I don't – we weren't passing very well; we definitely weren't attacking the ball.
We were making a lot more errors than they were.
And our coach even during timeouts telling our stats
and we could definitely tell in our hitting percentages
and the errors that we were making.
[MUSIC]
An ace to end the set, Mississippi State comes into the Gillom Center
and wins the first game 25-18.
There's nothing we can do about how we prepared for this.
I said multiple times this morning how sloppy we were.
What we can do is try to turn it around right now.
[MUSIC]
Second set underway with Avery Bugg serving.
And that's the way you want to bounce back if you're Ole Miss.
Avery Bugg with the ace, her first career service ace in the powder blue.
Emily Stroup high off hands for a kill.
Cooks on the roll, nearside Mulkey kill.
It's obvious kind of by the atmosphere too,
a really great crowd here at Gillom
and Ole Miss just playing more like the Ole Miss Rebel team we're used to seeing.
Between sets one and two that was one of the things that we talked about is,
hey there's nothing we can do about what's already happened,
all we can do is try to change our mentality now
and play better from here on out.
And you know, it says a lot about our team that they did.
After capturing set two 25-21, set three would prove to be a swing set
that would likely have huge implications on the outcome of the match.
Lauren Bars back one to Nayo Warnell to get the first point of the third set.
Here's Stroup near side with a powerful kill down the line.
Zgunda serving for the Bulldogs.
Bars goes into the middle and Bayleigh Scott gets the job done,
double figures for the sophomore Bayleigh Scott.
Wernentin has to hustle in for that approach.
Over pass on the way, dealt with by Mulkey.
Good response by Mulkey and a nice swing.
Here's Khristian Carr on the far side, another block by the Rebels.
Leah Mulkey's the one celebrating it the most.
On the right side, Bars goes with the attack herself and it will end the set
and put Ole Miss up two games to one here in Oxford.
[MUSIC]
Back to zero-zero alright, we need one more set.
Let's win this one, let's grind it out, let's go.
[Cheering]
[MUSIC]
With all the momentum on their side, the Rebels would have no problem
keeping the record-breaking crowd entertained.
Wernentin with a powerful swing on the outside
to give Ole Miss the seven-six lead.
Here's Carr again on the nearside and she's roofed by Warnell.
Yeah.
Timeout taken by Mississippi State,
Ole Miss trying to close out this match in four games.
It's always really exciting to just pull away from any team in general,
but I mean our coaches believe in us.
We're not supposed to look in the crowd, but I just remember I saw
like so many people standing up there,
which normally like that just never happens.
So it was just such a fun atmosphere.
The band was there, which always helps
and I think everyone was just really excited once we started playing well,
it was a really fun atmosphere.
And it can also cause some angst for the other team
when it gets louder and louder,
we've created just such a great home court advantage.
Paige Shaw rolls, Wernentin there.
Stroup out of the back row, off hands
and Ole Miss is going to knock off their rival in four games
25-18 here in game four.
Yeah.
Emily Stroup, point Ole Miss.
Good game.
It was so good, I'm so proud.
We just got dub over State.
They did so well.
It always feels good to beat Mississippi State and especially when we're at home
and we have the entire crowd.
The stands were filled which is awesome energy that they brought
it just made it a lot more hype and a great win.
The crowd was awesome, it was really packed and they were super loud
and encouraging and really helpful
and I think they gave us a big edge over Mississippi State.
Falling down early, you're kind of like,
well, is this going be that moment where all of a sudden we kind of crumble
and then we don't have it.
But I knew the heart of these young ladies
and knew that that wasn't going to happen
and they showed that the last three sets
and took care of business and we got the win.
And I see a lot of good things, you know, coming up for this team,
the rest of the season.
[MUSIC]