STARKVILLE, Miss. | Sarah Gooch recorded her sixth double-digit kill match of the season as she led South Alabama with 18 kills, but it wasn't enough as Mississippi State picked up a 3-1 (25-16, 27-29, 25-21, 25-22) win Tuesday night at the Newell-Grissom Building.

Gooch had 18 kills on 42 attacks and committed just four attack errors for a .333 hitting percentage to lead the Jaguars (4-4). Cambria Gaier had eight kills and a career-high 11 digs in the loss, while Alexa Strandberg also had eight kills for South. Dalayla Blackwell also had seven kills, while Maradith O'Gorman and Eva Dittmar chipped in with six apiece.

Mississippi State improved to 10-0 this fall and were led offensively by Lindsey Mangleson's 21 kills. Noella Obi had seven total blocks (one solo and seven assists), while the Bulldogs held a 13.0-4.0 advantage in the defensive category. 

MSU hit .300 or better in three of the four sets, with the Jaguars holding the Bulldogs to a .179 attack percentage in the second set, which they won.

Quotable – head coach Jesse Ortiz
- On his thoughts on the match: "I thought we showcased a lot of athleticism out on the court tonight. Mississippi State's a good squad. I definitely thought we started off a little slow, but we were able to pick things up as the match went on. We had a lot of contributions from many different people. I thought we showed a lot of fight, and I feel this is a match that could have gone differently for us; we just have to work a little bit harder when we have our opportunities. Sarah (Gooch) had a tremendous match for us. We're just going to regroup and get ready for our next three matches this weekend. 

How It Happened 
Set 1 – Mississippi State 25, South Alabama 16
•    KEY MOMENT: The host Bulldogs took advantage of some offensive miscues by the Jags and opened things up on a 7-1 run, and never trailed by more than four in the frame
•    Mississippi State led by as much as 10 in the frame, before taking the set, 25-16
•    Mangelson had for of MSU's 13 kills in the first set as the Bulldogs hit .387

Set 2 – South Alabama 29, Mississippi State 27
•    KEY MOMENT: Gooch slammed home her sixth kill of the second set to even the match at 1-1 and give South the 29-27 victory 
•    There were 14 ties and five lead changes in the second set
•    MSU held set point at 24-23, but Standberg recorded a kill to force extra points
•    With the Bulldogs later again holding set point at 27-26 after a Mangelson put away, South was able to push across the final three points and take the set, 29-27
•    Along with Gooch's six kills in the set, O'Gorman, Blackwell and Dittmar each had three kills as well
•    Mangelson led the Bulldogs in the set with seven kills

Set 3 – Mississippi State 25, South Alabama 21
•    KEY MOMENT: Leading by one (14-13), the Bulldogs pushed across eight of the next 10 points to open up the third set
•    Neither team was able to pull away for the first half of the third set, as there were 10 ties
•    During Mississippi State's 8-2 run, the Jaguars committed three attack errors, a serving error and a blocking error
•    The Jaguars did battle back, cutting the deficit to 23-21 after an ace by Gaier, but they didn't get any closer as the Bulldogs held on for the 25-21 win 

Set 4 – Mississippi State 25, South Alabama 22
•    KEY MOMENT: Gha'Naye Whitfield-Moss and Cayley Hansen teamed up for a block to turn back a South Alabama attack and clinch the four-set win for the Bulldogs
•    Like much of the first and third sets, the fourth set remained tight much of the way as there were 15 ties and seven lead changes
•    Dittmar tied the set back up at 19-19 after a kill, but MSU grabbed the lead for good with the next three points
•    Gooch led South with five kills in the frame, and three Mississippi State players recorded four or more kills led by Mangelson's six in the set

Post-Match Notes
•    The meeting marked the 16th meeting in the all-time series between the two programs
•    Gooch recorded three sets with four or more kills in the match, extending her team-leading total to 11
•    Gooch now has 33 sets with four or more kills in her Jaguar career, including 12 of six or more
•    Gooch has had 12 or more kills in each of her last four and five of her last six, and has hit .310 or better in her last three matches
•    With her 28 assists, Anna Loberg (1,308) eclipsed the 1,300 assists mark for her Jaguar career
•    Blackwell has had five or more kills in all eight matches this fall
•    Briana Wilson has had 13 or more digs in seven of her eight matches this fall

Up Next
•    South Alabama will continue its four-match road trip later this week when it heads to Birmingham, Ala., to compete at the Alabama Showdown. The Jaguars will open up play at the event on Thursday night versus Samford at the Pete Hanna Center with first serve set for 6 p.m.

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