Gulf Coast tops Bishop State in 4 sets

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast was a point away from its second sweep in a week but had to settle for a four-set win Wednesday night at Dantzler Arena.

The Bulldogs downed Bishop State 25-15, 25-21, 24-26, 25-19 to improve to 10-6 in their inaugural volleyball season.

"They're getting in their groove," Gulf Coast coach Shayna Walsh said. "They're learning, but that was definitely a team effort. I mean, every single kid, that was not injured late and contributed in a positive way. So I was super happy with it."

Cambell Herrington (Fr., Brandon/Brandon) rolled off 10 straight service points to help the Bulldogs jump to a 10-6 lead in the first set. The Bulldogs led by as many as 11.

After seeing a six-point second-set lead shrink to 23-21, Malorie Gaughf (Fr., Gulfport/Harrison Central) and Mariah Hammond (Fr., Slidell, La./Northshore) had kills to close it out.

Gulf Coast had a match point in the third set, but Bishop State (5-10) took the last three points to extend the match.

Gaughf teamed with Reese Sorrells (Fr., Picayune/Picayune) with back-to-back blocks and Alexa Shinabery (Fr., Marion, Ark./Marion) immediately following to lead the Bulldogs to a 13-11 lead in the final set, and they weren't threatened down the stretch.

"I'm trying to put people in that don't usually play, and I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw," Walsh said. "They got their opportunity and executed. Maddie Soucie (Fr., Madison/Germantown) played good. She's one of the most talkative people on the bench all the time, and she went in and led that offense and did a great job."

Gaughf led the Bulldogs with 14 kills and tied with Sorrells, who had 10 kills, for a team-best four blocks. Dana Cool (Fr., Dothan, Ala./Northside Methodist Academy) had seven kills. Sydney Tague (Fr., Olive Branch/DeSoto Central) had 18 assists, and Lila Turner (Fr., Kiln/Hancock) had 11.

Herrington had 26 digs, and Alexa Shinabery (Fr., Marion, Ark./Marion) had 14.

The teams will meet again next week in Mobile during a two-day event hosted by the Wildcats. The Bulldogs have another non-conference game Monday when Northwest-Shoals makes the trip from Muscle Shoals, Ala. Tickets are available at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets, and the match will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.