Bulldogs win title in Summit

Mississippi Gulf Coast wrapped up the Southwest Mississippi Invitational with beating Jackson State Community College in four set Saturday in Summit.

The Bulldogs, who are now 5-1, won all three matches there, beating the Greenjays 25-21, 25-19, 15-25, 25-18.

"They deserved it because they had a great weekend of volleyball," Gulf Coast coach Shayna Walsh said. "I was a little nervous because they sometimes haven't come out ready to go and fired up, but they were this morning. They got off the bus and were bound and determined they were going to show up, show out, get the W and leave."

Gulf Coast beat host Southwest and Bevill State on Friday.

Walsh rolled out the lineup she switched to after falling behind 0-2 in the first match Friday. Alexa Shinabery (Fr., Marion Ark./Marion) helped keep the momentum rolling, staying in throughout the rotation as a second outside hitter while handling serve receive and defensive duties in the back. She finished with 22 digs, six kills and four aces.

The Bulldogs won five of the last six points to win the first set, and it was more of the same to close it out. After taking a big early lead, the Bulldogs were tied 18-18 when Malorie Gaughf (Fr., Gulfport/Harrison Central) took over. A series of blocks and hits from the middle sparked a seven-point run to close things out.

"She was a really big momentum shifter for us," Walsh said. "She did a good job. I've expected that from the very beginning. She's done everything I ask her to do, and if things get chaotic, instead of me burning a timeout, she calls everybody into the middle and do a quick mental reset. She's a good leader out there."

Gaughf had nine kills and four blocks. Mariah Hammond (Fr., Slidell La./Northshore) led the Bulldogs with 13 kills, and Sydney Tague (Fr., Olive Branch/DeSoto Central) had 17 assists. Lila Turner (Fr., Kiln/Hancock) had 15 assists and nine digs.

Jackson State is 4-3.

Gulf Coast plays its first MACCC home match Monday. Archrival Pearl River visits Dantzler Arena for a 6 p.m. start. The game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch, and tickets are available at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets.

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