Mississippi State University to Host 2017 MHSAA Volleyball Championships
(Photo Courtesy: Kelly Price, MSU Athletics)
CLINTON, Miss. (WCBI/MHSAA) — The 2017 MHSAA/Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi State Volleyball Championships will be played in October at Mississippi State University’s Newell-Grissom building.
The semifinals on October 26th and finals on October 28th for all three classifications will be held at the 2,000-seat facility, which has hosted MSU’s volleyball matches since 1997.
“We are excited to host the MHSAA State Volleyball Championships on our campus,” MSU Director of Athletics John Cohen said. “We are committed to helping the MHSAA in its growth of high school sports in our state. We pride ourselves on our hospitality at Mississippi State, and we hope the schools and their fans have a great time in Starkville.”
“I think it’s a huge step to showcase the sport of volleyball statewide,” Our Lady Academy coach Mike Meyers said. “The MHSAA deserves a ton of credit for helping volleyball come along during the last 10 years. This is a great opportunity for our young ladies to play in a facility like that.”
Like Meyers, Lewisburg coach Allison Burchyett has won numerous state championships during her 18 years as a Mississippi high school volleyball coach.
“I think it will help grow the sport, which is our biggest desire,” Coach Burchyett said. “This will be a great stage for the players and a great atmosphere for high school volleyball. The volleyball championships have come a long way from when they started as a one-day event at a high school gym.”
More recently, Mississippi College hosted the championships in Clinton before scheduling conflicts necessitated a change in 2014. The tournament shifted to multiple Jackson-area sites the past three years.
“We had a great experiences when Millsaps College and Belhaven University hosted last year, but both schools had home football games on championship weekend this year,” MHSAA Associate Director Rickey Neaves said. “We are excited about taking these championships to Mississippi State University and the city of Starkville. This is a state-of-the-art facility redesigned to host volleyball matches. Because the venue’s size and layout allows two matches to be played simultaneously, the semifinals for each classification will take place at the same time. The staff at Mississippi State is going above and beyond to make this event a memorable experience for the participating students and teams.”
MHSAA/Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Volleyball State Championships
Newell-Grissom Building
Mississippi State University
Starkville
Thursday, October 26th
Class I semifinals: 3:00 PM
Class II semifinals: 5:00 PM
Class III semifinals: 7:00 PM
Saturday, October 28th
All matches livestreamed on NFHS Network’s Mississippi channel: www.misshsaa.tv
Class I championship: 11:00 AM
Class II championship: 1:00 PM
Class III championship: 3:00 PM
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