Carr enjoys a nice night in MSU win
Khristian Carr has called Starkville home since she was 6-years-old.
On Thursday night, the junior Mississippi State outside hitter turned MSU’s Newell-Grissom Building into her own personal backyard playground.
Carr led the way as the Bulldogs opened up their home slate with a 3-0 win over Grambling State in the Bulldog Invitational. MSU took the first set 2513, the second set 25-16 and the third set 25-12. Carr set the pace for State as she tied a career high with 15 kills.
“Isn’t that cool?” MSU head coach David McFatrich said. “(Carr) grew up in Starkville watching Mississippi State sports. Now, she’s a Bulldog volleyball player and doing a great job.”
Showing out in Starkville is nothing new for Carr. She was a five-year letterwinner in volleyball as a Starkville Lady Yellowjacket from 2010 through 2014. In Thursday’s match, while wearing maroon and white, Carr looked much like the player that used to dominate while wearing black and yellow.
“This was a wonderful opportunity,” Carr said of her big night. “I’m really excited to start this year and see all my hard work go into play. I’m extremely thankful for my teammates for pushing me from last year and my freshman year, along with my coach. I’m just very appreciative.”
Though Carr was a star at Starkville High, she has had to have patience before assuming a big-time role with MSU. Carr only played in 11 total matches over the course of her freshman and sophomore seasons as she adapted to volleyball life at the collegiate level.
“I think it’s a small disadvantage being raised here and not having as much competition,” Carr said. “So one of the main things I had to understand was that it was just a lot of reps that I needed. Not only did I have to depend on my teammates, but also myself and getting to the gym and working on things I needed to work on.
“I would definitely say I have a lot more confidence this year than I’ve ever had.”
Carr’s determination and confidence is certainly paying off. She has at least 13 kills in all four of MSU’s matches this season. She was a key performer for the Bulldogs as they won two of three matches at the SMU Doubletree Invitational in Dallas, Texas, last weekend.
“Last weekend was a really tough opening weekend,” McFatrich said. “We were able to get out of there with two wins. (Carr) was a big reason for that. She did a good job. Now she’s playing pretty well. My expectations for her are to keep getting better. She knows that and she wants me to push her a little bit and she needs me to push her a little bit. We’ll make sure that happens.”
Carr seemed to show the type of improvement McFatrich desires as MSU (3-1) put away Grambling (1-3) on Thursday. She came out swinging, getting six kills in the first set to hand the Bulldogs early momentum. She didn’t slow down much from there.
Several of Carr’s teammates also had good nights. Liv Benner had 10 kills. Gabby Zgunda tallied 10 digs.
“I thought it was a good job by our players,” McFatrich said. “Grambling is trying to feel their way around things too, but (Tigers head coach Demetria Keys-Johnson) is doing a good job with them. She’s a good coach and I think they’ll have some more success this year. We’re just trying to get better every single time we go on the court.”
Getting better remains Carr’s individual goal too. As she improves, so too will MSU. McFatrich is enjoying watching Carr come into her own.
“I’m just really blessed and grateful to be her coach,” McFatrich said. “I’ve watched her improve from the first day I was coaching her. It’s not because of me. It’s because of her. She’s done a great job.”
Carr and her teammates return to action in the Bulldog Invitational today. State faces South Florida at 2 p.m., then battles Tulane at 7 p.m.