STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State's volleyball team began its Maroon & White Invite with a nice and tidy sweep of Lipscomb [25-22, 25-21, 25-18] on Thursday night at the Newell-Grissom Building.

"We talked a lot this week about how we start, how we finish, everything in between and sustaining a level of play that we could be proud of, and I thought we did," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "We did a really good job of staying patient, staying the course and managing. We executed our service plan and defensive plan very well. Overall, it was a good team win. Everyone did their job, and we have been talking a lot about that all week."

The Bulldogs (6-3) returned to their winning formula, registering 26 kills, 22 blocks, 49 digs and 25 assists.

State's setters, Alexa Fortin Goede and Emily Oerther, passed out a combined 20 assists and 13 digs. Goede claimed a double-double with 10 assists and 10 digs and came away with two aces.

The back row was spearheaded by Lauren Myrick's 17 digs and three assists. She has collected 10 or more digs during eight of nine matches this season.

"Lauren had a great night," Dennis said. "This is always a fun one for her, she transferred to us from Lipscomb. I think this one means a little bit more, especially since she's playing a new position, and it's just something for her to prove. She was running the show with her serving pass and she did an excellent job. I thought from the service line she gave us a ton of momentum with her serves. I am so proud of Lauren."

Zoe Gonzales was lights out at the net for the Bulldogs, notching a season-high 10 blocks.

"Zoe loves to block, and she loves to tell people that she loves to block," Dennis said. "When she gets her hands across the net, she is pretty hard to get pass. Zoe is a fun one to watch and I think we'll be in store for a lot more block parties."

Karli Schmidt came away with eight kills and three blocks, whereas Sophie Agee managed seven kills, six digs and a block. Rebecca Walk provided four kills, two digs and two blocks.

Mississippi State closes out non-conference action and its fourth straight tournament this weekend with a matchup against Abilene Christian. Saturday's first serve is set for 6 p.m. ET from the Newell-Grissom Building.