STARKVILLE, Miss. - Heart and grit are the staples of Bulldog volleyball. On Friday night in front of a raucous crowd of 1,409 at Newell-Grissom, the Mississippi State Bulldogs fought to the end but dropped a 3-0 decision to the No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks.Evie Grace Singleton paced the Bulldogs with 8 kills, while Jelena Vujcin and Chelsea Duhs each turned in 7 on the night. The setting duo of Blossom Sato and Riley Duzenack turned in 14 and 13 assists, respectively, while Bali Leffall-Young paced State with 4 blocks.I cannot say enough how proud I am of this team and the fight they showed tonight, MSU head coach David McFatrich said. We preach heart, soul and grit with Bulldog volleyball and they gave it their all against a very good Kansas team. We wish the result was different, but this is only the first match. We have a long way to go and Im confident that this team is going to do great things.The 1,409 fans that packed The Griss on Friday stands as the third-largest crowd in program history and is the highest opening day total at Newell-Grissom since 2011.Our fans were amazing and I cannot thank them enough for showing up and being as electric as they were, McFatrich said. Ive always said that The Griss is the best place in America to play collegiate volleyball and that really rings true when our fans pack this place out.After the Bulldogs grabbed several early leads, Kansas pushed out to as much as a five-point lead in the first set. MSU would not relent, eventually coming back to within one, down 20-19. A pair of kills from Vujcin would keep the Dogs close and bring the Griss crowd to its feet, but Kansas pulled away and survived the first frame, 25-22.A number of errors plagued State early on, but once again the toughness of Bulldog volleyball shined through. MSU would fight back after being down several early four-point deficits, tying it up at 11-11 and again at 12-12. State would hang tough once again, but could not jump out in front, as the Jayhawks took a two-set lead with a 25-20 victory.Friday nights third set was a grinding battle early on, but a 7-1 Kansas run put the Jayhawks out in front. The Bulldogs would attempt several runs, but could not complete the comeback and dropped the final set 25-17 to close out the match.We seemed to shine across the board tonight, but there are still some areas we have to improve in. Bottom line is we have two matches tomorrow against good squads and thats where our focus is right now. Were excited to get back out there.State returns tomorrow at noon CT against the Lamar Cardinals, who dropped a straight-sets decision to the Eastern Washington Eagles. MSU will cap off the day with a 7 p.m., showdown against the Eagles. Both matches will be broadcast on SEC Network +.Mel Stottlemyre Jersey . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. Billy Martin Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. http://www.customyankeesjersey.com/custom-reggie-jackson-jersey-large-654i.html . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Phil Rizzuto Jersey Large . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. Custom Yankees Jersey China . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose.WASHINGTON -- Al-Jazeera America is asking a judge to dismiss defamation lawsuits filed by two Major League Baseball players over statements made in the broadcasters documentary about performance-enhancing drugs in sports.Lawyers for the news organization and for Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals and Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies appeared Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington. The suits, which were consolidated into one Tuesday, refer to the documentary The Dark Side: Secrets of Sports Doping, broadcast by Al-Jazeera America in December 2015.The suit alleges a phharmacist who appeared in the documentary made false statements when he said Zimmerman and Howard took banned performance-enhancing drugs.ddddddddddddMajor League Baseball investigated the allegations and said it found no violations of its drug agreement.After more than two hours of arguments Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said she would issue a written ruling on whether the case should be dismissed. But she did not say when she would rule. ' ' '