Northwest makes Mississippi volleyball history as State scores 114

Mississippi news and sports rundown for Monday, November 9, 2026. Reporting window: after November 8 at 4:45 p.m. CST through November 9 at 4:45 p.m. CST (2026-11-08T22:45:00Z, 2026-11-09T22:45:00Z].

Northwest Mississippi Community College is heading to a national volleyball tournament for the first time, and Mississippi State's women opened a high-scoring week with a 114-point win. The day's reports also include a soccer tournament exit decided by penalties, two Millsaps basketball openers, and community programs tied to college athletics. These are original reports published during the fixed 24-hour window by Sports Mississippi. MS News Group's only in-window archive entry was the previous rundown, which is excluded here.

Mississippi News

Southern Miss opens basketball seats to community groups

Southern Miss Athletics says eligible nonprofit organizations, youth groups and community social-service organizations in Hattiesburg and nearby South Mississippi can request complimentary group tickets for 2026-27 men's and women's home basketball games. The Golden Eagle Community Corner is intended to bring people who might otherwise miss college games into the arena. Applications will be reviewed for eligibility and NCAA compliance, and tickets depend on availability; submitting a request does not guarantee seats. The program announcement has the request details.

Delta State team collects food and essentials in Cleveland

Delta State's women's basketball team is collecting canned and other nonperishable food, breakfast items and feminine products at Walter Sillers Coliseum this week. The food-drive report lists collection hours as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Donations will go to the university food pantry and Helping Hands Food Ministry, while also counting toward the school's Gulf South Conference food-drive effort.

Mississippi Sports

Undefeated Northwest earns historic national berth

No. 16 Northwest Mississippi beat No. 15 Lurleen B. Wallace in four sets to win the Gulf South District Championship and become the first Mississippi team to qualify for the NJCAA Division II volleyball national tournament. The Rangers took the opening sets 25-14 and 25-18, lost a tight third 26-24, and closed the match 25-22. They improved to 40-0. Gonzalez set a Northwest program record with 26 kills and added 14 digs; Chloe Rodriguez had 30 assists. The championship account says the national tournament is scheduled for November 18-21. The berth is also the program's first national tournament appearance.

Mississippi State women set a Purcell-era scoring mark

Mississippi State beat UT Martin 114-68 on Sunday, its highest point total under coach Sam Purcell. The Bulldogs shot 60% from the floor and made half of their 3-point attempts. A 34-point second quarter turned a six-point lead after one period into a 16-point halftime margin. Favour Nwaedozi scored 21 points on 9-for-10 shooting and collected 14 rebounds, continuing a double-double streak that the game report says spans five games dating to last season. Reese Beaty added 12 points and 10 assists for her first career double-double, and Cali Smallwood scored 17.

State soccer exits SEC tournament on penalties

Mississippi State and Texas played 110 scoreless minutes in the SEC women's soccer tournament before the Longhorns advanced in a penalty shootout. Bulldogs goalkeeper Jenny Harrison made six saves in the match and stopped a Texas attempt in the shootout. The tournament report credits Harrison with her ninth shutout of the season, tied for third in the school's single-season record book. Two Mississippi State attempts missed in the shootout, one over the bar and one off the post. State finished the match with a 9-2-7 record and awaits its NCAA tournament decision.

Millsaps men start 2-0; women win opener

The Millsaps men's team opened with two wins at the Rhodes College Classic in Memphis, beating Eureka 76-48 and Austin College 69-47. Jaxon Toney contributed 10 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three blocks against Eureka, then had 13 points and 15 rebounds against Austin. The men's weekend report details the Majors' 15-0 first-half run in the opener and their 10-0 stretch before halftime in the second game. In Montgomery, the Millsaps women beat Huntingdon 63-53. Garin Freeman had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and the Majors answered a late cut to 46-44 with a 6-0 run. The women's opener report says the team made 10 fourth-quarter free throws to finish the win.

Jones completes unbeaten tipoff classic

No. 13 Jones College completed a 3-0 trip to the ASU Greyhound Tip-Off Classic with an 85-71 win over Connors State. The Bobcats led throughout, taking a 45-31 margin into halftime, and shot 53% from the field. Wesley Lindsey scored 17 points, Traevon Koch added 15 and eight rebounds, and David Washington scored 13. The Jones report also records a 92-81 victory over host ASU Mid-South the day before. Connors State statistics were unavailable when that report was published, so it does not give a full comparison of the teams' individual performances.

Alcorn holds on in five-set SWAC match

Alcorn State survived a comeback by Arkansas-Pine Bluff to win 3-2 after taking the first two sets. The Lady Braves won the deciding set 15-11, scoring four straight points after an 11-11 tie. Courtney Carter delivered two kills in that closing run and finished with a season-high 20. Rylan Jones added 17 kills, and Tomoni Giddings had 34 digs, also a season best. The match report says Alcorn recorded season highs of 59 kills and 71 digs. The result moved Alcorn to 5-9 in SWAC play.

Featured image: File photo of a basketball hoop during warmups before a 2014 San Diego State-Fresno State game. It illustrates basketball coverage and does not depict the Mississippi games reported here. Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports.