FRIDAY: ARKANSAS 3, OLE MISS 0
Extra-point losses in each of the opening two sets were too much to overcome for the Ole Miss volleyball team (10-3, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) as the Rebels lost 3-0 (24-26, 28-30, 18-25) to Arkansas on Friday evening at the Gillom Sports Center.
Playing in its SEC opener, the Rebels and Razorbacks (8-4, 1-0 SEC) played back-and-forth, tight volleyball for each of the opening two sets. In the first set, the two teams were tied on nine different occasions and exchanged leads four times. The second set proved to be even closer, as the two teams were tied 21 times and exchanged leads seven times.
“I saw some really good volleyball,” Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin said. “Hats off to Arkansas, they did a nice job tonight. We battled real well in sets one and two and a couple plays here and there and the scores could have easily been flipped.”
Freshman right side Melanie Crow registered a team-high 11 kills, while freshman setter Aubrey Edie had team-highs in assists (33) and digs (11). Junior outside hitter Marie-Pierre Bakima tallied nine kills, and sophomore middle blocker Ty Laporte had seven kills of her own.
SUNDAY: NO. 3 FLORIDA 3, OLE MISS 0
Sophomore middle blocker Nakeyta Clair had a team-high 11 kills, but the Ole Miss volleyball team (10-5, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) fell 3-0 (13-25, 22-25, 12-25) to No. 3 Florida on Sunday afternoon at the Gillom Sports Center.
“We played two very good teams (this weekend) and we competed well at times,” Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin said. “The thing we have to do is – we showed we can compete, including against Florida in the second set – we’re going to have to learn how to compete from the start of the match to the end of the match.”
Behind Clair’s nine kills, junior Marie-Pierre Bakima, freshman Melanie Crow and senior Kara Morgan each tallied five kills. Freshman setter Aubrey Edie had 21 assists, and junior Cara Fisher and sophomore Evan St. Laurent each had six digs.
The Rebels’ next match will be their first SEC road match of the year as they travel to the Bluegrass State to face No. 18 Kentucky on Friday at 6:00 p.m. CT. Ole Miss will then head down to Athens, Ga., to compete against Georgia on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CT.
