TYLER JACKSON | The Daily Mississippian
Aubrey Edie hits the ball during a match earlier this season.
The Ole Miss volleyball team will host two games this weekend as Georgia (18-8, 8-6 Southeastern Conference) and No. 17 Kentucky (18-6, 10-3 SEC) come to Oxford.
The Rebels just finished a stretch of five games in the first 10 days of November in which Ole Miss (13-13, 3-10 SEC) went 2-3. The back-to-back wins Ole Miss posted over Mississippi State and Tennessee were a relief in an SEC season that saw the Rebels start 1-9.
“The best part about this young team is while we have some inexperience, they are very good in the gym every week,” head coach Joe Getzin said. “Having a good attitude in the practice gym hasn’t been a problem for us at all.”
Getzin has relied on youth on all season. Of the 12 players who played in the last match against Texas A&M, seven were freshmen or sophomores; two more players are juniors that transferred to Ole Miss and are playing in their first SEC season.
The Rebels sit at 11th in the 13-team SEC standings, ahead of Mississippi State and Tennessee.
“Overall, the spirits are good, and they’re believing in themselves,” Getzin said.
Ole Miss has struggled defensively this year, as they are last in the SEC with 12.68 digs per set. Junior defensive specialist Rachel McLamore saw an increase in playing time against Texas A&M and turned in a 12-dig performance. Freshman setter Aubrey Edie has picked up her defensive game by posting 27 digs in the last three matches. Also, junior libero Cara Fisher has posted 43 digs in the last three matches.
“That’s one area throughout the year we’ve put a lot of emphasis on,” Getzin said of defense. “We’ve got to continue to improve on that. And if we can hit the numbers that we hit over this last stretch, we’ll be in a great spot.”
Although Ole Miss took a step back offensively against Texas A&M, in the matches prior to that, the offense was hot. Against Arkansas, Mississippi State and Tennessee Ole Miss hit .299 or better in all three matches. Ole Miss has moved up to ninth in the conference with a season hitting percentage of .219.
Sophomore middle blocker Nakeyta Clair has led the way offensively, as she has posted 59 kills and just 15 attack errors over the last four matches. Freshman right-side hitter Melanie Crow has also posted good numbers over the past four games with 45 kills and 19 digs.
Georgia is fifth in the SEC standings and has won four of their last six matches. The Bulldogs are led defensively by Allison Summers who averages 4.37 digs per set, the fifth-best mark in the SEC. Ole Miss took Georgia to five sets earlier this season before falling 2-3.
Kentucky, which has won five of six, comes in as the third best blocking team in the SEC with 2.53 per set. Alexandra Morgan and Sara Schwarzwalder are both in the top 10 of the SEC in individual blocks per set. They are second best duo in the SEC with 2.19 blocks per set. Ole Miss was swept by Kentucky in early October.
Ole Miss will host Georgia Friday night at 6:00 p.m. and Kentucky on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Gillom Center.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss volleyball, follow @Tyler_RSR and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
-Tyler Bischoff
tfbischo@go.olemiss.edu
