Ole Miss volleyball heads into the weekend with a strong conference match against Georgia. After coming off a loss against Texas A&M, a big win will be necessary for the Rebels to build momentum as they continue through Southeastern Conference play.
Last Friday’s win against South Carolina brought the Rebels their first conference victory of the year after falling to Mississippi State and Florida. Ole Miss took it to four sets, winning the first two and losing the third. The fourth set was a close call before the Rebels took home the 25-23 win. Both teams traded points early, but when the score was 13-13, Ole Miss went on an 11-5 run to solidify the win.
Standouts for Ole Miss were junior Aubrey Edie and sophomore Lexi Thompson.
Thompson recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs, with two service aces added. Edie finished the match with a total of 45 assists, seven digs, and two service aces.
Last Sunday, the Rebels fell to the Aggies in three sets (13-25, 20-25, 13-25). Kate Gibson led Ole Miss from the offensive end and finished with 12 kills and five digs. Junior Kristen Brashear kept the defense strong with 14 digs. The Rebels will get another chance at revenge with A&M on their home turf Nov. 13.
This weekend’s competition against the Georgia Bulldogs will be a tough match. The Bulldogs are 5-9 in overall play, but 0-2 in conference play. Georgia holds the all-time series advantage at 40-15, but fell last year 3-0 in the meeting in Oxford. In that match, Ole Miss reached a school record with a .432 hitting average.
Of this season’s returns, junior Megan Spencer led Georgia in the last game against Ole Miss with eight kills. The Rebels’ win in 2014 snapped a three-game win streak for the Bulldogs over Ole Miss. Georgia will be coming in with a chip on their shoulder as they look to achieve their first league win this season. It’s up to the Rebels to keep Georgia from repeating history.
Players to watch this game are senior Nakeyta Clair and Edie. After an off-night against Texas A&M, it will be interesting to see how Clair bounces back. Against the Aggies, she only had six kills and hit below .300. Despite that poor performance, she is currently ranked second in the SEC with a hitting percentage of .420 and 11th in points per set with 3.71. Having overcome this Georgia opponent before, Clair’s leadership will be a vital component of the Rebels’ offense Friday.
Edie only needs five more assists in Friday’s match to reach 3,000 in her career. She would become just the second Rebel in school history to reach 3,000 assists.
The first serve is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center in Oxford.
