FRIDAY: OLE MISS 3, TENNESSEE 1
The Ole Miss women’s volleyball team trailed Tennessee 14-11 in the second set. Ole Miss was in danger of falling behind by two sets as the Volunteers had already taken the first set. But Ole Miss got a boost when senior Kara Morgan went back to serve and Ole Miss went on a 6-0 run.
Ole Miss (11-9, 1-6 Southeastern Conference) outscored Tennessee (8-12, 0-6 SEC) 66-44 over the last two and a half sets and picked up its first SEC victory.
Morgan picked up a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs. She used an off-speed hit to attack the Tennessee defense and spur the Ole Miss run.
When Tennessee adjusted, the court opened up for more aggressive attacking from the Rebels. Morgan’s soft attacking helped to set up double-digit kill performances from Melanie Crow, Ty Laporte and Marie-Pierre Bakima. Crow had a game-high hitting percentage of .414; her season average entering the match was .234.
“When you look at where they were playing defensively, and digging the ball so well, something’s got to be open,” head coach Joe Getzin said. “It doesn’t have to be a hard kill. Sometimes just that soft touch is what loosens up the defense for you.”
Freshman setter Aubrey Edie had a career-high 48 assists as she helped key the Ole Miss attackers. Her previous career high was 44 assists against Georgia.
“(She’s) the quarterback of the team,” Getzin said. “I think she did a really great job of distributing the ball tonight.”
Defensively, Ole Miss dominated at the net as it posted 18 blocks to Tennessee’s seven. Along with Morgan’s 13 digs, Cara Fisher, Evan St. Laurent and Edie posted at least seven digs.
“It feels great,” Morgan said of the first SEC win. “It feels like we deserve it. We worked our butts off in practice, and we responded (to that). That’s obviously what we needed.”
SUNDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA 3, OLE MISS 1
Ole Miss lost a critical third set to South Carolina, in which there were 10 ties and five lead changes. The set gave South Carolina (11-9, 3-5 SEC) a 2-1 lead that they turned into a 3-1 victory on Sunday over Ole Miss (11-10, 1-7 SEC).
“We really lost our momentum and gave them confidence,” sophomore Ty Laporte said. “Volleyball is definitely a game of confidence. You need to finish because when they come back in the next game, they’re more confident than you are.”
South Carolina won the third set 25-23 and went on to control the fourth set 25-18.
Both Getzin and South Carolina head coach Scott Swanson were upset by multiple referee decisions. They both delayed play to question the referees, and Getzin received a yellow card, while Swanson was not penalized.
Senior Juliette Thevenin was the key for South Carolina. She finished with a match-high 25 kills on 58 total attacks. In the second set, the only set Ole Miss won, Thevenin was held to just three kills and a negative hitting percentage of -.062. But in the fourth and deciding set, she had 10 kills and a hitting percentage of .615.
“She’s a special player,” Getzin said. “I’m glad that she’s a senior and we don’t have to play her again. I think the South Carolina staff has done a really nice job making sure she’s their go-to person.”
For Ole Miss, Laporte had an efficient attacking performance as she posted 11 kills with .320 hitting percentage. It is the fifth straight game Laporte has had double-digit kills. Senior Kara Morgan had a career-high 20 digs as well as eight kills and a service ace. Freshman Aubrey Edie had 43 assists, her third-highest total of the season.
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