The Ole Miss volleyball team took on Georgia at the Gillom Sports Center in Oxford Friday night, and the Rebels took the win in three sets and snagged their second SEC victory of the season.
After shutting out Georgia last year in the only meeting between these two teams, Ole Miss hoped to continue the winning streak. This year, Ole Miss kept the ball rolling on the offensive end.
In the first set, the two teams took turns exchanging points until the score was tied at 16. A service ace by sophomore Kate Gibson helped the Rebels to take a slight bump in the lead. Georgia stayed close until back-to-back kills by senior Ty Laporte and sophomore Lexi Thompson sealed the deal. The Rebels took the first set 25-21.
The second set started out in Georgia’s favor as sophomore Maddie Lobenstein made a kill in the first play. Her point was followed by two consecutive service aces by sophomore Cassidy Anderson.
The duration of the second set remained close as the Rebels struggled with several service errors. Three lethal attacks at the net by Laporte gave Ole Miss the help they needed to grind out the 25-23 win.
The Rebels came out stronger in the third set than they did in the previous two. Major kills by freshman Kathryn Cather and key assists by junior Aubrey Edie helped Ole Miss jump out to a 21-13 lead.
They began to slip after that.
The Bulldogs rallied to cut the lead to 23-20. However, senior Nakeyta Clair saved the day. Two hard hit kills at the 10-foot line from Clair helped solidify the third win and wrap up the evening for the Rebels.
Key offensive components for the Rebels were Clair, Laporte and Thompson. The three players totaled 30 kills collectively.
This was the second Friday in a row the trio performed well at the net and helped Ole Miss to secure a strong conference win.
“I feel that our focus in practice on being aggressive at the net helped with a lot of the kills we created,” Laporte said. “We really focused on the details this week because a lot of times the details get lost. It was good that we put in extra time as individuals this week, and it showed in our match.”
Georgia was led by Lobenstein, who had nine kills. The Bulldogs left the series with a 5-10 record (0-3 SEC).
Junior Aubrey Edie has a total of 30 assists for the evening, totaling 3,025 for her career thus far. As of last night, Edie is just the second player in Ole Miss volleyball history to have over 3,000 assists. However, she doesn’t want her personal achievements to be her motivation to perform well. She is more concerned with the success of her team.
“I try not to think about those things when I play, but the career goal is always something to shoot for. It’s funny because with assists, my success depends on my hitters,” Edie said. “I just try to put them in position to be successful.”
The Rebels are now 16-4 for the season (2-3 SEC). They will have a week to practice and refresh before they head to Columbia to take on South Carolina for the second time this season.
After defeating them in Oxford, Ole Miss will have to face the Gamecocks on their home turf. The first serve is set for noon CST.
