Marie-Pierre Bakima (27), Cara Fisher (7) and Taylor Alexander (25) celebrate after winning the match against Missouri Wednesday. Photo by Thomas Graning
The Rebels knew Missouri would be a tough team to beat.
Coming off of a rough start in Southeastern Conference play over the weekend, they knew the defending conference champions would come ready to play. After tough losses to South Carolina and Florida on the road, the Rebels were ready to return home to the Gillom Sports Center.
The Rebels started off the first set strong with back-to-back kills to pull ahead of Missouri. Junior Nakeyta Clair dominated the first set for the Rebels with five kills, followed by freshman Lexi Thompson with three kills. The set went back and forth, with both teams going strong. Clair clinched the first set for the Rebels with her kill to make the first set 25-18.
The Rebels got another strong start in the second set, pulling ahead with another set of back-to-back kills. Clair and Thompson both had a strong set with Clair dishing out a total of nine kills. Thompson followed close behind with a total of eight kills. The Tigers gave the Rebels a hard time during the second set, but the Rebels came back from a six-point deficit to win 25-23.
The third set was intense with the Tigers and Rebels constantly battling, limiting each teams gap on the score board. With key plays, like freshmen Taylor Alexander’s block to tie the set at 21, the Rebels came back with a vengeance. Although it was tough, the Rebels defeated the defending SEC champs by a score of 25-22, winning the first three sets to clinch the victory.
The Rebels remain undefeated at home and advance to 15-2 for the season.
“It’s a great feeling because we haven’t been undefeated at home in a while,” Clair said. “We’re going to make sure that we keep fighting to remain undefeated at home.”
Thompson talked about the importance of remaining undefeated at the Gillom Sports Center.
“It’s a great feeling because that is our main goal: to stay undefeated at home. We all came together and made it happen,” Thompson said.
“It was similar to feelings from last Friday night against South Carolina. We allowed Missouri to take some leads on us, but we kept fighting and fighting and came back,” said head coach Steven Roberts. “The biggest moment that changed the momentum was late in the second set when we were down 22-16 and finished on a 9-1 run. That gave us all the confidence in the world going into the third set.”
Not only defeating the defending SEC Champions, the Rebels also ended Missouri’s 20-game winning streak in the SEC.
The Rebels will travel to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks (8-7) Wednesday for another opportunity to pick up another SEC win.
“I’m looking forward to the competition,” Clair said. “The competition with them is always really good. That’s what I’m looking forward to next Wednesday.”
