FRIDAY: NO. 19 KENTUCKY 3, OLE MISS 0
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ole Miss couldn’t find its groove Friday evening in front of a boisterous crowd at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky., and lost 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-8) to No. 19 Kentucky.
Sophomore middle blocker Nakeyta Clair had a team-high seven kills, while senior outside hitter Kara Morgan logged 11 digs, her highest total since Aug. 31 when she had 17 digs in a five-set match against Maryland. Freshman setter Aubrey Edie passed out 15 assists.
“We ran into a real tough Kentucky team tonight and we have to play better,” Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin said. “We need to buckle down now and rebound with another tough match ahead of us Sunday at Georgia.”
Ole Miss (10-6, 0-3 Southeastern Conference) dropped the first set by a score of 25-13. Clair had a team-high four kills on four attempts in the opening game, and Edie passed out a dozen assists for the Rebels. Morgan and junior Cara Fisher each had five digs for Ole Miss.
After falling behind by three points early at 4-7 in the second set, Ole Miss went on a 3-0 run to tie the set at 7 points apiece. Kentucky (11-3, 3-0 SEC) regained the lead with a 7-1 run following the Rebels’ surge to take a 14-8 lead. Ole Miss didn’t back down in the set and cut its deficit in half with a 3-0 run which prompted the Wildcats to call timeout. Ole Miss later cut its deficit to two points at 16-18, but could get no closer as Kentucky closed the set on a 7-0 run to win 25-18.
The Rebels fell behind early in the third set and couldn’t get back on track, dropping the game 25-8.
SUNDAY: GEORGIA 3, OLE MISS 2
ATHENS, Ga. – Four Ole Miss Rebels had double-digit kill totals and freshman setter Aubrey Edie recorded her fourth double-double of the season, but the Ole Miss volleyball team lost a heartbreaker 3-2 (25-15, 22-25, 27-25, 23-25, 15-9) at Georgia in Athens, Ga.
“After Friday night’s loss we challenged the team to step up and kind of respond, and they did a good job of being on the road responding and doing what we asked,” Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin said. “It’s tough to win on the road in the SEC. We put ourselves in position getting to a fifth game, but we kind of let off the gas a little bit down the stretch.”
After Georgia (13-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) jumped out to a quick lead in the opening set, Ole Miss (10-7, 0-4 SEC) fought back to pull within two points at 13-11. The Bulldogs went on another run soon thereafter though, and claimed the first set by a score of 25-15.
The Rebels showed their fight in the second set. Ole Miss went on a 4-0 run early in the second set to take a 6-3 lead over the home standing Bulldogs. A solo block by Clair later in the set gave Ole Miss its largest lead at 11-6, and caused Georgia head coach Lizzy Stemke to call timeout. Georgia responded out of the timeout by going on a 6-0 run to take a 12-11 lead, but Ole Miss fought back to regain the lead at 19-18. UGA then took the lead again at 22-21, but Ole Miss responded by closing out the set on a 4-0 run fueled by stellar play from Crow and Clair.
Ole Miss used a 5-1 run to take an 11-7 lead in the third set, which caused Georgia to call its first timeout. The Rebels stretched their lead to as many as five points at 12-7, but Georgia didn’t back down and took its first lead of the set at 19-18. After trailing for the first time in the set, Ole Miss went on a 3-0 run to take a 21-19 lead and force Georgia to call its final timeout. The Rebels could not close out Georgia in the set though, and fell 27-25.
Down 6-8 in the fourth set, Ole Miss went on a 4-0 run to take a 10-8 lead and prompt a Georgia timeout. Ole Miss extended its lead to as many as seven points at 19-12, and went on to take the fourth set by a score of 25-23 after Crow notched her season-high 13th kill.
The two teams stayed within two points of each other throughout the first half of the set. With Georgia leading 8-7, the Bulldogs went on a 5-0 run to take a 13-7 lead and won the set 15-9.
Ole Miss will open week seven of the season on the road at LSU on Friday at 7:00 p.m. CT before coming home to the Gillom Sports Center to face South Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 13 at 1:30 p.m. CT.
