The Ole Miss volleyball team celebrates together after winning a point during a match against Kennesaw State on Friday, September 6, 2013. Photo: Quentin Winstine
Coming off of a win over Mississippi State on Wednesday night, the Ole Miss volleyball team will look for its second straight win as it travels to take on the Tennessee Volunteers tonight at 6 p.m.
This will be the second matchup of the season between Ole Miss (12-12, 2-9 Southeastern Conference) and Tennessee (9-16, 1-10 SEC). The Rebels knocked off Tennessee 3-1 back in October.
Tennessee enters the match last in the SEC standings, while Ole Miss is tied for 11th. The Volunteers have struggled offensively this season as they have the lowest hitting percentage in the SEC at .160. They are the only team in the conference hitting below .200.
Tennessee also has the fewest assists (10.91) and kills (11.79) per set in the SEC. Ole Miss is second to last in both categories.
Led by Ellen Mullins, Tennessee leads the SEC in digs per set with 18.21 per set. Mullins, who leads the SEC, averages 5.99 digs per set.
Ole Miss enters the game with its offense on an upswing. They have had six sets in their last three matches with hitting percentages over .300. For the season, Ole Miss is hitting just .221, eighth in the SEC.
Sophomore Nakeyta Clair has raised her hitting percentage over the past three matches. Against Mississippi State, Clair had a career-high 19 kills and a hitting percentage of .536. Her season hitting percentage is now at .314, 15th in the SEC.
In the first meeting with Tennessee, freshman setter Aubrey Edie had a career-high 48 assists. Edie is ninth in the SEC with 9.09 assists per set and had 42 against Mississippi State on Wednesday.
Ole Miss improved its digging against Mississippi State, as three players reached double figures in digs. Edie had 12, which gave her a fifth double-double on the season, senior Kara Morgan had 14 digs and junior libero Cara Fisher had a career-high 17 digs.
Freshman Kristen Brashear and sophomore Evan St. Laurent combined for 13 more digs, as Ole Miss had 16.5 digs per set against Mississippi State. Ole Miss is last in the SEC at 12.66 digs per set; an average of 16.5 would rank third in the SEC.
Ole Miss will then return home on Sunday, which will be its fifth game in 10 days, to take on Texas A&M (11-10, 3-7 SEC).
Ole Miss will look to continue its recent offensive success, as Texas A&M is allowing the highest hitting percentage in the SEC at .222. However, freshman Jazzmin Babers will be the biggest defensive obstacle for Ole Miss. She is second in the SEC with 1.23 blocks per set.
Ole Miss and Texas A&M will play at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the Gillom Center. Two wins on the weekend could move Ole Miss as high as eighth in the SEC standings.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss volleyball, follow @Tyler_RSR and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
–Tyler Bischoff
