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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
11-5, 5-2SEC
Auburn
14-6, 5-3SEC
Rebels Pounce On Tigers, Pick Up 3-0 Victory
10/8/2010 | Volleyball
Oct. 8, 2010
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Rebel volleyball team returned home set to make a statement on Friday night and did so, as Ole Miss (11-5, 5-2 SEC) pounced on Auburn (14-6, 5-3 SEC) early and picked up a shutout win over the Tigers.
It was the second shutout win in a row for the Rebels who defeated the Tigers 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) on the heels of a shutout win over Kentucky on the road last weekend.
It was a near flawless victory for Ole Miss on several fronts as the Rebels committed only 13 attack errors on the night and three of the primary attackers recorded two or fewer errors. Sophomore Allegra Wells led the way with 13 kills and hit .391, committing only two errors on the night. Both errors came late in the third set with Ole Miss sitting four points away from victory.
Whitney Craven posted a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs, while the middle blockers continued to convert with efficiency. Regina Thomas hit .667 with six kills on nine swings and four blocks, while Miranda Kitts added seven kills and hit .462 with only one error on 13 swings.
Ole Miss out-blocked Auburn 7.0 to 2.0 for the match.
"I'm really pleased with the poise we showed today against a very good Auburn team," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "The team is really starting to understand our style of volleyball more and playing each point out and just letting the score take care of itself.
"Our middles had another quiet, but great evening," Getzin said. "Allegra played well and our block was really solid yet again."
The first set opened with the Tigers taking a 3-1 lead on the home standing Rebels, but Ole Miss fought back to even things at seven. After trading scores, Ole Miss went on a four point run to push out to a 14-11 lead, never trailing again on the way to a 25-22 win in the opening frame of the contest.
The second set saw the Rebels jump out to a 2-0 lead only to have Auburn respond. Ole Miss didn't give up the lead until Auburn made another run late in the set and take a 17-16 lead on the Rebels. Ole Miss used back-to-back kills from Kitts and Kara Morgan to regain the lead and never trailed again on the way to a 25-22 win in set two.
An energized Ole Miss team took the floor in the third set and jumped on the Tigers out of the gates, looking to deliver a knockout punch. The Rebels did just that, using a 6-0 run that included a pair of service aces from Ashley Veach to force Auburn into a timeout. The Rebels would push the lead out to as much as eight on two occasions and saw the Tigers close the gap to no closer than four points on the way to a 25-19 win in the third set.
Ole Miss will return to action on Sunday, hosting the Georgia Bulldogs at 1:30 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center in the second match of a four match home stand. Admission to all matches is free.
