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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
4-3
Southern Miss
5-4
Rebels Rally To Take Down Southern Miss
9/10/2010 | Volleyball
OXFORD, Miss. -- Regina Thomas put down 19 kills and 11 blocks to help lead the Rebels to a thrilling five set victory as Ole Miss (4-3) defeated in-state rival Southern Miss (5-4) by a score of 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 22-25, 17-15) at the Magnolia Invitational.
Thomas' 19 kills led all Rebels while Miranda Kitts came up with 13 kills and put down seven blocks. Morgan Springer shattered her career-best in digs with 37 for the Rebels on the night to lead all players defensively.
Ole Miss out-blocked Southern Miss 18.0 to 5.0 on the night, and it was the play of the middles that helped the Rebels to the come-from-behind win.
"That was one heck of a comeback against a well disciplined and well coached Southern Miss team," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "I can see them doing well in Conference USA and representing the state of Mississippi well.
"The key for us was our middles being able to put some balls down and the blocking really came together," Getzin said. "The team is really good at believing in themselves. The last two weekends helped us grow. We hope we can continue to build on that with two good matches Saturday."
That belief was key to a furious comeback in the fifth set. Having just lost the fourth set 25-22, the Rebels trailed in the fifth by a score of 8-1. That's when Ole Miss went to work, chipping away at the lead. The Rebels got a kill from Kara Morgan and a service ace from Emily Kvitle to tie things at 13 and cap the wild rally that put Ole Miss back in the match. A couple of minutes later, the Rebels got a kill from Thomas - her 19th of the night - and a service ace from Springer to snatch the win.
The Rebels relied on the arms of Kitts, Courtney Cunningham and Whitney Craven as the trio did not commit an error in the set. The three athletes were a combined 9-of-18 on the attack to pace Ole Miss, but it wasn't enough as the Golden Eagles claimed the set 25-22.
Ole Miss responded in the second set, going to the middles to climb back in the match. Kitts and Thomas put down 10 kills together, while Thomas added four blocks in the set and the pair tallied 14 of the Rebels 25 points in the frame. Ole Miss won the second set 25-23.
The Rebels continued to control things out of the break as Thomas continued to pace the squad with five kills and four blocks in the set. The Craven and Cunningham also put down three kills each to help Thomas push the Rebels to the third set win 25-21.
The Golden Eagles took control of things in the fourth set despite another flawless performance from Thomas with five kills on nine swings and no errors. Southern Miss took an 11-3 lead out of the gates and never looked back on the way to the 25-22 win that forced things to a fifth set.
The Rebels return to action on Saturday when Ole Miss will face the University of Louisiana at 1:30 p.m. The Rebels close out the day against Samford at 7 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center on campus at the University of Mississippi.
