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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
8-3, 2-0SEC
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Mississippi State
8-4, 0-1SEC
Rebels Down Mississippi State 3-1 To Sweep SEC Weekend
9/19/2010 | Volleyball
Sept. 19, 2010
OXFORD, Miss. -- The play of the middle blockers again helped lead the Rebels to victory as Ole Miss (8-3, 2-0 SEC) defeated Mississippi State (8-4, 0-1 SEC) on Sunday by a score of 3-1 (25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 27-25).
The win gave the Rebels a sweep on the weekend as Ole Miss opened Southeastern Conference play with a 3-0 victory over Alabama on Friday night.
Miranda Kitts put down 12 kills and nine blocks on the afternoon, while Regina Thomas put down 10 kills, five blocks and hit .400 for the match. Whitney Craven posted a match-high 17 kills, while Allegra Wells added 10 kills to give Ole Miss four players with double-digit kills on the afternoon.
Morgan Springer led the back row defense with 21 digs, while Amanda Philpot added 12 digs to notch a double-double as she also came up with 24 assists.
"The team continues to mature and handled the challenge of playing a well coached Mississippi State team," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "I'm proud of the way we made adjustments after they changed things up in the third set and finished things off in four sets.
"We are playing well defensively and our block has been good and I think that is frustrating other team's hitters," Getzin said. "Our middles continue to play well and I'm very happy with that."
It was a close match early with the Rebels holding a slim advantage over the Bulldogs to open up the first set. The advantage held, though, and the Rebels never trailed in the opening set. After holding a 10-7 lead Ole Miss used a run to surge ahead by six at 18-12 in a final push that gave the Rebels a 25-18 win in the first set.
The second set was more of the same as Ole Miss jumped out to a 5-2 lead and trailed only once in the frame. Mississippi State took a 10-9 lead only to see it erased with back-to-back blocks from the Rebels that put Ole Miss back on top. The run continued for Ole Miss out to a 15-10 lead and held from there as the Rebels claimed the second set 25-17.
Mississippi State changed things up in the third set, coming out of the break and moving into the early lead. Ole Miss chipped away at the lead, finally moving ahead of the Bulldogs at 15-14 on a block from Regina Thomas. Mississippi State used a service ace at 22 all to move back into the lead and closed out the frame with a 25-23 win in the third set.
Ole Miss righted the ship in the fourth set, grabbing the lead early and charging out to a 17-7 lead on the Bulldogs. The visitors from Mississippi State answered with their own run, tying things at 24 before Ole Miss grabbed the win at 27-25 to claim the match.
The Rebels return to action on Friday at South Carolina in a match that begins at 6 p.m. CDT.
