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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Northwestern
Craven Puts Down 18 Kills In Loss To Northwestern
9/3/2010 | Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2010
EVANSTON, Ill. - Whitney Craven put down a season-high 18 kills and Morgan Springer tied a career-high with 27 digs, but it wasn't enough as Ole Miss (2-2) fell to Northwestern (3-0) on Friday night by a score of 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 24-26).
The 18 kills for Craven was two shy of a career-high 20 kills that came against Alabama last season in Oxford. Regina Thomas also played well for the Rebels, putting down 12 kills and hitting .348 with six blocks on the night.
"Obviously it was a disappointing loss," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "We put ourselves in a position to win, but we have to close out those matches. Whitney played well tonight. We know what she's capable of doing and it was good to see her playing that way. Morgan played a good match and really took control of the back row for us."
The Rebels and Wildcats opened the contest with a back-and-forth first set that would set the tone for the match as the two teams traded blows early. Northwestern took the quick lead only to see Ole Miss erase the advantage repeatedly before the Rebels took a two-point lead at 16-14. The home team put together an answering run, and the point trading resumed until the Wildcats moved out to a four point lead at 23-19 that proved to be all the opening needed as the Rebels dropped the first set 25-21.
Set two opened the same as the first neither team able to make a clean break away from the other. The first opening to get separation came with back-to-back kills from Courtney Cunningham and Whitney raven that put the Rebels up 13-11. The momentum shift was all Ole Miss needed as the Rebels wouldn't trail again in the set, claiming the second frame 25-21 to even the match at a set each.
Ole Miss jumped out to an early lead in the third set, rattling off three straight points only to see Northwester put together its own run to surge ahead 7-4 and push the Rebels into a timeout. Ole Miss scored out of the break and would keep the score tight and cut the lead back to one at 16-15 and 23-22, but never managed to overtake the Wildcats as Northwestern claimed the third set 25-23.
The fourth set opened with the Wildcats claiming a 4-1 lead on the Rebels, but Ole Miss hung tight as Regina Thomas, Allegra Wells and Craven helped keep things close. The Rebels chipped away at the lead, eventually overtaking Northwestern at 19-18 before pushing out to set point at 24-23. Back-to-back attack errors spelled the end of the rally for the Rebels, however, as Northwestern claimed the match with a 26-24 win in the fourth set.
Ole Miss will return to action on Saturday with a pair of matches to close out the tournament. The Rebels will face Utah at 10 a.m. and end the event with a match against Morehead State at 4:30 p.m.
