Stats

OXFORD, Miss. – Senior setter Amanda Philpot put together a triple-double Friday night in front of an electric crowd at the Gillom Sports Center, leading the Rebels (5-3) to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-17) victory over Rice (4-6) in the Magnolia Invitational.

Philpot recorded her first triple-double of the season Friday night with 36 assists, 14 digs and a season-high 11 kills, including six in the final set.

In a match that was much closer than the final score indicated, Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin was very pleased with the team sticking to the game plan and executing down the stretch.

“I’m very proud of them,” Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin said. “We did a great job of executing a game plan. Our big thing was to limit No. 3 (on Rice) and she only got nine kills, and she’s been averaging a lot more than that.”

Philpot stole the show for Ole Miss, finding her way into seemingly every play for the Rebels and providing a steady hand both defensively and offensively. Following the match, Getzin praised Philpot for her play and senior libero Ashley Veach.

“Ashley Veach made some huge digs down the stretch,” Getzin said. “Anytime that happens it changes the team’s offensive attacking. Amanda Philpot with her first triple-double of the year – that doesn’t happen a whole lot – that’s quite impressive.”

Freshman middle blocker Ty Laporte, a three-time state high jump champion in high school, electrified the crowd on numerous occasions with 11 kills on 16 attempts.

After a tight 25-22 win in the first set, Ole Miss faced a bit of adversity in the second set of the match, trailing Rice by a score of 23-21. Back-to-back kills by junior outside hitter Kiley Sherman and Philpot, respectively, evened the score at 23 and prompted a timeout by visiting Rice. Following a ball handling error by the Owls, senior outside hitter Kara Morgan finished the set with a kill to give the Rebels the 25-23 win in the set and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Ole Miss hit at a .433 clip in the third set and used a 6-1 run midway through the set to get the victory. The win gave Ole Miss a 2-0 record on the day and pushed the Rebels’ overall record to 5-3.

Ole Miss was led in its opening match of the day against Alabama A&M by Philpot, who recorded 29 assists, eight kills and seven digs. Senior right side hitter Allegra Wells had a match-high 11 kills against the Bulldogs, and Veach had a match-high 14 digs.

The Rebels hit at a .524 clip in the third and final set, recording 14 kills on 21 attempts and committing just three errors.

Ole Miss will close out play in the Magnolia Invitational on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. CT against North Dakota. UND (4-5) enters the match with a 1-1 record in the tournament with a win 3-0 win over Alabama A&M following a 3-1 loss to Rice to open the tournament.

Fans will have an opportunity to predict the score of the second set before the match. The fan that guesses the score of the second set closest wins a flat-screen TV.

For all Ole Miss volleyball news and information, including daily recaps, live stats, results and the Magnolia Invitational Tournament Central page, go to OleMissSports.com. Fans can follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB and go to Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball.