Oct. 12, 2012

Stats

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss junior outside hitter Kara Morgan had team-highs of 11 kills and eight digs Friday night, but it wasn’t enough, as the Rebels (8-9, 2-6 Southeastern Conference) fell on the road at No. 11 Florida, 3-0 (14-25, 12-25, 22-25).

“Hats off to Florida for a well-played match,” Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin said. “Florida is a tough place to play with a great atmosphere. We couldn’t slow down Živa Recek. We did a better job in set three, but we’ll have to put this one behind us and get ready for another tough match against Georgia on Sunday.”

Morgan recorded eight of her 11 kills in the match’s third and final set, and six of her eight digs. Senior setter Amanda Philpot had a team-high 23 assists. Freshman middle blocker Ty Laporte was second on the team with six kills. It was the fifth straight match of six or more kills for the Irmo, S.C., native.

Florida raced out to a 10-2 lead to open the first set, but Ole Miss regrouped and cut the lead to three points at 10-7, which prompted a timeout from the home standing Gators. Florida responded out of the break by scoring 15 of the final 22 points in the set to take it 25-14.

The Gators (14-2, 8-0 SEC), which are the SEC’s lone unbeaten team in conference play, took the second set by a count of 25-12.

Florida jumped out to a 7-1 lead to start the third set, but the Rebels rallied following a timeout and cut the Gators’ lead to two at 11-9 before a Florida timeout. The Rebels took the lead on four separate occasions in the third set, and tied the match at 22 points apiece. The Gators would score the final three points in the set though, and take the set 25-22.

Ole Miss will hit the court again Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CT against the Georgia Bulldogs (10-7, 4-4 SEC). Georgia enters Sunday’s match coming off a 3-0 victory over Auburn on Friday night.

Ole Miss is 14-37 all-time against Georgia, and is 9-9 against the Bulldogs in the Getzin Era. The Rebels are 3-3 against the Bulldogs in Athens, Ga., dating back to 2006. UGA middle blocker Jasmine Eaton is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week after recording nine kills and a season-high eight blocks at LSU, and five kills, six digs and four blocks against Tennessee.

For all Ole Miss volleyball news and information, including recaps, live stats and results, go to OleMissSports.com. Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB and go to Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball.