Nov. 18, 2011

Box Score

OXFORD, Miss. – Kara Morgan and Allegra Wells led the attack in the final road match of the season for the Rebels as Ole Miss (10-17, 6-13 SEC) blanked Mississippi State (11-18, 6-13 SEC) on Friday night, defeating the Bulldogs 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-22).

Morgan put down a match-high 12 kills, while Wells added 10 kills on the night to pace the Ole Miss offense. Sophomore Kellie Goss also came up big for the Rebels, hitting .375 with eight kills and four blocks to go along with a .368 hitting performance from junior Amanda Philpot who added eight kills of her own.

Senior libero Morgan Springer led the back row defense for Ole Miss, coming up with a match-high 16 digs in the win over the Bulldogs, while Ashley Veach added 11 digs on the night.

“This was a very good team win coming off two heartbreak losses the week before and traveling to our in-state rival,” said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. “You never know how things will go when emotion is involved. We had a great week of practice and it’s great to see that translate to the match. Our seniors are making sure we keep focused all the way through to the end of the season.”

Ole Miss scored first in the opening set, but Mississippi State answered as the teams traded scores before the Rebels snapped an 8-8 tie with a block from Kara Morgan and Regina Thomas to put Ole Miss on top. The score was part of a 10-2 run from the Rebels that put Ole Miss out in front 18-10.

The Rebels never let up with the offensive attack, pushing on to claim the opening set in dominant fashion 25-13.

Ole Miss continued to press the Bulldogs in the second set, jumping out to a 5-2 lead on their in-state rivals before stringing together a run that extended the edge to eight at 12-4. Mississippi State cut the lead to four at 15-11 and sent the Rebels into a timeout to slow the Bulldog run.

That would be as close as the score would come as Ole Miss put together an answering run out of the timeout  to claim the second set 25-18 and take a two-set lead at the break.

Mississippi State turned the tables on the Rebels early in the third set, moving out the early lead before Ole Miss would use a back-to-back kills from Allegra Wells to take the lead at 11-10 The Rebels would not trail again, pushing on to claim the match with a 25-22 win in set three.

Ole Miss will close out the season at home next Friday, hosting Alabama at 7 p.m. at the Gillom Center on the day after Thanksgiving. Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to win prizes as the Rebels will be giving away electronic items and other surprises, including a flat screen television.