The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Auburn
Ole Miss Drops 3-1 Decision to Auburn
10/29/1999 | Volleyball
Oct. 29, 1999
OXFORD, Miss.--Despite one of their best outings of the conference season, the Ole Miss Lady Rebel volleyball team lost a marathon two-hour match, 3-1 to Auburn on Friday night at the Women's Sports Complex.
For the first time this season, the Lady Rebels (9-15, 0-10 SEC) eclipsed the .200 hitting mark and failed to win the match, going 5-0 in previous matches when attacking over .200.
"It's disappointing for us to have played as well as we played and come away without a win," said Ole Miss head coach John Blair. "They are coming out and working so hard early in matches that it's taking a lot out of them, so even when we create opportunities to win, it's difficult for us to follow through on them. That's what we saw tonight."
The Tigers (15-8, 5-5 SEC) capitalized on Lady Rebel reception problems throughout the match with 11 service aces, five in the fourth game alone, including the final one at match point.
"I think we will see Auburn as a likely candidate for a post season bid," said Blair. "I think they are definitely an NCAA-quality team and pose some unique problems to everyone they play."
In the 38-minute game one, the Lady Rebels battled to the end, tying the game at 13 apiece before the Tigers could put it away 15-13. Ole Miss fought back in game two for a 10-15 win, hitting .351 with 20 kills, taking advantage of a poor .189 attacking percentage by Auburn.
After the intermission, Auburn came back in game three to take a 2-1 advantage, 15-7, hitting a match high .487 with 24 kills to only five errors. Game four saw the Lady Rebels fight off several game points and battle back to within striking distance before the Tigers took the game and the match 15-10.
"I was glad to see us play as hard as we did," said Blair. "This team still has a lot of fight in it. We are playing every match on our schedule from start to finish. They are committed to keep doing that."
Sophomore Jaime Burns led a trio of Lady Rebels with double digit kill marks. She had a team high 19, with senior Lauren Dorcheus adding 13, while junior Kira Zschau had 10. Freshman Sarah Lansden led the team with 10 digs, while senior Lisa Frannino had a team high five blocks, including one solo.
The next match for the Lady Rebels is on Halloween this Sunday at 2:00 p.m. against Alabama. In the first game of the conference schedule, the Crimson Tide took a 3-1 decision in Tuscaloosa, Ala. While the Tide holds the 22-12 series advantage, Ole Miss won the last meeting in Oxford, 3-1, last season, in the Lady Rebels last SEC victory.
Auburn 15 10 15 15Ole Miss 13 15 7 10
Auburn (15-8, 5-5 SEC), Ole Miss (9-15, 0-10 SEC)
