The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Hits The Road For Southeastern Conference Clashes
10/7/1999 | Volleyball
Oct. 7, 1999
OXFORD, Miss.--After handing Jackson State a decisive 3-0 defeat on Monday, the Ole Miss Lady Rebel volleyball team will try to build upon that momentum this weekend as they travel to Southeastern Conference match-ups with South Carolina and Georgia.
The Lady Rebels (8-7, 0-3 SEC) will meet up with the South Carolina Gamecocks (9-6, 3-1 SEC) on Friday in Columbia, S.C. at 7:00 p.m. Ole Miss then travels to Athens to take on the Lady Bulldogs (4-8, 1-3 SEC) Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
"I think the team is continuing to improve every game and has a great opportunity to prove how far we've come this weekend," said Ole Miss head coach John Blair. "Our confidence is very high and I think we will make a good showing on the road."
Ole Miss will face a tough challenge at South Carolina on Friday. The Gamecocks have steadily improved over the past several seasons and earned their third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament last season. South Carolina is currently tied for second place in the SEC behind eight-time defending champion Florida.
Although the Lady Rebels remain winless in the SEC, Ole Miss hopes to take advantage of a Georgia team that remains the only conference team under .500 overall and is coming off consecutive 3-0 losses at Arkansas and LSU last weekend.
Offensively, Ole Miss is led by a pair of outside hitters, sophomore Jaime Burns and junior Kira Zschau. Burns, who leads the team in attacks, kills and kills per game, ranks sixth in the SEC in kills per game. Zschau has led the Lady Rebels in kills for five of the last eight matches.
Senior captain Lauren Dorcheus continues to anchor the Lady Rebel defense, leading the team in all blocking categories. Freshman Sarah Lansden has stepped up play in the conference, leading the team in solo blocks and second on the team in block assists, total blocks and blocks per game in conference matches.
Senior setter Lisa Frannino ranks 10th in the SEC in assists per game, averaging almost 10 a game, and needs just 310 assists to set a new Ole Miss career record.
This will be the 18th meeting between the Lady Rebels and the Gamecocks, with South Carolina holding the 11-6 series advantage. Ole Miss has not defeated South Carolina since the 1992 SEC Tournament.
The Ole Miss-Georgia is the longest active rivalry for the Lady Rebels. These two teams met for the first time in the second game of the 1976 season, the first year of intercollegiate competition for Ole Miss. Sunday's match will be the 32nd meeting with the Lady Bulldogs. Ole Miss has won only four of the previous 31 matches and has not defeated Georgia since 1983.
