The University of Mississippi Athletics
Lady Rebels Open SEC Schedule With Alabama, Auburn
9/22/1999 | Volleyball
Sept. 22, 1999
OXFORD, Miss.--The Ole Miss Lady Rebel volleyball team will open their Southeastern Conference schedule this weekend with road trips to Tuscaloosa, Ala. Friday to take on Alabama at 7 p.m. before moving on to Auburn for a Sunday match-up with the Tigers at 2 p.m.
The Lady Rebels (7-4) are hoping to improve from last season's 2-13 performance in conference play. Alabama (6-6) finished 1998 with an identical 2-13 SEC record and is picked to finish fourth this year in the SEC Western Division. Auburn (8-3), which finished second in the western division and third overall last season, is picked to repeat as division runners-up in 1999.
Coming off consecutive victories over Rice and a third place finish in the Baylor Invitational, this is an important weekend for the Lady Rebels.
"We now begin the meat of our season," said Lady Rebel head coach John Blair. "Our goal is to be one of the best eight teams in the conference and for us that starts this weekend. This team is starting to show that they are ready to accept the challenges of a tough SEC schedule."
Ole Miss is hoping to start the conference schedule off right with two road victories which would give Ole Miss some needed confidence heading into the October 3rd match-up with Florida at home.
"We are putting all of our efforts into coming back from this road trip 2-0," said Blair. "We know that this is a long season and we have to play each match one at a time. We are not looking past Alabama and Auburn to the Florida game, but, rather we will be using these matches as preparation for the tough Florida match-up."
Offensively, the Lady Rebels are led by senior captain Lauren Dorcheus, who leads the team in hitting percentage (.314) and also ranks fourth in the conference. Sophomore Jaime Burns is fifth in the SEC in kills per game, averaging 4.13, while senior Lisa Frannino is seventh in the conference in assists per game (9.93).
Last season, Ole Miss split the two-game series with Alabama, taking a 3-1 decision in Oxford before dropping the 3-1 match in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama leads the overall series, 21-12.
Against the Tigers, the Lady Rebels did not fair so well last season. Ole Miss dropped a pair of 3-0 decisions. The Lady Rebels have not defeated the Tigers since 1995, but still lead the overall series 16-12.
The Lady Rebels will return home to face eight-time defending SEC champion Florida next weekend. The Gators have participated in eight consecutive NCAA Tournaments and five national semifinals in the 1990s, including a Final Four loss to eventual national champion Long Beach State last season.
