Volleyball To Open Season Friday At Days Inn Classic

Aug. 29, 2001

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DAYS INN CLASSIC
James Madison University -- Harrisonburg, Va.
Aug. 31 - Sept. 1

Last Time Out
Ole Miss advanced to the SEC Tournament for the first time since 1998. The top eight teams from the conference qualify for the tournament. The Lady Rebels earned the No. 8 seed and lost to the No. 1 seed and SEC Tournament Champion, Florida.

Lady Rebels Open Season at Days Inn Classic
The Ole Miss volleyball team opens the season this weekend at the Days Inn Classic hosted by James Madison University, an NCAA Tournament team a year ago. The field also includes Xavier and Rutgers, both teams who finished second in their respective conferences last year. The Lady Rebels will meet James Madison Friday at Noon and then face Rutgers at 5 p.m. Saturday, Ole Miss will play Xavier at 11 a.m. before heading off to Washington D.C. for some fun.

A Look at James Madison
James Madison finished the 2000 season with a 21-10 overall record, 9-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dukes, who return five starters from a year ago, earned their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and fourth overall, last year. Senior Larissa Daily, an All-CAA pick, returns at the outside hitter position for the Dukes. She finished second on the team last year in kills and digs with 347 and 311 respectively. Also back is junior outside hitter Jessica Evers, who posted 274 kills last year and a team-leading 322 digs. Senior Middle blocker Danielle Heinbaugh tallied 273 kills. The Dukes also welcome back sophomore Lauren Ruzicka at the setter spot. Ruzicka registered 974 assists in her freshman campaign.

Have We Met Before?
This will be the first meeting between James Madison and Ole Miss.

Scouting Rutgers
Rutgers posted a 23-7 overall record in 2000. They went 9-2 in the Big East for second place. The Scarlet Knights return three starters including sophomore Shayla Bush, who was named to the All-Big East rookie team. She totaled 245 kills and 242 digs. Senior captain Mary Kiriakou tied for the all-time single season block assists leader finishing with 118. Also back is junior setter Pualani Tuyay, who tallied 1,036 assists last year.

Against Rutgers
The Lady Rebels have faced Rutgers four times with the Scarlet Knights leading the series 3-1. The two teams last met in 1997 at the Deacon Invitational hosted by Wake Forest, with Ole Miss claiming a 3-1 victory.

A peek at Xavier
Xavier finished 23-8 overall last season and tied for second place in the Atlantic 10 with a 13-3 record. They advanced to the first Atlantic 10 championship match in school history. Xavier returns four starters from last year's team including 2000 Atlantic 10 Player-of-the-Year Sara Bachus, All-Conference team selection Jill Hampton and All-Rookie team member Kimberly Cockerel. Bachus led the team with 475 kills and also notched 339 digs.

Do We Know Each Other?
While Ole Miss and Xavier will be meeting for the first time, a couple of players know each other quite well. Lady Rebel freshman Mary Nell Bennett and Xavier sophomore Kimberly Cockerel played together at Assumption High School in Louisville, Ky.

Experience at Key Positions
The Lady Rebels will rely on their experience and depth at key positions as they look to build on last season, when they advanced to the SEC Tournament. Ole Miss returns 10 letterwinners off of last season's 15-16 squad, including four starters. "Our goal is to become the best team we can become," Lady Rebel head coach John Blair said. "Knowing where we were last year, our goal is to move up as many positions as we can in the SEC. We want to win every match that we are supposed to win and try to finish in the top four. That would be our ultimate goal. If we do that, we are in the SEC Tournament, which is an indirect result of accomplishing that goal. If we are able to move up a couple spots then we will put ourselves in a good position to possibly earn a postseason opportunity."

Setters
With a tougher schedule and a new scoring format, Blair is fortunate to have two setters capable of running the offense. Jade Polonich, a 5-5 Calgary, Alberta native, returns for her sophomore year. She earned more playing time late in the season last year and had a solid spring. Polonich saw action in 24 matches including 82 games. She recorded 59 assists, including 12 vs. East Carolina and Nicholls State. In addition, Polonich tallied 138 digs on the season.

Cheryl Wilson transferred from Auburn and has been in the system a year now. She saw action in 25 matches, including 64 games last year. Wilson has a greater understanding of the system now and is ready to take charge of the offense.

Outside Hitters
With the loss of Kira Zschau to eligibility, the Lady Rebels will count on senior Jaime Burns to lead the outside hitters this year and that shouldn't be a problem. The leading returner in kills, Burns finished second in kills last year with 419. As a versatile player, the Lady Rebels will look for strong leadership from her at a critical position in the lineup.

In addition to Burns, the Lady Rebels have junior Erica Tricco and sophomore Karla Zschau returning with experience. Tricco, a junior, played in all 31 matches a year ago and registered 127 digs. Zschau, the last in a long line of sisters who played volleyball, recorded 71 kills and 107 digs while playing in 30 matches during her freshman campaign.

Incoming freshmen Elena Garcia and Megan McCune will add a dimension to the left side. Garcia, a native of Austin, Texas, comes from one of the top high school programs in the state of Texas. Her club team, the Austin Juniors, finished third in the 18-under USAV Open Championships. McCune, a native of Millington, Tenn., has great ability and brings a tremendous amount of intelligence and desire. She was the Valedictorian of her high school class at St. Agnes Academy.

Opposite Players
On the right side, senior Leigh Rittiner returns for her final season ready to step up and lead the team. Rittiner has improved each year netting 225 kills, 77 digs and 109 blocks as a junior last year.

Joining Leigh on the opposite side, will be Mary Nell Bennett, who comes from a highly-successful high school program (Assumption) in Louisville, Ky. They have won six consecutive state championships and won the national championship her senior year.

Middle Blockers
In the middle, Ole Miss returns all three of its middle blockers from a year ago including senior Abby Hollander and junior Erin Newsom, who combined for 228 blocks. Newsom led the team in total blocks with 119 and Hollander tied for second on the team in total blocks with 109.

Junior Sarah Lansden returns to the middle position after having spent most of the spring as a defensive specialist. She had shoulder surgery in December following the 2000 season and is ready to return to the middle.

Incoming freshman Stacy Spears comes into the program with great athleticism and could be an impact player before her career is complete. She earned All-State honors her senior year at North Springs High School in Atlanta, Ga.

Another tough schedule
The schedule has become more difficult each year and this year is no different with three tough non-conference tournaments. Following this tournament, the Lady Rebels will host the Magnolia Invitational Sept. 7-8 at the Gillom Sports Center. This will be the second tournament they have hosted since the new facility opened in 1997. The tournament will feature a regional flavor with Arkansas State and Southern Mississippi as well as Samford and Tennessee-Martin. The final non-conference tournament, the Minnesota Diet Coke Classic, will be a huge test for the Lady Rebels. Host Minnesota ended the 2000 season ranked No. 11 and they boast one of the top players in the country. That tournament also features Oral Roberts and Santa Clara. After wrapping up the non-conference portion of the schedule with Jacksonville State on Sept. 28 at home, the Lady Rebels will host South Carolina in the SEC opener Sept. 30, followed by Arkansas and LSU the first weekend in October. The team will travel to Florida and Georgia this year, while hosting Kentucky and Tennessee from the Eastern Division. As always, the SEC will be strong but Blair says no team can take any team for granted with the new scoring format.

1,000/1,000 club
Senior outside hitter Jaime Burns is trying to become a member of the 1,000/1,000 club this year. She enters the season with 911 kills and 690 digs. Burns, a native of Englewood, Colo., hopes to join Mary Ahern (1986-89), Susan Argue (1994-97), Julie Link (1983-86), Julia Sitarz (1993-96) and Kristi Wilkinson (1988-91) in that elite group.

On Television
Ole Miss will appear on television twice this season, both against Auburn. The Lady Rebels' Sept. 23 game at Auburn will be tape-delayed on College Sports Southeast airing on Sept. 27 at 10:30 p.m. CT. Their Nov. 2 game at home versus Auburn will be carried by Fox Sports Net and will air Nov. 4 at 2:00 p.m. CT.

Next Up
Ole Miss will host the Magnolia Invitational Sept. 7-8 at the Gillom Sports Center, in their next action. The tournament field includes Arkansas State, Samford, Southern Mississippi and Tennessee-Martin. The Lady Rebels will open up against Samford on Friday at Noon and then face Southern Mississippi at 7 p.m. Saturday, the Lady Rebels will play UT-Martin at Noon and then close out the tournament at 7 p.m. versus Arkansas-State.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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