The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Charleston Southern - UCF Classic
Lady Rebels Hold On To Beat Charleston Southern 3-2
9/13/2002 | Volleyball
Sept. 13, 2002
ORLANDO, Fla. - Ole Miss found itself in a precarious position in the opening match of the UCF Classic on Friday against Charleston Southern. With tropical storm Hannah hovering off the Gulf Coast, the Lady Rebels were caught up in a tempest of their own with the Bucs.
The Lady Rebels weathered the storm, claiming a 3-2 (30-25, 28-30, 30-26, 28-30, 15-6) win over the Bucs. The win puts Ole Miss at 3-4 on the season, and marks the first win for the team since the Montana tournament to open the season.
"It feels really good to get back on the winning side of things again," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "It's nice to be back on the winning track, because we have two big matches tomorrow with Montana and Central Florida."
The two teams spent most of the first match trying to find a rhythm, with both teams trading leads and ties as each team sought a weakness in the other's defense and attack. The Lady Rebels pulled away after being tied at 23, and eventually closed out the match on a Refenes kill that ricocheted out of bounds off the hands of a Buccaneer defender to give Ole Miss the first game 30-25.
The second game proved to be even tighter than the first, as both teams battled for control of the match, with neither team able to take command. The Lady Rebels got down early, but fought back to get back into the game as the two teams tied 11 times and traded leads three times before Charleston Southern started pulling away. Ole Miss fought back, tying the game at 28 on two straight points, a kill and service ace from freshman Katherine Jensen, but the Bucs responded taking the second game 30-28.
The Lady Rebels came out in control of the third fame, setting the tempo early and pulling out to a lead. But Charleston Southern found a way to battle back as Ole Miss' attack slowed and tightened up the match, eventually taking the lead after tying it up at 19. But Ole Miss rallied and fought back hard behind a mix of young enthusiasm and senior leadership and took the game back in its own hands, holding on for a 30-26 win.
The late push in the third game carried over into the fourth as Ole Miss stormed out to a quick lead and forced the Bucs into mistakes, while digging themselves out of trouble with ease. After pulling out to the quick lead, Charleston Southern fought back, tying the game at 13. Ole Miss responded to the Bucs' push and pushed back with a renewed vigor, stretching the lead back out. Charleston Southern would respond, tying the game back up at 24. The game was nip and tuck the rest of the way as the Bucs pulled out the 30-28 win to tie the match.
The fifth and final game of the match was all Ole Miss, as the Rebels rolled to a 15-6 win to take the game 15-6 and the match 3-2. The win came behind strong team play and communication on Ole Miss' side of the net. Mary Nell Bennett turned in dominant serving and back-row play in the final game to help the Lady Rebels put the match away.
"We played well once got a little bit of our confidence back," Getzin said. "We got in a position where we had some people in a rhythm and they were able to make things happen for us. They key was we made things happen instead of waiting for something to happen."
The Rebels will need to come prepared on Saturday with the same attitude from the fifth game, as Ole Miss will face off against Montana, in a rematch of the title match from the Montana Classic to open the season. Montana claimed the first meeting 3-1.
The Rebels and the Grizzlies will play at 10 a.m. with a match against Central Florida to close out the tournament at 7 p.m.
