The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Arkansas St
Rebels Rally To Defeat Arkansas State 3-2
9/24/2002 | Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2002
Box Score
JONESBORO, Ark. - Ole Miss walked into Tuesday's match with Arkansas State looking to end an 11-game road swing and return home with a win under its belt. What the Rebels (6-5) got was a gut check, what some coaches call a "character building" match, as Ole Miss downed Arkansas State 3-2 (30-25, 29-31, 21-30, 32-30, 15-10).
Rachel Refenes, a freshman on the squad, came up big for the Rebels on the night, turning in several key plays throughout the match to keep her team in competition. The freshman played out of position, having been moved to the right side for the match.
"Rachel came out and turned in some big plays for us that really gave us a boost," said head coach Joe Getzin. "It's huge that she could make those plays, having never played that position before tonight. We'll see what happens in the future, maybe she has a new position."
Refenes turned in 19 kills on the night, a career-high for the freshman, and one short of a season-high for the team. The Menomonee Falls, Wisc., native also notched 4.5 blocks on the night, as the team recorded 14 for the match, a season-high.
Ole Miss opened with two straight points before Arkansas State gathered itself and tied the game up. The two teams traded runs and leads back and forth, with seven ties, before the Rebels regained control at 11-all and rattled off a six-point run to take control of the game. It didn't last long as the Indians battled back to tie things up at 18. Arkansas State pushed ahead until the Rebs tied it up at 24 and took a lead on a block by Refenes and Sarah Lansden. Zschau notched a big kill to extend the lead and Ole Miss surged to close out the game 30-25.
In the second game, neither team could gain a firm handle on the pace of the game as both teams traded leads only to tie the game. The Rebels were able to wrestle control of the match with the match tied at 20. Refenes notched a solid kill along the back line, followed by two Lansden kills in the next three points to extend the Ole Miss lead. Rebel miscues allowed the Indians to spark a run that tied the match before pushing out to a 29-26 lead.
The Rebels fought back hard to tie the match at 29, with points off a Refenes and Newsom block, a cross-court kill by Cheryl Wilson and a kill by Newsom. The effort wasn't enough as the Indians were able to push to a 31-29 win to take game two.
Arkansas State jumped all over the Rebels to start the third game, pulling away to a 9-3 lead, which quickly grew into a 19-9 lead. Ole Miss would rally slightly, but never find themselves in contention for the game as the Indians would take the game 30-21, and a 2-1 lead in the match. Miscues in hitting and positioning that put the Rebels in the net put Ole Miss in a hole it could not fight its way out of in time.
Both teams came out fighting in the fourth game, the Indians pushing to close out the match and the Rebels trying to force a deciding game five. Arkansas State was able to push out to a slim three-point lead early, and held that margin until the Rebels tied it at 23 and took the lead on two straight lifts by the Indians. Arkansas State recovered, tying the match at 26, then trading points with Ole Miss, before the Rebels pushed back ahead and claimed the game 32-30 off a powerful kill by Refenes.
Arkansas State continued the trend of quick starts in the fifth game of the match, taking a 5-1 lead before Ole Miss dug in its heels and responded with a run to tie the game at six. The Rebels pushed ahead with solid play and communication on the court, rattling off a 8-3 run to take the final game 15-10 and claim the match 3-2. Game point came on a serving error by Arkansas State to give the Rebels the match.
"I think the key tonight with both teams, was that when we played with confidence we made things happen, when we played timid we didn't," Getzin said. "We recovered after the third game and made some key plays that got Arkansas State back and timid and that allowed us to win. We have to learn that when we play with confidence we can make good things happen."
The Rebels get two days to recover as they await weekend match-ups with Southeastern Conference foes Florida and Georgia, as Ole Miss will return to Oxford to play the first home matches of the season. The Rebels and Gators will face off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Gillom Center in the conference opener for both teams.
