Volleyball Team Ready For Season Opener

Aug. 27, 2003

OXFORD, Miss. -

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The Ole Miss volleyball team will kick off the 2003 season this weekend at the Baylor Classic in Waco, Texas. The Lady Rebels will open up their second campaign under head coach Joe Getzin with Wyoming at 5 p.m. on Friday.

On Saturday, the Lady Rebels will face Texas San Antonio at Noon and then wrap up the classic against Baylor at 7:30 p.m. This marks the second year in a row for the Lady Rebels to participate in the Baylor Classic.

"We are excited to get the season started," Getzin said. "Wyoming returns all six starters from a year ago, and Baylor is going to be better than predicted. It should be a good tournament to see where we are."

A native of Austin, Texas, junior outside hitter Elena Garcia is ready to help take the team to greater heights. Garcia led the team in kills (280) and digs (291) in 2002 and went over 500 in both categories for her career. She averaged 3.02 kills and 3.10 digs per game. Joining Elena on the outside is senior Karla Zschau (Dunedin, Fla.), who has played in all but two matches during her career.

With the loss of two seniors in the middle, the team will look to returning sophomore Rachel Refenes (Milwaukee, Wisc.) to shore up the front line. Refenes led the team in blocking (124 total blocks) last year, averaging 1.28 blocks per game. Her 96 block assists rank as the third best in a single season.

The team will have two new faces running the offense this year. Lucianna Lima, the 2002 Florida JUCO Player of the Year, brings plenty of international experience as well, coming from Brazil. Freshman Jennifer McGowan (Gresham, Ore.) comes from one of the top high school teams in the country in Gresham High School as well as one of the premier junior club teams.

The Lady Rebels' first opponent, Wyoming, returns all six starters from a year ago. The Cowgirls finished the 2002 season 20-11 overall under first-year head coach Jim Barnes. Senior Michele Rauter led the team in kills (4.35 kpg) and digs (2.98 dpg), ranking first and sixth in the Mountain West Conference. Junior setter Amy Doman finished second in the conference with 1,337 assists (11.94 apg).

Texas-San Antonio returns four starters from the 2002 season. The Roadrunners posted an 8-24 overall record in 2002. Senior middle blocker Teri Frey led the team in 2002 with 204 kills (2.06 kpg).

Baylor looks to rebound after a disappointing 2002 season, which saw the Bears lose four starters to season-ending injuries or illness. Two-time All-Big 12 outside hitter Stevie Nichols returns after missing most of the season with a torn meniscus in her left knee. In Nicholas' absence, senior Tisha Schwartz moved from middle blocker to outside hitter and established herself as one of the top scoring threats in the conference.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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