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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Lady Rebels Host Auburn, Alabama In Weekend Matches
10/21/2004 | Volleyball
Oct. 21, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. - The Lady Rebel volleyball team looks to build on its current two-match winning streak and take important steps up in the Southeastern Conference this weekend as Ole Miss (10-10, 2-6 SEC) hosts Auburn and Alabama in SEC match-ups this weekend.
The Lady Rebels will take on Auburn (6-10, 1-7 SEC) on Friday night at 7 p.m. before facing off against Alabama (14-5, 4-4 SEC) on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
"We have made some good strides this past few matches and gained some confidence with the realization that hard work will pay off," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "We really need to continue that and get a total team effort out of our players. When we all step up and play hard, we can win matches.
"Auburn and Alabama are both good teams who play hard and compete," Getzin said. "We'll have to work hard to take care of the ball on our side of the net and do the things we need to in order to give ourselves a chance to succeed."
Ole Miss is coming off a pair of big wins over Kentucky and Memphis heading into the weekend. The Lady Rebels saw several players step up and emerge as forces on the court in the two matches, which is good news for the quest for an SEC Tournament berth if they can continue to play with intensity.
Katie Kramer, a red-shirt freshman, came up with a career-high 14 kills against Kentucky and led the squad with a .480 hitting percentage, while true freshman Cory Tidwell hit .409 for the match and came up with a career-high eight blocks and 10 kills. Freshman Tara Langley came up with a career-high 24 digs to lead the defensive effort.
All three athletes continued to provide a solid role in the win over Memphis, while traditional leaders Elena Garcia and Kristen Carroll also found a rhythm on offense. Garcia led the way with 14 kills against Memphis, while Carroll added 12 kills and Tricia Eble put up 11 kills.
Auburn enters the weekend coming off a pair of losses to Tennessee and South Carolina, but the Tigers are a squad to be reckoned with despite the 1-7 conference record. Auburn defeated Kentucky to open the season and has been fighting hard to find that next SEC win.
Ashlee Johns leads the Tiger attack, tallying 228 kills on the season in an offense that is seventh in the league in hitting percentage (.216) and ninth in the league in kills at 14.24 per game.
Defense has been a liability for Auburn this season, though, despite three players tallying more than 100 digs on the season. Jennifer Buckert leads the Tiger defense with 155 digs, but Auburn is last in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.269) and digs with 12.02 per game.
Bailey Veit and Whitney Jacob have led the Tiger defense at the net, notching 56 and 51 blocks on the year, respectively. Auburn is 10th in the league in blocks with 2.02 per game.
The Tigers split time at setter, with Jordan Elliot and Maira Mogollon sharing the duties in the offense. Elliot has come up with 295 assists to date, while Mogollon has put up 329 assists.
Alabama enters the weekend with a Friday match-up against Mississippi State before coming to Oxford on Sunday. The Crimson Tide rank in the top half of the conference in most offensive categories this season, but are in the lower half on the defensive side of the game.
Erin Heffner leads the Crimson Tide attack as the senior has tallied 392 kills, the most in the SEC, and averages a league leading 5.62 kills per game.
Bridgett Slack is the setter for Alabama, putting up 842 assists on the season, the fourth best in the Southeastern Conference.
Defensively, Heffner has been getting the job done for Alabama, coming up with 208 digs. Jessica Yearout leads the way for the Tide, though, tallying 230 digs on the season.
All matches will be played at the Gillom Sports Center on campus and admission is free to the public.
Friday's match with Auburn features a free cheerleading clinic for school aged children. Anyone interested in participating can show up at 5:30 p.m. to learn a cheer routine from the Ole Miss Cheerleaders and perform at halftime.
Sunday's match against Alabama is Honor Roll day. Students who have earned good grades will be rewarded with an autographed team photo and can participate in the halftime contest for a free backpack from the Rebel Shop.