The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Alabama
Ole Miss Drops Heartbreaking Match With Alabama 3-2
10/23/2005 | Volleyball
Oct. 23, 2005
Box Score
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Ole Miss (7-15, 1-9 SEC) dug deep and found an offense it hadn't found since the beginning of the season on Sunday at Alabama (20-3, 8-2 SEC). Trailing by two games, the Rebels fought back and won games three and four to force a decisive fifth game.
It wasn't to be for Ole Miss, as the Rebels could do nothing with Alabama in the fifth game, falling 3-2 (26-30, 22-30, 31-29, 30-26, 5-15) in a tough, but hard-fought contest.
"I was really impressed with the way we came back and fought today, but in the end, we just couldn't find an answer for Alabama in that fifth game," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "They are a good team and showed why they have reached 20 wins today when they got backed into a corner. We fought hard, but we have to find a way to finish these tight matches."
Ole Miss got 18 kills a piece from senior Tricia Agee and junior Jaclyn Toohey, as the Rebel offense returned to early season form. It marked a career-high in kills for Agee, who also came up with three block assists on the night and hit .324 for the match to lead the Rebels. Toohey hit .300 on the day.
Kristen Carroll and Nikki Hill also came up with double-digit kills for the Rebels as both players notched 10 kills on the afternoon. Freshman Nicole Mahan came up with 19 kills to lead Ole miss while senior Ashleigh Shear added 15 digs and 56 assists.
The Crimson Tide saw five players reach double digits in kills as Bridgette Fuentez tallied 20 kills on the day. She was joined by Crystal Hudson with 13 kills and Abbi Blackburn, Lindsey Buteyn and Sarah Snider all added 11 kills. Five Alabama players also added double-digit kills, led by Jessica Yearout's 24 digs.
Alabama grabbed the first point of the game before Ole Miss would rattle off two-straight points to grab the lead. The two squads traded points from there as neither side could gain control of the tempo. The Crimson Tide moved ahead by three at 10-7 on a quick run that took advantage of Rebels miscues. Alabama then pushed the lead on out from there, taking a 15-10 advantage that saw Ole Miss call timeout.
The lead grew out of the break, with the Crimson Tide answering every run by the Rebels before extending the lead to 21-15. Ole Miss called timeout to stop the run and attempt to regroup.
The Rebels were unable to cut the lead out of the break, as Alabama continued to march towards a win in game one. But the Rebels weren't done as Ole Miss mounted another rally, trimming the lead to three at 28-25 and forcing Alabama to call a timeout of its own to halt the Rebels run.
Ole Miss was not able to get it done in the first game, as the Tide grabbed two quick scores to take the game 30-26.
The Rebels took a quick 4-1 lead to open the second game of the day behind the serving of Toohey and the net play of the Ole Miss defense. The Crimson Tide closed the gap quickly, rattling off a run of its own before Carroll laid down a big kill in the center of the court to start the Rebels offense again.
Alabama tied the match at six before taking the lead 7-6 on an acrobatic rally that saw several Tide players reach out and tip the ball to keep it alive before going over the net and falling to the floor. The squads traded scores from there before Ole Miss quickly regained the lead on the arms of Carroll and Toohey.
Again, Alabama answered Ole Miss, tying things up at 10 only to see Ole Miss take the lead back on an error by the Crimson Tide. Alabama took the lead back, moving ahead 14-12 on a kill and an overpass by the Rebels that allowed the home team to take control of the game. Ole Miss called timeout down 15-12.
Ole miss kept things close, hustling for plays and cutting the lead to two at 21-19 on a pair of long rallies that saw the Rebels will their way to points over the Crimson Tide, but Ole Miss was forced to call timeout as miscues then let Alabama take the lead back out to 23-19.
Ole Miss took its second timeout of the afternoon as the lead grew to 26-21 in favor of the home team.
The Crimson Tide took the second game 30-22.
Game three was tight from the beginning, with the Rebels and Tide trading scores out of the gates as both teams fought to dictate the match to their favor. The two teams fought out to a tie at 10 before Alabama edged ahead with strong serves and a solid attack at the net from the outside. Ole Miss called timeout at 21-16 to halt the Crimson Tide run and regroup.
The Rebels snagged two quick points out of the break on a tip from Toohey and an attack error by the Crimson Tide. Another kill from Toohey through the block and down the middle of the court cut the Alabama lead to two at 21-19.
Emily Jones came up big at the middle, notching back-to-back kills to keep the Rebels within striking distance at two points down. Ole Miss tied the game at 23 before taking the lead 24-23 when Alabama was in the net on a block attempt. The move forced the Crimson Tide into a timeout.
A block from Agee and Carroll out of the break gave the Rebels at two point edge at 25-23, but Alabama again found an answer with the outside attack. Agee laid down a big kill in the center of the court to keep the Rebels ahead on the next play. The Crimson Tide threatened to close the gap again, but an overpass proved to be the perfect chance for Ashleigh Shear to lay down a powerful kill, and back-to-back kills from Agee on the next play pushed Ole Miss out 29-25 and put Alabama into its second timeout.
The Crimson Tide scored three times out of the break, cutting the lead to 29-28 and forcing the Rebels into a timeout.
Alabama tied things at 29 after a long rally saw the Tide tip a ball over the Ole Miss block to hit at center court. The Rebels answered with a cross-court kill from Toohey before an attack error by the Tide gave Ole Miss the third game 31-29.
Game four opened up with the Crimson Tide taking the quick 4-2 lead, but Ole Miss fought hard to keep things tight. The Rebels tied things at seven, but Alabama again found the quick answer to push back ahead by two at 9-7. Ole Miss refused to go away, answering each Crimson Tide run with one of its own. The Rebels took the lead again, pushing out to a 12-10 lead behind the play of Agee at the net before Alabama would call timeout with Ole Miss up 13-10.
The Crimson Tide scored first out of the break, cutting the Rebels lead to two at 13-12, but another Alabama setting error kept Ole Miss ahead of the home team. Alabama tied things at 15 on a service error and took the lead on an attack error by Ole Miss.
Ole Miss called timeout when the Crimson Tide moved ahead 18-16 on a block.
The rebels fought back out of the break, tying things back at 19 before taking the lead on a lift from an attacking Alabama middle. The two squads traded scores from there, with Ole Miss matching the Tide point for point before moving ahead 26-24 and forcing Alabama into its second timeout of the game.
A service ace out of the break from Christine Marchinski gave Ole miss a three-point edge at 27-24, but Alabama answered with a cross-court kill from the left side to cut back into the lead. The Crimson Tide then cut the lead to one at 27-26 on a ball handling error by the Rebels.
Toohey slammed home a deep kill on the next play and Alabama mishandled the next attack to put the Rebels up 29-26. Another kill from Toohey gave Ole Miss game four 30-26.
The fifth game opened with Alabama slamming home a kill down the middle of the court and taking the second point on an attack error by the Rebels. Ole Miss called timeout down 4-0 to regroup.
Ole Miss finally got on the board with a kill from Nikki Hill, but another attack error by the Rebels put Alabama up 5-1. The Rebels called a second timeout when the Crimson Tide took the lead to 7-1.
Ole Miss could find no answer for the Crimson Tide in the fifth game, falling 15-5 as Alabama took the match 3-2.
Ole Miss will step out of conference on Wednesday to take on the Memphis Tigers at 7 p.m. at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Memphis.
