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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Houston
Rebels Drop First Match Of Season To Houston 3-1
9/2/2005 | Volleyball
Sept. 2, 2005
Box Score
HOUSTON, Texas - Ole Miss (2-1) suffered its first loss of the season, falling in the nightcap game of the Houston Invitational at the hands of the hosting Houston Cougars 3-1 (23-30, 18-30, 32-30, 23-30). It was the first match of the day for the Cougars (3-1).
The Rebels won the first match of the day with a 3-1 victory over Sam Houston State to open play in the Houston Invitational.
Freshman Emily Jones led the way for the Rebels with 15 kills on the night as she notched a .423 attack percentage. The Copley, Ohio, native caught fire in the third game, leading the way for Ole Miss with eight kills.
Three other Rebels notched double-digit kills in the loss as Nikki Hill tallied 13 kills, Kristen Carroll came up with 11 kills and Jaclyn Toohey put up 10 kills. Justine Farmer led the Cougars with 23 kills, while Kariny Ritter added 20 kills for the home team.
Houston took a 3-1 lead to open up the match, but the Rebels picked it up on the strong arm of Nikki Hill and gained the lead at 5-4. It was short lived, however, as Houston fought back and regained the edge. Ole Miss pushed the Cougars to call timeout with a kill and service ace that gave the Rebels the lead 7-6.
Houston scored out of the break on a miscommunication by the Rebels, and the point trading resumed. Back-to-back scores from Ole Miss broke the stalemate and pushed the Rebels to a 12-10 lead, but Houston again rallied back and regained the edge on the next three plays. Point-trading resumed from there as each team probed for an opening to take control of the first game.
The Cougars found the opening first on a pair of miscues from the Rebels and pushed ahead to a 23-20 lead as Ole Miss took a timeout to regroup. Houston snagged the first point out of the break to move ahead by four before a kill from Kristen Carroll got Ole Miss another point. The Rebels took the second timeout of the game with Houston holding a 26-21 advantage.
Ole Miss took the next point out of the timeout, but it was not enough as Houston took the first game 30-23.
The first point of the second game went to the Rebels as Houston's serve sailed long. The Cougars wasted no time fighting back, taking the lead with two consecutive points before the Rebels would answer with a solid kill down the middle from Jones.
Houston edged ahead with a run that saw the Cougars go up 10-5 and force the Rebels to call timeout. The Rebels were never able to get back on track as Houston maintained the edge, building the advantage even as the home team took the second game 30-18.
Ole Miss quickly jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the third game of the night, forcing Houston to call timeout early. The Cougar timeout proved to be effective at first as the home squad scored out of the break, but the Rebels responded with a score to push the lead back out to four.
Ole Miss held onto the lead for a while behind the play of freshmen Nicole Mahan, who moved to libero to start the third game, and Emily Jones. Both players came up with digs and kills to help keep the Rebels in the lead as Ole Miss fought to stay alive in the match. The upperclassmen responded to the challenge laid down and pushed the lead out further as a 15-8 edge for the Rebels caused Houston to call its second timeout.
The Cougars weren't down for long, as Houston began to chip away at the Ole Miss lead, cutting it to three at 18-15 in favor of the visiting Rebels. Jones again stepped up at the net, notching a kill and a block assist on consecutive points to push Ole Miss back up 21-16. Houston wasn't out, though, as the Cougars fought back to cut the lead to three at 25-22 and force Ole Miss to call a timeout.
The slight edge held for the Rebels as Ole Miss pushed ahead to game-point, calling timeout with a 29-27 advantage. Houston struck back quickly out of the break, however, tying the match at 29 before Ole Miss again took the lead 30-29. The Cougars answered with a score to tie the match at 30 on the next play. The Rebels used two quick strikes from there to claim the third game 32-30 and stay alive.
Ole Miss went up 2-0 to open the fourth game, but a pair of miscues by the Rebels tied the match as Houston answered with two-straight points. A kill from Hill broke the streak and put the Rebels back in the lead at 3-2. The lead grew to 5-2 on a three-point run from Ole Miss, but again the home team answered with a run of its own to tie the match at five.
Houston grabbed the lead at 7-6 on a service ace and pushed out to a two-point lead on a net violation from the Rebels. But the Cougars left the door open and the Rebels tied the game at eight on a service ace from Allison Weber and took the lead on an attack error by Houston. Both teams traded scores from there, looking to grab the reins and take the game into hand. Houston won the contest of wills, taking a three-point lead at 17-14 and causing the Rebels to call timeout.
Ole Miss fought back out of the break, cutting the lead to two at 20-18 and forcing Houston into a timeout of its own. The Cougars found the answer in the break, scoring three straight points to push the lead back out to 25-19 and push the Rebels into a final timeout.
Ole Miss was unable to come back, as the Cougars claimed the match with a 30-23 win in game four.
The Rebels will return to action on Saturday, when Ole Miss will take on Arkansas State at 6 p.m. in the final match of the Houston Invitational for the Rebels.
