The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Takes To Road To Challenge Tennessee, South Carolina
9/29/2005 | Volleyball
Sept. 29, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss volleyball team (6-8, 0-2 SEC) hits the road in conference play this weekend, traveling to take on Tennessee and South Carolina in the hopes of putting a stop to a five-game losing streak and get back on track in conference play.
The Rebels are coming off an opening conference weekend at home that saw the team drop a heart-breaking match in five games with Georgia before falling to sixth-ranked Florida.
"We're really looking forward to the chance to play volleyball again and get things back on track," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "It's going to be a challenging weekend against good teams like Tennessee and South Carolina. Tennessee started the season in the top 25, and South Carolina is looking to break into the win column just like we are. Everyone will be ready to play.
"The good thing about Friday is that we're also playing Tennessee in football Saturday, so hopefully we can have some of our fans who made the trip come out and support us on Friday night," Getzin said. "It has the potential to be a great weekend for Rebel athletics and we can use all the Ole Miss faithful we can get to cheer us on."
Nikki Hill continues to lead Ole Miss with 229 kills on the season. The senior is coming off a weekend that saw her notch a team-high 18 kills against Georgia and nine kills against the Gators. She is joined on the attack by junior Jaclyn Toohey, who has been the most consistent performer for the Rebels this season. Toohey has posted 177 kills to date and averages 3.16 kills per game.
Ashleigh Shear continues to set the offense for the Rebels with 649 assists on the season.
Defensively, freshman Emily Jones continues to lead Ole Miss at the net with a total of 40 blocks on the year, while the back row defense is paced by Nicole Mahan and Tara Langley. Mahan leads the squad with 126 digs, while Langley has posted 110 digs to date. The duo split time at the libero position.
Tennessee, the defending regular-season champions for the SEC, is coming off a 3-0 loss at the hands of LSU in Fayetteville, Ark. The games were played in Fayetteville due to the effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Lady Vols defeated Arkansas on Friday to open SEC play. The Lady Vols most recently lost to Louisville 3-2 on Wednesday night to fall to 7-5 on the season.
Yuliya Sotyanova leads the Lady Vol attack with 169 kills on the season, averaging 4.69 kills per game. She is joined by Kristen Andre with 125 kills at a 3.57 kill per game clip. Julie Knytych sets the Tennessee attack with 501 assists to date.
Andre leads the defense at the net with 36 blocks on the season for the Lady Vols, while on the back row it's been all Amy Morris with 157 digs to lead the Lady Vols.
South Carolina enters the weekend after dropping back-to-back matches in the conference opening weekend on the road at LSU and Arkansas. Both matches were 2-3 losses for the Gamecocks.
The squad from Columbia is led Shonda Cole with 189 kills on the season as the only Gamecock to break the 100 mark in kills. The next closest on the attack is Iris Santos with 87 kills to date. Cole, an All-SEC selection a season ago is the primary offensive threat for South Carolina, and is set by Santos who has tallied 391 assists on the year.
Defensively, Nicole Miller paces the team at the net as she has come up with a team leading 49 blocks on the season. The back row defense is led by Sarah Morgan, who has come up with 139 digs to date.
South Carolina will face off against Mississippi State on Friday night before taking on the Rebels on Sunday.
