Rebels Take Historic 3-2 Win Over Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. Ole Miss (10-6, 2-4 SEC) picked up its biggest win of the season on Sunday, digging down to pick up a big win over Arkansas (10-4, 3-3 SEC) by a score of 3-2 (30-28, 30-26, 27-30, 21-30, 17-15).

It was only the second win in the history of the series for the Rebels, who last beat Arkansas 3-2 in Arkansas in 1996 in Oxford.

Senior Jaclyn Toohey laid down a career-high 27 kills to help lead the Rebels to the win over the Lady Backs. Junior Katie Kramer added 24 kills while junior Lauren Moffett put down 11 kills and hit .370 for the match.

Five Rebels came up with double-digit digs on the night, led by sophomore Allison Weber’s career-high 22 digs. Junior Tara Langley added 18 digs, while sophomore Christine Marchinski, Nicole Mahan and Rachel Kieckhaefer added 14, 13 and 13 digs, respectively.               

Arkansas scored first, opening the game with a quick run to go up 6-1 on the Rebels. Ole Miss fought back, rapidly erasing the deficit to pull within one at 7-6. The Lady Backs pushed back in front of the Rebels, taking the lead out to 15-8 as Ole Miss called a timeout to regroup.

The Rebels cut back into the lead, forcing Arkansas into a timeout at 19-14 before continuing to trim the lead. The Rebels forced Arkansas into a second timeout when Ole Miss pulled within one at 24-23.

The Rebels tied things at 24 on the next play on a kill from Lauren Moffett.

The Rebels continued to rally, claiming the first game 30-28.

Ole Miss jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in game two, forcing Arkansas to call an early timeout to halt the Rebels run. A block out of the break from Moffett and Toohey continued the Rebel scoring as Ole Miss built on its lead. Arkansas fought back, tying the match at 13 before a block from Moffett and Rachel Kieckheafer pushed Ole Miss back in front.

A service ace from the Lady Backs tied things again at 17, but a service error on the next play gave the edge back to the Rebels. Arkansas called its second timeout as the Rebels inched ahead 20-18.

Back-to-back service aces from Christine Marchinski pushed the Rebels ahead even further at 23-19. The Lady Backs weren’t done, cutting into the lead again and forcing Ole Miss to call timeout with the lead cut to one at 25-24.

Ole Miss took the second game 30-26 on a kill from Toohey.

The Lady Backs took a quick 3-1 lead on the Rebels, but Ole Miss responded quickly on the arm of Toohey and Kristen Carroll to take the lead 5-4. Ole Miss continued to pull ahead of Arkansas, forcing the Lady Backs to call timeout as the lead grew to 13-8 in favor of the Rebels.

Arkansas cut into the lead out of the break, tying the match at 14 on an attack error by the Rebels. Arkansas took its first lead of the game, 18-17, on an overpass from the Rebels that set up an easy kill. An attack error on the next play pushed the Rebels to call timeout down 19-17.

Ole Miss called its second timeout when the lead grew to four at 24-20 in favor of the Lady Backs. Arkansas responded with a timeout as Ole Miss grabbed two quick scores out of the break to cut the lead to 24-22.

The Lady Backs held on to win the third game 30-27.

Ole Miss moved out to a 4-2 lead to open the fourth game, but the Lady Backs erased the deficit, taking a 5-4 lead on the Rebels with a quick run. Arkansas continued to push ahead of Ole Miss and forced the Rebels to call timeout down 14-9.

The Lady Backs called timeout when the Rebels cut the lead to four at 18-14 with three straight scores. Ole Miss continued to trim the lead out of the break, pulling to within one at 18-17 before Arkansas would score again. The Lady Backs used that to take momentum back and forced Ole Miss into its second timeout down 23-18.

Arkansas took game four 30-21 to tie the match at two games each.

Ole Miss took a quick 2-0 lead in game give, but saw the Lady Backs come back and take the lead with a 6-1 run. The Rebels called timeout down 6-3 following an Arkansas service ace. Two quick scores saw the Rebels down 8-3 as the teams switched ends of the floor.

Ole Miss answered with two quick points to cut the lead to 8-5 as Arkansas called a timeout to regroup. The Lady Backs answered out of the break, taking the lead out to 11-5 and forcing Ole Miss into its second timeout.

Ole Miss mounted a furious rally, fighting off match point to claim a 15-14 lead on the Lady Backs. The Rebels completed the rally, taking the fifth game 17-15 to claim the match.

Ole Miss will return to action on Friday when the Rebels come home to face the Auburn Tigers. The match is set for 7 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center on campus. The match can be viewed live streaming on the internet at OleMissSports.com.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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