Rebels Fall To South Carolina 3-1

COLUMBIA, S.C. Despite 23 kills from Jaclyn Toohey and a team-high .364 attack percentage from Kristen Carroll, Ole Miss (10-8, 3-6 SEC) couldn’t get over the hump as South Carolina (11-9, 4-5 SEC) defeated the Rebels 3-1 (22-30, 30-20, 27-30, 19-30).

Toohey posted a match-high 23 kills on the night while Carroll added 11 kills as the only two Rebels to reach double-digits. Rachel Kieckhaefer and Tara Langley led the Rebel defense with 13 digs each in the losing effort. Katie Kramer was held to single-digit kills for only the second time this season, but for the second-straight match.

Shonda Cole led South Carolina with 20 kills on the night, while Lynae Vanden Hull added 13 kills and Ivana Kujundzic put down 10 kills.

Kramer opened the scoring for the Rebels as Ole Miss snagged the first point of the match. But, South Carolina used a quick run to pull ahead of the Rebels 5-2. Ole Miss quickly closed to within one and the point trading resumed as South Carolina held the advantage. The Rebels called timeout when the lead grew to 12-7 in favor of the home team.

Four quick scores out of the break keyed by the arm of Kramer and the play of Moffett at the net pulled the Rebels right back in the match at 12-11. The Gamecocks responded with a run of their own to push the lead out to 19-12. Ole Miss took three more points to cut the gap to 19-15 as South Carolina called its first timeout to halt the Rebel rally.

The Gamecocks grabbed three quick scores out of the break and that was all Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin needed to see to call timeout with his team down 22-15.

The Rebels were unable to overtake the Gamecocks as the home team grabbed the win in game one 30-22.

Ole Miss grabbed the first point of the second game on a kill from Moffett. The two squads traded scores from there before Ole Miss used big kills from Emily Jones to take a 6-4 lead. The Rebels used a service ace from Moffett and a block from Jones to extend the lead to 11-8 and force South Carolina to call timeout.

Another ace from Moffett out of the break pushed the lead out even further for the Rebels as Ole Miss moved ahead 15-8 as the run continued. Ole Miss held the seven point lead as the Gamecocks called a second timeout when the lead moved to eight at 26-18 in favor of the Rebels.

Ole Miss closed out the game, taking the second period 30-20 and moving even in the match at one game all.

The Rebels took an early 2-0 lead over the Gamecocks in the third game, but a kill from Shonda Cole and a pair of service aces put South Carolina up 3-2. South Carolina continued its run on the Rebels, taking the lead out to 10-4. Ole Miss closed the gap to three at 10-7 with a run of its own, but the Gamecocks held to the lead.

The Rebels called timeout down 14-8 as South Carolina forged ahead with another run.

Ole Miss could not overtake the Gamecocks as the home team continued to push ahead of the Rebels and pushed Getzin to call his second timeout with the Rebels down 19-11.

The Gamecocks called their own timeout as Ole Miss chipped away at the lead, cutting the advantage to six at 23-17. Ole Miss continued to fight for the game, pushing South Carolina into a second timeout with the lead trimmed to four at 27-23.

A pair of scores from the Rebels cut the lead to two at 27-25, but Ole Miss couldn’t overtake the Gamecocks as South Carolina took the third game 30-27.  

The Rebels struck first out of the gates in the fourth game, but the Gamecocks matched the Rebels point for point. South Carolina pulled ahead of the Rebels by three following a service ace and an attack error by the Rebels.

Back-to-back kills from Toohey and Kramer cut the lead to one at 11-10, but the Gamecocks held onto the lead. The Rebels called timeout when the lead grew to 17-13 in favor of South Carolina. Ole Miss called its second timeout as the lead continued to grow to 22-17 for the Gamecocks.                   

South Carolina closed out the game from there, taking the match with a 30-19 win in game four.

Ole Miss will continue its road trip with a match against Georgia on Sunday. The Rebels and Bulldogs will take the court for a 1 p.m. start at the Ramsey Center on the campus of the University of Georgia.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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