Rebels Take Second At Magnolia Invitational To Open Season

OXFORD, Miss. -- After a tough comeback in a five-game match against Arkansas-Little Rock to open the day, the Rebels fought hard but came up short in a heated battle against Pittsburgh in the final match of the day to claim a second place finish in the Magnolia Invitational.

Ole Miss (3-1) defeated UALR (2-2) by a score of 3-2 (30-20, 27-30, 28-30, 34-32, 15-9) in its first match of the day before falling to Pittsburgh (4-0) by a score of  3-1 (25-30, 21-30, 30-28, 27-30) to close out the tournament. Pittsburgh went undefeated on the weekend to claim the tournament.

“It is disappointing we weren’t as sharp against Pittsburgh after going to five games against a good UALR team earlier in the day,” said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. “We have to learn to make the little adjustments, because it’s the little things that make the difference at this level. Despite that, it was the best we have competed in a while here.

“It was nice to see us respond to our competition,” Getzin said. “Pittsburgh is a well-seasoned and feisty team. I was definitely pleased with how we responded, because we have not responded well to that kind of team before. But, we can still get better.”

The Rebels found themselves in a tight battle with a physical Pittsburgh team as both squads came out fighting for the tournament title from the start.

Katie Kramer led the Rebels attack as she posted a team-high 16 kills on the night. Kristen Carroll added 12 kills and Jaclyn Toohey put up 11 kills to help Ole Miss in the contest.

Diana Andreyko led Pittsburgh with 18 kills on the night, while Stephanie Ross and Meagan Dooley both added 17 kills. The Panthers also had a big night at the net, putting down 23 blocks against the Rebels eight blocks on the night. Jessica Moses led Pitt with nine block assists on the evening. Emily Jones led Ole Miss with five block assists and a solo block.

Emotions ran high in the match as Pitt’s Andreyko was awarded a yellow card and Panther setter Azadeh Boroumand was hit with a red card.

In the first match of the day, the Rebels came out swinging in a back-and-forth contest with the Trojans of UALR.

Kramer led the Rebels with a career-high 25 kills in the five game match, as four Ole Miss players reached double digit kills. Carroll added 17, while Nicole Mahan put down 14 kills and Emily Jones chipped in 10 kills.

“It was a nice victory against UALR as we fought back after being down,” Getzin said. “That sort of thing takes a lot out of you mentally though when you have to come back and play again.

“These girls showed they are tough, though, and belong in the top half of the Southeastern Conference,” Getzin said. “They really came out tonight and showed they are a good team.”

The Rebels will return to action next weekend when Ole Miss will travel to Milwaukee, Wisc., to compete in the Kick-off Challenge at Marquette. The first match of the tournament will be at 11 a.m. on Friday, when the Rebels take on Illinois from the Big 10.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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