Rebels Take To Road For Marquette Tournament

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The Ole Miss volleyball team takes to the road this weekend looking to build on its opening weekend of success as the Rebels (3-1) will participate in the Marquette Kick-Off Tournament in Milwaukee, Wisc.

                The three-day event begins on Friday, but the Rebels will be through with their portion of the competition Saturday afternoon. Ole Miss kicks off the event with a match against Illinois (3-0) at 11 a.m. on Friday.

                The Rebels will then close out the first day of competition against the host team, Marquette (1-2), at 7 p.m. Ole Miss concludes play in the tournament at 3 p.m. on Saturday against Loyola-Chicago (1-2).

                “We’re looking forward to the competition this weekend as we seek to build on what we accomplished in the opening weekend of play,” said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. “The level of competition this weekend is high and the team is excited to step up to the plate. We scheduled teams with a variety of styles so we can best prepare for the rugged Southeastern Conference schedule we’ll play later in the season.”

                The Rebels will look to the arms of senior Kristen Carroll and junior Katie Kramer to lead the offense in the tournament. Kramer led Ole Miss in the opening weekend with 71 kills through four matches, including a career-high 25 kills in a 3-2 win over UALR. Carroll posted more than 50 kills on the weekend.

                Sophomore setter Rachel Kieckhaefer keys the offense as she slid into the starting role this season and led the team successfully in the first weekend of competition.

                The Rebels expect to see what Getzin labeled a “veteran” team in the first match of the event when Ole Miss and the Fighting Illini square off on Friday.

                Illinois opened the season last weekend and claimed the Illinois State Farm Classic as the Fighting Illini went 3-0 in the weekend tournament. The home team defeated Illinois State, Winthrop and Wisconsin-Milwaukee to claim the title.

                Kayani Turner leads the Illini attack as she has posted 101 kills on the season, an average of 4.40 a game, through three matches. Setting the offense for the Illini is Lizzie Bazzetta, who posted 129 assists on Illinois’ 153 kills in the State Farm Classic.

                Illinois has four players who have turned in solid defensive performances as Ashley Edinger leads the way with 34 digs. Amy Palash and Beth Vrdsky turned in 21 and 20 digs, respectively, in the opening weekend while Bazzetta added 17 digs.

                The Golden Eagles of Marquette return home to host this weekend’s tournament after opening the season 1-2 at Duke over the weekend.

                Marquette is led by Kimberly Todd who posted 59 kills in the season opening tournament, averaging almost five kills a game for the Golden Eagles. Setting the offense is Monica Renfrow, who turned in 88 assists in the first three matches. She is joined by Katie Weidner who put up 58 assists on the weekend.

                Todd and Tiffany Helmbrecht lead a solid Eagle presence at the net as Todd put down 15 blocks and Helmbrecht added 14 blocks at Duke. Marquette has posted 33.5 blocks as a team through three matches.

                The  Ramblers will be the final match of the weekend for the Rebels and are coming off a 1-2 performance in the opening weekend of play at the Chicagoland Classic.

                Loyola is led by Courtney Ashley who posted 45 kills on the weekend. She was joined on the attack by Keily Zins’ 40 kills.

                Sarah Elmer sets the offense for the Ramblers and posted 139 assists on 188 kills in the opening weekend competition.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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