Ole Miss Volleyball Drops Conference Opener To Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Ole Miss (8-3, 0-1 SEC) saw its five game win streak snapped on Wednesday, as the Rebels suffered the first conference loss of the season, falling to Mississippi State (10-1, 1-0 SEC) by a score of 3-0 (27-30, 27-30, 23-30). The loss marked the first time the Rebels have been shut out this season.

Katie Kramer led the Rebels with 11 kills, while Kristen Carroll added 10 kills. Jaclyn Toohey paced the Rebels with nine kills but hit .318 for the match to lead all Rebels in efficiency as she only committed two attack errors on the night.

Tara Langley, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week, had a solid night defensively for the Rebels as she put up 15 digs to lead the squad from the back row.

"This is a tough road loss to a good Mississippi State team on their home floor, which is a tough place to play," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "We did not adjust well to their deep serves and that kept us from ever getting into our offensive system.

"We have got to get into our system and get Jaclyn Toohey more touches," Getzin said. "We had a good night from her, but that was about it."

Ole Miss snagged the first point of the match off a block from Lauren Moffett and Rachel Kieckhaefer and pushed out to a quick 3-0 lead on the home team. Mississippi State answered with a quick rally that saw the Bulldogs pull ahead with a 4-3 lead. The two teams would trade scores from there, as each team fought to control the pace of the game and gain the advantage.

Mississippi State found a groove first, pushing ahead of the Rebels 16-12 and forcing the Rebels to use a timeout to regroup and slow the State run.

Kramer notched three straight kills out of the break to spark the Rebel offense as Ole Miss cut into the Bulldog lead, trimming the advantage to one at 16-15. Mississippi State pushed back ahead of the Rebels, though, answering the Rebel rally with one of its own as the Bulldogs regained the three-point edge as quickly as it disappeared.

Ole Miss again fought back and trimmed the lead to one at 23-22. But, the Rebels could not push ahead of the Bulldogs and were forced to call timeout as the lead inched out to three for the home team at 25-22.

Mississippi State continued to pull ahead of the Rebels out of the break and the Rebels were unable to catch up as the Bulldogs took game one 30-27. 

The Rebels grabbed the first point of game two on a kill from Moffett, but the Bulldogs answered just as quickly with a three-point run keyed by Rebel miscues to push out to the early lead. The Rebels responded with a run to tie the match at three before the Bulldogs would again rally to take a 7-3 lead.

Ole Miss strung together its own run to cut the lead to one at 10-9 on a service ace from Nicole Mahan, but the Bulldogs would again pull away from the Rebels. Ole Miss called timeout down 13-9 to regroup.

The Rebels rallied out of the break with a run to tie the game at 13 and force Mississippi State into a timeout to solve the Ole Miss attack. A kill from Kieckhaefer out of the break put the Rebels in the lead for the first time since the opening point. The Rebels extended the lead from there, pushing out to a 17-14 advantage on a kill from Langley. 

The three-point lead slowly disappeared as Mississippi State trimmed away at the Rebel edge. The Bulldogs tied the game at 20 before Ole Miss called a timeout to halt the run. Mississippi State scored out of the break to regain the lead, but a kill from Carroll kept the Rebels alive as the teams traded scores.

The Bulldogs used Rebel miscues to pull back ahead by two, but the Rebels would again rally to tie the game at 26. Ole Miss would only score once more as Mississippi State took the second game 30-27.

Game three opened with the Bulldogs grabbing the first point, but a service error put the Rebels on the board as the two squads would trade scores out of the gate. Mississippi State used an early run to push ahead of Ole Miss 6-2, but the Rebels would answer with their own rally
to take an 11-9 lead on the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State would tie things up at 11, before pressing ahead of the Rebels by three at 17-13 and pushing Ole Miss into a timeout. The break in action didn't slow the Bulldog run as Ole Miss was forced to call a second timeout as the lead grew to 21-14 in favor of Mississippi
State.

A block from Caitlin Keefe got the Rebel offense rolling again as Ole Miss cut the lead to four at 21-17. Mississippi State would find its own answer and push ahead of the Rebels again, but the Bulldogs were forced to call timeout as the Rebels again answered to cut the lead back to 24-21.

Ole Miss could not close the gap completely, falling in game three 30-23.

The Rebels will return to action on Sunday, taking on the Crimson Tide of Alabama at 1:30 p.m. in Tuscaloosa. The match will be played at the Coleman Auxiliary Volleyball Extension.

                         1        2        3
Ole Miss         27      27      23
Miss. State     30      30      30

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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