Rebels Unable To Rally, Fall at Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. Ole Miss (23-7, 12-6 SEC) couldn’t overcome it’s own mistakes and fell victim to a strong service attack from the Bulldogs on Sunday, as the Rebels fell to Mississippi State (12-15, 7-11 SEC) by a score of 3-1 (22-30, 30-27, 23-30, 27-30).

The Bulldogs notched 10 service aces in the match, while the Rebels committed 11 service errors of their own in the match.

“Our hats are off to Mississippi State,” said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. “The difference in the match today was their serving. We didn’t handle it well. Caitlin Weiss played well for us, but it’s limiting when you don’t take care of the first contact and pass.”

Weiss hit .319 and turned in 20 kills for the Rebels, while senior middle blocker Lauren Moffett added 14 kills and hit 333 with six blocks. Tara Langley and Rachel Kieckhaefer paced the Rebel defense with 22 and 20 digs, respectively.

Ole Miss scored first to open the match, but the Bulldogs answered right back with a score and used an early run to move out to an 8-3 lead. The Rebels cut it to one at 10-9, but Mississippi State again pulled back ahead, forcing Ole Miss to call timeout at the 13-9 mark.

The Rebels again cut the lead to two at 14-16 but again Mississippi State extended the lead, taking the advantage out to 21-15 and forcing Ole Miss into its second timeout of the game. The Rebels could get nothing going out of the break, as Mississippi State took the first game 30-22.

Ole Miss grabbed the first point of the second game and moved out to a quick 3-1 lead on the Bulldogs before the home team would close the gap. With things knotted at six, the teams traded scores before the Rebels fell behind and called timeout down 17-13.

The Rebels closed the gap to two at 20-18 and forced Mississippi State into its own timeout to regroup. Ole Miss continued to push on offense, forcing the Bulldogs to take a second timeout as the Rebels reclaimed the lead 24-23.

Mississippi State answered out of the break and tied the score on the next play, but a kill from Weiss and a service ace from Allison Weber gave the Rebels a two-point cushion that proved to be enough as Ole Miss took the second game 30-27.

Two quick scores by the Rebels opened game three as Ole Miss moved out to the early lead on the Bulldogs. The Rebels moved ahead 6-3, causing Mississippi State to burn a timeout early to regroup.

The lead grew to 10-4 in favor of the Rebels before Mississippi State would make a move and tie the game at 12. A big line kill from Jackie Jones put the Rebels back on top on the next play. Mississippi State answered again with a run that put the Bulldogs on top for the first time at as Ole Miss continued to make mistakes and fall behind 18-15.

The Rebels fought back to tie things at 20 only to see the Bulldogs take the lead back with four quick scores on the following plays. Ole Miss used its second timeout down 24-20. The Rebels could not find the answer, however, falling in game three 30-23.

 Again the Rebels grabbed the first point of the game to open the fourth frame, but the Bulldogs answered on the next play as the teams traded scores early. Ole Miss moved out to a two-point edge only to see it disappear when Mississippi State went on a run that capitalized on numerous Rebel mistakes. Ole Miss called timeout down 11-8.

The Rebels tied things at 15, but couldn’t hold on as the Bulldogs continued to turn in service aces and capitalize on Rebel miscues to run the lead back out to five. Ole Miss called timeout down 21-17.

The Rebels mounted a rally, closing the gap to two at 23-21 and pushing Mississippi State into a timeout off a solo block by Moffett. Ole Miss cut it to one on the next play on a kill from Moffett before the Rebels finally reclaimed the lead at 26-25 on a kill from Weiss. Mississippi State called timeout following the play.

The Rebels couldn’t maintain the advantage as the Bulldogs stormed back in front and closed out the game 30-27 to win the match.

Ole Miss will close out the regular season at home next weekend when the Rebels host Auburn and Georgia. Ole Miss and Auburn will play at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Gillom Sports Center on the campus of the University of Mississippi.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related News

Related Videos