Rebels Hit Road For Showdowns With LSU, Georgia

OXFORD, Miss. The Ole Miss volleyball team will return to the road this weekend as the Rebels (6-6, 2-1) SEC will face-off with LSU and Georgia in a pair of matches.

Ole Miss will take on the Tigers of LSU (6-5, 1-3 SEC) in a match that could provide an early boost to the Rebels’ hopes for an SEC Western Division title. LSU was picked as the preseason favorite to win the division, but two weeks into conference play shows the Rebels atop the ladder and holding a 1.5 game lead on the Tigers.

The Rebels and LSU will take the court at 7 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge on Friday.

“It’s a big weekend for us,” said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. “We have to continue to build on what we’ve accomplished the past few weekends to continue to see growth. That’s been the point of emphasis all week in practice. LSU is an excellent team and a very physical team. They are much better than their record indicates and with the disruption of the hurricane they are trying to find their stride again. We will have to play extremely well to keep them off-balance.”

“Georgia is also a team that is a lot better than their record indicates,” Getzin said. “They have a lot of physical talent on the floor and we will have to play well in both matches to come home with two victories.”

Leading the way for the Rebel offense are several young faces including freshman middle blocker Regina Thomas who averages 2.60 kills per set and freshman Katie Norris who averages a team-leading 2.89 kills per set. Junior right side hitter Caitlin Weiss is third on the team with 2.59 kills per set.

Miranda Kitts, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week, is a big part of the Rebel defense as she put down 1.62 blocks per set this past weekend and now averages almost a block a set on the season along with Thomas. Pacing the back row defense is senior libero Allison Weber with 3.64 digs per set.

The Tigers of LSU enter the weekend coming off a split with Kentucky and Tennessee as LSU defeated Tennessee on Friday 3-1 before falling to Kentucky 3-0 on Sunday. The Tigers hold a 6-5 record on the season and are 1-3 in the SEC.

Kyna Washington leads the LSU offense as the senior outside hitter averages 3.38 kills per set and has put down 135 kills on the year. She is joined by Brittnee Cooper who averages 2.53 kills per set and almost a block per set defensively.

The back row defense of the Tigers is led by libero Elena Martinez who averages 4.10 digs per set. As a team, the Tigers average 13.55 digs per set.

Ole Miss and LSU have faced-off 55 times with the Tigers holding a 41-14 edge in the all-time series. The Tigers swept the season series last year, winning 3-0 in Oxford and taking a 3-1 win in Baton Rouge. Ole Miss last won in Baton Rouge in 2004 with a 3-2 victory over the Tigers.

The Rebels will travel to Georgia on Sunday to take on the Bulldogs at the Ramsey Center at 12:30 p.m. CDT.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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