Rebels Blank Mississippi State 3-0 To Open Weekend

OXFORD, Miss. Regina Thomas turned in a dominant performance on Friday night as the freshman middle blocker put down 16 kills to lead Ole Miss (8-7, 4-2 SEC) to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-22) win over Mississippi State (6-11, 1-5 SEC) at the Gillom Sports Center.

Thomas' 16 kills was a match-high as the freshman hit .682 with only one error on the night and also notched three blocks (1 BS, 2 BA) to help lead the Rebels to the win. She was the only Rebel to reach double-digits in kills. Sophomore middle blocker Miranda Kitts put down seven kills and five blocks on the night.

Allison Weber and Morgan Springer led the back row defense with 11 digs each on the evening.

"Regina had a great match for us tonight and really set the tone," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "Anytime she puts up the kind of numbers she had, it means we are passing the ball well. Our back row did a nice job between Alli Weber and Morgan Springer. It certainly makes life a lot easier."

The Rebels jumped out to the early lead in the first set as Ole Miss pushed out to an early 7-3 lead and never looked back. Thomas led the way for the Rebel offense, setting a torrid pace with five kills on six swings and no errors as she hit .882 in the set. The Bulldogs closed the gap, but could never catch up to the Rebels as Ole Miss claimed the first set 25-20.

The second set began similar to the first with Ole Miss pushing out to an 8-3 lead early in the set before Mississippi State would cut the lead to five at 10-5, but come no closer the rest of the way as the Rebels claimed the second frame 25-20 to take the lead into the break. Thomas hit .500 for the set as she was 5-for-8 with her only attack error of the match.

The Rebels stormed out to an early 8-0 lead and looked to be in control of the third set before Mississippi State began chipping away at the lead. The Bulldogs eventually tied the match at 18 before Mississippi State took its first lead of the match at 19-18.

The squads traded scores with Mississippi State taking a 21-20 lead late. Thomas then went to work again as she put down four of the next five kills for the Rebels to give Ole Miss the win with a 25-22 win in the third set. The only point in the match-clinching 5-1 run that did not come from Thomas as a service ace by Springer to put Ole Miss up 22-21.

The Rebels will return to action on Sunday when Ole Miss will host the Alabama Crimson Tide at 1:30 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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