The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Fall To Tennessee 3-0 On The Road
10/17/2008 | Volleyball
KNOXVILLE , Tenn. The middles continued to produce for the Rebels as Regina Thomas and Miranda Kitts combined for 15 kills and only two errors on the night, but it wasn't enough as Ole Miss (8-9, 4-4 SEC) fell to Tennessee (12-8, 5-4 SEC) by a score of 3-0 (21-25 14-25, 15-25) on Friday.
Kitts tallied eight kills and hit .300 for the match, while Thomas added six kills and hit .462 for the night as she did not commit an attack error. Emily Jones led the Rebels with nine kills for the match.
The Rebels couldn't overcome a big night defensively from the Lady Vols as Tennessee out-blocked Ole Miss 7.0-to-1.0 for the evening. Sophomore outside hitter Nikki Fowler put down 14 kills and three blocks for Tennessee, while middle blocker Mindy Flynn added 10 kills and five blocks.
Ole Miss took control of the match early in the first set, moving out to a quick four-point lead and holding the advantage until Tennessee tied things at 12. A kill from Katie Norris moved the Rebels back into the lead, but back-to-back scores from the Lady Vols pushed Tennessee in front again. The Lady Vols held the lead the rest of the way, taking the first set 25-21.
Tennessee continued to build on the momentum from the first set in the second, jumping out to a 10-4 lead and never looked back. The Rebels couldn't get on track as Tennessee continued to build on the lead before closing out the second set 25-14 and taking a two set lead in the match.
The Rebels fell behind early in the third set as well as Tennessee grabbed the first four points of the frame. Ole Miss fought back, cutting the lead to one at 7-6, but the Lady Vols exploded with a big run to push ahead 20-10. Ole Miss would put together a short run to cut the lead to 23-15 but Tennessee would notch the next two points to claim the match with a 25-15 win in the third set.
The Rebels will continue weekend play on Sunday when Ole Miss will travel to take on the 23rd-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at 12:30 p.m. CDT. Kentucky defeated Arkansas 3-0 on Friday night in Lexington.
