The University of Mississippi Athletics
Kitts, Thomas Push Rebels Past Arkansas 3-1
10/22/2008 | Volleyball
OXFORD, Miss. Miranda Kitts and Regina Thomas combined for 29 kills Wednesday night to push Ole Miss (9-10, 5-5 SEC) to a fifth-straight win over Arkansas (5-15, 2-8 SEC) by a score of 3-1 (25-15, 24-26, 25-21, 25-18).
Kitts paced the Rebels with 15 kills on the night while Thomas chipped in with 14 kills of her own. Katie Norris rounded out the offense for the Rebels with a 10 kill performance as three Rebels notched double-digit kills on the night.
Defensively, Allison Weber continued to pace the Rebels with 17 kills, while Emily Jones came up with a surprising 13 digs off the bench. Rachel Kieckhaefer added five service aces on the night to help the Rebels defeat the Razorbacks.
"We're glad to get back in the win column," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "Our middles have bought into the system we run and we have had the passing to really utilize them. Tonight showed that you can't take a break against any team. We're still young and have to learn to play the match from start to finish.
The Rebels turned up the pressure early against Arkansas in the first set, pushing out to a 10-3 lead before the Razorbacks would regroup and fight back. Ole Miss looked to the arm of Thomas, though, as the freshman put down seven kills and hit a blistering .667 in the set to lead the Rebels to the 25-15 win.
Arkansas returned the favor in the second set, pushing out to a quick 7-1 lead on the Rebels before Ole Miss would charge back and cut the lead to four at 12-8. The two teams battled from there with the Rebels chipping away at the lead before fighting off three set points to tie the frame at 24. Arkansas closed out the match with a kill and a Rebel attack error 26-24, though, to even the match at a set each.
The two teams traded scores throughout the early stages of the third set before the Rebels would take control of the set with the score knotted at 21. Ole Miss rattled off four straight scores, including a pair of service aces from Kieckhaefer to grab the 25-21 win in the third set.
Ole Miss never looked back in the fourth frame, breaking a 6-6 tie early in the set before slowly pulling away from the Razorbacks down the stretch. The Rebels built the lead to as many as eight points at 21-13 before closing out the match following an Arkansas run at 25-18 to claim the match.
With the win, the Rebels pulled to within a game of Western Division leading LSU as the match against the Razorbacks was the only action in the Southeastern Conference on Wednesday.
The Rebels will return to action on Friday when they host Auburn at 7 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center on campus.
