Rebels Set To Host No. 19 Kentucky On Friday

OXFORD, Miss. The Rebel volleyball team will return to action at home this weekend when Ole Miss (10-12, 6-7 SEC) will play host to 19^th-ranked Kentucky (22-3, 13-1 SEC) Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center.

It is the first of a pair of weekend matches as the Rebels will also host Tennessee (17-8, 10-4 SEC) on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

Ole Miss fell to then No. 23 Kentucky by a score a 3-2 in Lexington on October 19 as the Rebels took an early lead on the Wildcats but were unable to hold off a late rally by the home team.

“It’s obviously good to be back home and playing volleyball in front of our fans,” said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. “We did good things against Kentucky at their place and think it should be a good match. We’ve been working hard at balancing out our offense and will need everyone clicking at the same time to be successful against the top of the SEC.”

It’s been a youth movement for the Rebels this season, with a pair of freshmen and a sophomore have provided a bulk of the offense this year. Freshman middle blocker Regina Thomas and freshman outside hitter Katie Norris are the top two in kills with 2.67 and 2.53 kills per set, respectively.

Sophomore middle blocker Miranda Kitts has come on lately as well, averaging almost two kills and a block a set. Also returning to form is junior right side Caitlin Weiss who averages 2.41 kills per set.

The Kentucky Wildcats enter the weekend as perhaps one of the more surprising stories in the conference this season, holding an impressive 22-3 and 13-1 in Southeastern Conference play. The only loss came at the hands of Florida in a five set match in Gainesville.

Sarah Mendoza continues to lead the Kentucky offense as the outside hitter has put down 295 kills on the season and averages 3.31 kills per set. She also is a solid back row player as she averages 2.53 digs per set, second best on the team this season.

Queen Nzenwa continues to lead the net defense of the Rebels as she posts 1.11 blocks per set and has tallied 99 blocks on the season. Leading the back row defense is BriAnne Sauer with 4.26 digs per set as the starting libero for the Wildcats.

Ole Miss and Kentucky have tangled on the court 38 times with the Wildcats holding a 28-10 advantage in the overall series. The Rebels have claimed four of the last seven meetings heading into this weekend’s meeting as Kentucky won the first match this season 3-2 in Lexington.

Tennessee enters the weekend with an overall record of 17-8 and a 10-4 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Lady Vols have claimed six straight conference matches, sweeping each match 3-0 with the exception of a 3-1 win over Arkansas.

Sophomore outside hitter Nikki Fowler continues to lead the Lady Vol offense as she averages 3.56 kills per set and has put down 317 kills on the year. She is joined by middle blockers Leah Hinkey and Alyssa Hilby, who use their net defense for offensive production with 1.62 and 1.19 blocks per set, respectively.

Chloe Goldman leads the back row defense for Tennessee as the libero averages 4.57 digs per set.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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