Rebels Hit The Road To Open SEC Play At Auburn

OXFORD, Miss. The Ole Miss volleyball team returns to the road this weekend as the Rebels (4-5, 0-0 SEC) open Southeastern Conference play at Auburn (5-6, 0-0 SEC) on Sunday. The match will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Beard-Eaves Coliseum on the campus of Auburn University.

Ole Miss enters the match after claiming the Magnolia Invitational title last weekend with wins over SMU and Eastern Illinois and claiming the tournament title via tiebreak with Georgia Tech. The Rebels saw four players garner All-Tournament honors on the weekend, including MVP honors for freshman middle blocker Regina Thomas.

"It's exciting to open up SEC play," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "We had a good week of preparation for it and I feel like we have improved. The big thing is we have to continue to build on what we accomplished at the Magnolia Invitational this past weekend. The key is to continue to improve each week."

Ole Miss will continue to rely on Thomas, who put down a career-high 17 kills against Georgia Tech and hit .636 against Eastern Illinois to lead the Rebels offensively last weekend. Thomas averages 2.67 kills a match and is second on the team behind fellow freshman Katie Norris, who averages 3.12 kills per set. Thomas also leads the team in blocks with 0.83 per set.

Senior libero Allison Weber leads the Rebel defense with 3.48 digs per set. Senior setter Rachel Kieckhaefer continues to be a force for the Rebels offensively and controlling the offense as she averages 9.15 assists per set and broke the 3,000 assist mark for her career this past weekend. She is only the third player to notch more than 3,000 assists in a career for Ole Miss.

Auburn enters the weekend with a showdown against Arkansas on Friday night as the Tigers and Razorbacks open the conference slate on the Plains. The Tigers come into the weekend with a 5-6 record on the season and are coming off a 1-2 weekend at the Michigan Pepsi Challenge. Auburn sandwiched a win over OaklandToledo and Michigan. between losses to

The Tigers are led offensively by outside hitter Jessica Glover who averages 2.88 kills per set and has tallied 115 kills on the season while hitting at a .193 clip. She is also second on the team in digs with 2.50 digs per set. She is joined on the attack by outside hitter Olympia Haney who is putting down 2.03 kills per set.

Sara Shanks sets the offense for the Tigers as she is averaging 8.21 assists per set. Defensive specialist Liz Crouch paces the back row defense of Auburn as she averages 3.17 digs per set.

Ole Miss and Auburn have faced off 45 times in the history of the series. The Rebels hold a 29-16 advantage in the all-time series and have won five consecutive matches. Auburn last won in the 2004 season when the Tigers swept the season series. Ole Miss is 9-2 against Auburn under head coach Joe Getzin.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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