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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Tennessee (W)
Kitts, Thomas Lead Rebels In Tough Loss To Tennessee
10/31/2009 | Volleyball
OXFORD, Miss. - The middle attack of the Rebels was dominant Friday night as Miranda Kitts and Regina Thomas both tallied double digit kills and hit above .400, but it wasn't enough as Ole Miss (8-15, 2-11 SEC) fell to Tennessee (16-6, 9-3 SEC) by a score of 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 21-25, 21-25).
Kitts led the Rebels with 16 kills and hit .419 for the match, while Thomas added 12 kills and eight blocks while hitting .440 to lead Ole Miss on the night. Caitlin Weiss added 13 kills to help the Ole Miss offense.
The Rebels out-performed Tennessee in almost every statistical category for the night - notching more kills, blocks, digs and a significantly higher hitting percentage - but 13 service errors proved to be the Rebels' undoing.
Ole Miss lost the match by a total of 12 points combined across the three sets the Rebels dropped.
"Tennessee won the serving battle, and that's a statistic that can dictate the course of the match," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "They are a good team and we did some things to slow them down, but they have too many weapons and we weren't able to stop them all. We passed the ball well, though, and when we pass the ball like that our middles hit well."
Tennessee moved in the lead early on the Rebels by two points, but Ole Miss was able to keep the Lady Vols in reach before tying the match at 11. The Rebels then used a quick run to move out to a 13-11 lead and push Tennessee into a timeout. Ole Miss would see the Lady Vols come back to tie the set at 16, but pushed back into the lead down the stretch to claim the first set 25-20.
Kitts, Thomas and Caitlin Weiss led the Rebel offense in that set - hitting .667, .750 and .800, respectively, while combining for 12 kills and only one error in the frame.
The second set was another back-and-forth match from the outset as neither team could establish a firm hold on control of the match. The Lady Vols eventually inched out to a four-point advantage at 17-13 and held the lead from that point on before taking the second frame 25-21.
Ole Miss took the early lead in the third set, jumping out to a 7-4 lead before seeing Tennessee come back to tie the match at 10. The Lady Vols continued to push the advantage from there, moving ahead 15-12. The Rebels would keep pace with Tennessee, remaining within striking distance throughout, but the Lady Vols again found a surge at the end to take the third set 25-21.
Tennessee took control early in the fourth set, moving out to a 6-2 lead on Ole Miss before the Rebels fought back to close to within three at 11-8. The Rebels were never able to overtake the Tennessee Lady Vols, however, as the visitors from Knoxville closed out the match with a 25-21 win in the fourth set.
Ole Miss will return to action on Sunday, hosting the 12th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at 1 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center. The match will be televised by Fox Sports Net and free t-shirts will be given out to students in attendance. It will also be the annual "Sundaes on Sunday" promotion as ice cream sundaes will be given out to early arriving fans.
