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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Travel To Take On Tennessee, Kentucky
9/29/2010 | Volleyball
Sept. 29, 2010
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss volleyball team hits the road for the second straight weekend looking to jump start another win streak as the Rebels (9-4, 3-1 SEC) travel to take on No. 23 Tennessee and Kentucky this weekend.
Ole Miss faces its first challenge in a showdown with the Lady Vols at 6 p.m. CT on Friday night before closing out their four-match road trip at Kentucky on Sunday. The Lady Vols (10-3, 2-2 SEC) and Kentucky Wildcats (8-6, 2-2 SEC) face each other on Wednesday night before taking on the Rebels this weekend.
Kentucky has been ranked in the top 25 every week this season up until this Monday after going 1-1 on the road in Southeastern Conference play.
Ole Miss is coming off a 1-1 performance last weekend, having defeated South Carolina and falling to No. 3 Florida on the road. The loss to the third-ranked Gators snapped a seven-match win streak for the Rebels and was the only loss in conference play to date.
"We're going on the road to face two teams who have been ranked in the top 25 most of this season," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "It's always tough in the SEC on the road. At this point we're still focusing on things on our side of the net with our system. But it's always exciting to face good competition. Physically we match up well. It's the little things that will make the difference this weekend."
Ole Miss continues to be led offensively by the play of its middle blockers as Miranda Kitts and Regina Thomas combined for an errorless offensive performance against Florida the last time out on the floor. Thomas hit .542 for the weekend with 14 kills and only committed one error against South Carolina on Friday night. Both Kitts and Thomas rank in the top five in the league in blocks, while Thomas is second in the league in hitting percentage.
Also continuing to emerge as an offensive threat is sophomore outside hitter Whitney Craven, who was named an All-Freshman team selection a year ago. Craven hit .433 against the Gamecocks last weekend with a team-high 15 kills in the 3-0 win.
Leading the Rebels defensively on the back row is junior libero Morgan Springer, who is second in the league in digs with 5.15 digs per set and was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week a week ago after leading the Rebels defensively in wins over Alabama and Mississippi State.
Ole Miss and Tennessee will face-off at 6 p.m. CDT on Friday night, while the Rebels and Wildcats will square off at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. Fans can follow both matches via Gametracker at www.OleMissSports.com.
