.png&width=48&height=48&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Israeli National Team
Rebels Shut Out Israeli National Team In Exhibition Match
8/26/2011 | Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas - Kara Morgan put down a career-high 11 kills with as part of her first career double-double on Friday afternoon to help lead Ole Miss to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-15) win over the Israel National Team in an exhibition match at the Burnt Orange Classic hosted by the University of Texas.
The exhibition match against Israel does not count in the regular season record, so Ole Miss will officially open the season on Saturday when the Rebels take on the fourth-ranked Texas Longhorns at 11:30 a.m. in a match televised by the Longhorn Network. Ole Miss will close out the Burnt Orange Classic against Pepperdine at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Against Israel, Morgan hit .579 as she went 11-for-19 with no attack errors and also came up with 10 digs. She was joined by junior setter Amanda Philpot who also recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 27 assists on the afternoon. Philpot hit .429 for the match.
And while the offense was good, the Rebel defense was also steady. Senior middle blocker Regina Thomas put down a team-high seven blocks, while junior right side Allegra Wells came up with six blocks to help pace the net defense. Morgan Springer also tallied 10 digs for the back row defense.
"We played some good defense and we were steady from the service line," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "We were aggressive the whole way through. Kara Morgan continues to impress as she matures as a player. Obviously, not having any attack errors is a testament to how hard she worked this summer. The important thing is we have some confidence in ourselves, and that will be big going up against Texas and Pepperdine on Saturday."
The Rebels found themselves in a hole twice early in the first set as the Israeli team moved out in front by as much as four points twice in the early stages of the match. Ole Miss fell behind 7-3 and 17-3, spending much of the beginning of the set playing from behind.
Down 19-16, the Rebels began to make a move behind the play of Thomas and Wells. The duo recorded a pair of kills and a pair of blocks to put Ole Miss on top 21-20 for the first time since an 8-7 advantage. The Rebels then closed things out with a service ace from freshman Rachael McLamore and a kill from Philpot to grab the first set 25-23.
Israel grabbed the first point of the second frame, but it was all Rebels from there as the Red and Blue pushed out to a 7-3 lead and never let up. Ole Miss pushed the lead out to 15-8 on a kill by Morgan before the Israeli team would cut the lead to three at 17-14.
The Rebels remained undaunted, however, rattling off a seven-point run that would take the lead out to 24-15 before Morgan put down the final kill of the frame to give Ole Miss the set 25-15.
The Israeli team scored first again in the third set and held the early advantage only to see the Rebels quickly close the gap and even things up at five. A Morgan kill to go up 8-7 would put Ole Miss in front of Israel for good.
The Rebels continued to build on the lead, pushing the score out to as much as nine before claiming the match with a 25-15 win in set three.
