The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
1-3
Eastern Illinois
2-5
Thomas Leads Rebels To 3-2 Win Over Eastern Illinois
9/3/2011 | Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2011
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Senior middle blocker Regina Thomas hit .476 while recording a double-double with 12 kills and 10 blocks to help lead Ole Miss (1-3) to a win over Eastern Illinois (2-5) by a score of 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 25-16, 22-25, 15-5) at the Cardinal Classic on Saturday.
Thomas was one of three Rebels to record double-digit kills on the night as Kara Morgan and Allegra Wells both added 11 kills on the night. Thomas' match-high 10 blocks helped lead the Rebel net defense as Ole Miss out-blocked Eastern Illinois 17.0 to 10.0 on the night.
Three Rebels hit .300 or better in the match, led by Thomas and joined by Kellie Goss' .375 hitting performance and Amanda Philpot's .308 attack percentage. Goss put down eight kills and added four blocks, while Philpot put down six kills and added five blocks to go along with 33 assists.
Morgan Springer led the back row defense with 19 digs, a match-high for the Rebel.
"Regina Thomas is starting to come back a little more each day in the gym," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "We have to do a better job of creating some offense. We look forward to another high-level match against Wichita State tomorrow."
The Panthers jumped out to an early lead on the Rebels to open the match, moving in front of the Red and Blue 5-1 out of the gates. Ole Miss recovered, fighting back to tie the match at eight on a service ace from Morgan before a Thomas kill gave the Rebels the first lead of the set.
The Rebels held the lead from there, until Eastern Illinois put together a run to erase a three-point lead nd tie the match at 21. It was back and forth from there before an attack error and a Panther kill gave Eastern Illinois the first set 25-23.
Ole Miss turned the tables in the second set, pushing out to a 5-1 lead on the Panthers. The Rebels never relinquished the lead, seeing the advantage cut to two points twice - at 11-9 and 17-15 - but held on throughout to claim the second set 25-18 and even the match at a set each.
The third set again saw the Rebels storm ahead of the Panthers out of the gate, staking a 6-1 lead on Eastern Illinois that rapidly grew to 14-2. Ole Miss was never threatened in the set as the Rebels took a lead in the match with a 25-16 win in the third frame.
Ole Miss once again claimed an early lead on the Panthers in the fourth set, moving out in front of Eastern Illinois 6-2 before the Panthers would chip away at the lead. A Rebel attack error evened the score at 12 and set the stage for a nip-and-tuck battle down the stretch.
The Rebels would hold as much as a two-point lead at 19-17, but Eastern Illinois strung together a final run to surge in front 24-21 before a kill from Emily Franklin sent things into a fifth set with a 25-22 win for the Panthers in set four.
It was all Rebels in the fifth and final frame, as Ole Miss raced ahead of the Panthers 5-1 to start things off and kept the offense in high-gear. The Rebels never let Eastern Illinois any closer than four points again on the way to a 15-5 match clinching win in set five.
Ole Miss closes out the Crowne Plaza Cardinal Classic on Sunday against Wichita State at 11 a.m. CT.
