The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
21-9, 7-9
Alabama
23-7, 11-5
Rebels Turn the Tide Back 3-2
11/23/2014 | Volleyball
OXFORD, Miss. - For the second time this season, the Ole Miss Volleyball team and Alabama went the distance, and once again, the Rebels turned the Tide back, winning 3-2 here Sunday at the Gillom Sports Center.
With the win, the Rebels improved to 21-9 overall and 7-9 in the SEC, while Alabama fell to 23-7 and 11-5.
Sophomore Melanie Crow became the third record-setting Rebel in the last month, with five service aces on the day to set the single season record (35). She also led the Rebels with 17 kills and finished with 24.5 points.
Junior Ty Laporte was big from the right side, posting 11 kills on a .400 clip, including the match-clincher. She also added six blocks.
In the first meeting, it was the Crimson Tide who led at the halfway point of the fifth set, but this time, the Rebels led 8-6 as the two teams changed sides. Alabama had four of its seven service errors in the fifth set and also added two attack errors. They never got closer the rest of the way, as the Rebels hit .385 in the set and won it 15-11 to sweep the season series.
"I thought we played a really solid match, outside of the fourth set," head coach Steven McRoberts said. "Alabama played really well in that set, and got us on our heels. The first two sets, we came out aggressive and low-error. Our outsides were controlling the match, Melanie Crow had an extremely big match for us. For her to get her serve going is big also, helps us generate points on our side of the net. This was another great win for our program, and hopefully we can build off this and finish the week strong."
Like they did in Tuscaloosa, the Rebels started off strong in the match, taking a 9-5 lead early in the first set. Alabama never got closer than two. With Ole Miss leading 21-16, the Tide called timeout, but the Rebels finished them off 25-19.
Set two went back and forth, but at 16-16, the Rebels went on a 5-1 run to build a 21-17 lead. Alabama answered, winning four straight points to tie it at 21. At 22 all, Crow came up with a big kill and then an attack error from Bama gave the Rebels their first set point, 24-22. An attack error allowed Bama to get within one, but Kat Hutson followed up with a service error, as the Rebels won the set 25-23.
After the break, Alabama came out and took a close third set 25-23 and then jumped on the Rebels in set four, hitting .393 to win it 25-16 and set up the final showdown.
Freshman Lexi Thompson added 12 kills and eight digs, and Nakeyta Clair posted 10. Marie-Pierre Bakima finished with 12 digs to lead the Rebels.
The Rebels continue their four-match homestand Wednesday with Georgia at 6 p.m.
For more information on Ole Miss Volleyball, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB, on Facebook at OleMissVolleyball and on Instagram at OleMissVB.
| Ole Miss (21-9, 7-9) | 25 | 25 | 23 | 16 | 15 |
| Alabama (23-7, 11-5) | 19 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 11 |
