The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
22-10, 8-10
Texas A&M
21-8, 13-5
Rebels Drop Heartbreaker to A&M
11/28/2014 | Volleyball
OXFORD, Miss. - With the match tied at 2-2 and 12-12 in the fifth set, the Ole Miss Volleyball team appeared to have momentum on its side, but Texas A&M won three of the final four points to take the match 3-2 Friday afternoon in front of a crowd of 636 on Senior Day at the Gillom Sports Center.
With the match and the Rebels' NCAA Tournament hopes hinging on the fifth set, they trailed 8-6 when the teams changed sides. The Aggies led 12-10, but Melanie Crow slammed home one of her career-high 23 kills and then Crow and Nakeyta Clair blocked an attack by A&M's Ashlie Reasor to tie it at 12. Shelby Sullivan had two of her 18 kills for the Aggies to give them their first match point at 14-12. Clair came up big on the next point to erase one match point, but Sullivan put it right past the Rebels to clinch the set 15-13 and the match.
Unfortunately, the loss likely ends the first season under head coach Steven McRoberts for the Rebels at 22-10 and 8-10 in the SEC. Texas A&M, who will continue their season in the NCAA Tournament improved to 21-8, 13-5 in league play.
"I was hoping to be sitting somewhere Sunday watching the selection show and hoping we might end up somewhere," McRoberts said. "It's disappointing, but at the same time, I am really proud of how hard these ladies fought. We were down and came all the way back to tie it at 12. We had a lot of momentum. Sometimes calls don't go your way and one didn't late there in the set. We let it affect us too much, but, we had opportunities in the match that could have made that call not mean as much."
In the first meeting, the Rebels struck first, but this time, the Aggies took the early 1-0 lead in the match, winning the first set 25-19 behind a strong offensive attack (.625). The Rebels hit .333, but could not overcome an early deficit, only getting as close as three throughout.
The Rebels were able to gain an early 10-7 lead in the second set. With the match tied at 12, the Rebels finished off the Aggies and the set on a 13-6 run to win it 25-18 and even the match at 1. A&M only hit .077 in the second set.
Set three was as exciting a set as the Rebels have played all year. Trailing 20-16, the Rebels pulled to within 22-20 on a kill by freshman Lexi Thompson. With A&M three points away from taking a lead in the match, the Rebels kept battling, finishing off the set on a 6-1 run for 26-24 and a 2-1 lead in the match.
A&M took away the Rebels' momentum quickly going up 6-2 in the fourth set as Ole Miss called timeout. They hit .441 on their way to winning it 25-16 to square the match at 2 and set up the final outcome.
Clair finished the day with 17 kills on a .343 clip and added five blocks. In addition to her 23 kills, Crow added two service aces and three blocks. Thompson had 13 kills and Ty Laporte posted 10. Sophomore setter Aubrey Edie posted her second straight double-double with 60 assists and 11 digs. Senior Rachael Weathersby finished off her career with 13 digs.
Prior to the start of the match, the Rebels honored their three seniors, Marie-Pierre Bakima, Cara Fisher and Weathersby. All three helped turn the program around, including the best start in school history and the most wins since 2007.
"We are really proud of our seniors, thankful for Rachael, Mapie and Fish and the contribution they made to the program this year," McRoberts said. "It's tough to end it with a gut-wrenching loss Thankful that for the first year, we've laid a solid foundation moving forward. Hopefully our team is willing to put in the effort to get over the hump, so that we're celebrating at this point next year instead of being done at Thanksgiving."
For more information on Ole Miss Volleyball, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB, on Facebook at OleMissVolleyball and on Instagram at OleMissVB.
| Texas A&M (21-8, 13-5) | 25 | 18 | 24 | 25 | 15 |
| Ole Miss (22-10, 8-10) | 19 | 25 | 26 | 16 | 13 |
