The University of Mississippi Athletics
Thompson Lifts Rebels to Historic Start
9/12/2014 | Volleyball, Blog
With a chance to make history, Ole Miss dropped a first set for the first time this season.
The Rebels answered the bell winning the next three sets to defeat Jacksonville State 3-1 and improve to 10-0 on the season, the best start in school history.
"We were all looking at each other wondering who would step up and talk," freshman Lexi Thompson said. "And finally Cara Fisher just said, 'We need to make history. This is it. This is all we have. Go for it. Don't worry about what happened. We're playing best 2-out-of-3.'"
Thompson led the way for Ole Miss, finishing with a career-high 18 kills and 17 digs, her third double-double of the season. She had seven kills in the second set and six kills in the third set to help give the Rebels a 2-1 lead in the match.
"She had a tremendous night," head coach Steven McRoberts said. "She had a really good weekend for us here at home. Her play really helped us build some momentum throughout the night. She had a double-double. She was clearly a go-to hitter for us in crunch situations, and as a freshman, she stepped up and did a good job."
In the fourth set, the Rebels got another lift from sophomore Melanie Crow, who had seven kills of her 16 kills in the frame, including the match-winner.
"I expected a change, but I didn't expect this big of a change," Thompson said. "I knew that we would do better, and I was excited to see what we would do with a new coach, and we're going well beyond any expectations."
"We're not done yet," McRoberts said. "I hope our focus isn't on a streak. I hope it's on our next match and our focus is on getting better every day. We have talked all along that when you stay in the system, you work hard and everyone buys in, things like this just happen."
