The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Travel to South Carolina
10/30/2015 | Volleyball
Complete Notes (PDF) | Watch: SECN
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss volleyball hits the road again in search of their fourth win in five matches, when they travel to Columbia, South Carolina for a Sunday match against the Gamecocks. First serve is Noon CT from the Carolina Volleyball Center.
Ole Miss enters the match at 19-6 overall and 5-5 in the SEC after taking care of Georgia 3-1 in Athens Wednesday night.
Quick Hits
• This is the second meeting between the two. The Rebels defeated the Gamecocks 3-1 on Oct. 2 in Oxford.
• Senior Nakeyta Clair added another record to her career. In the first set at Georgia, she became the school record holder in block assists with 309 currently. Clair now holds all three career blocking records at Ole Miss. She finished with a season-high seven blocks.
• The Rebels won their first match this year when hitting below .200. They finished the Georgia match at .139.
• Senior Ty Laporte led the Rebels with 12 kills on a .333 clip. Sophomore Lexi Thompson finished with 11 kills and six digs. Junior Aubrey Edie passed out 33 assists and had seven kills on a .357 percentage. She also posted eight digs and four blocks. Junior Kristen Brashear totaled 14 digs, four services and six assists. It marks the ninth time in the last 10 matches for her to record double-digit digs.
• The Rebels rank in the top five in the SEC in hitting percentage (.239 - 5th) and kills per set (13.60 - 5th), while leading in services aces per set (1.65).
• Ty Laporte ranks fifth in the SEC at .388 and sixth in SEC matches only at .382. Nakeyta Clair ranks seventh in the SEC in hitting percentage at .376. Clair also ranks 14th in the SEC in points per set with 3.69. Kathryn Cather ranks fourth (0.34) and Kristen Brashear ranks fifth (0.34) in aces per set. Brashear ranks seventh overall in digs per set at 3.95 and is fifth in SEC matches only at 4.31 per set.
Scouting South Carolina
South Carolina enters the weekend at 9-13 overall, 2-7 in the SEC. They host Florida Friday, before welcoming the Rebels. The Gamecocks are led by junior outside hitter Dessaa Legros, who averages 3.52 kills per set, good for third in the SEC. Senior middle blocker Darian Dozier leads South Carolina in hitting percentage at .313 and averages 0.97 blocks per set.
Rebels vs. Gamecocks
Sunday will be the 44th meeting in the all-time series, with South Carolina leading 26-17. The Rebels have won two straight, including this year's earlier meeting in Oxford, 3-1. South Carolina is 16-8 at home vs. Ole Miss all time, but the Rebels have won three of the last four matchups in Columbia. Last year, the Gamecocks rallied to win 3-2 in Columbia in the SEC opener for both teams.
Last Meeting
Paced by four players in double-digit kills, the Rebels topped South Carolina 3-1 on Oct. 2 in Oxford. The Gamecocks led set one 17-11, but the Rebels went on a 14-6 run to close out the comeback 25-23. In the second set, the Rebels erased a 6-6 tie with a 7-1 run to go up 13-7. They maintained control the rest of the way winning it 25-19 to head into intermission up 2-0. Coming out of the break, South Carolina took the third set 25-17. Both teams traded points in the early going of the fourth set, but at 13-13, the Rebels went on an 11-5 run to garner six match points, 24-18. The Gamecocks would not go away without a fight, erasing five match points (24-23), before senior Nakeyta Clair put down her 12th kill of the night for the win.
Going Home
Two Rebels come from the Palmetto State. Senior Ty Laporte went to high school in Irmo, while freshman Laina Carnes hails from Lexington, South Carolina.
For more information on Ole Miss Volleyball, follow the Rebels on Twitter, @OleMissVB, on Facebook at OleMissVolleyball and on Instagram at OleMissVB. Also follow Coach McRoberts on Twitter, @CoachMcRoberts.
