The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Ready for Big Home Weekend
11/12/2015 | Volleyball
Complete Notes (PDF) | Watch: Texas A&M (SECN+) | LSU (SECN)
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss Volleyball has six matches remaining to make a final push for the NCAA Tournament, and that begins this weekend with two at home against Texas A&M and LSU at the Gillom Sports Center.
Friday's match against Texas A&M was moved up to 6 p.m., to accommodate fans wanting to attend the soccer team's first round NCAA match against Murray State at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, the Rebels will face LSU at 1 p.m., in a nationally-televised match on the SEC Network.
Promotions
Celebrate Friday the 13th with free glow sticks for the first 150 fans. Enjoy Sundaes on Sunday at the LSU match and pick up your Beat LSU buttons for next week's football game as well.
Quick Hits
• In their last match, Ole Miss defeated Arkansas 3-1 to sweep the season series for the first time since 2009.
• Ole Miss has now posted 20 wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1984-86.
• The Rebels equaled their most home wins (12) with three home matches left.
• The Rebels improved to 17-1 overall and 6-0 in the SEC win winning set one. They also moved to 19-2 overall and 5-1 in SEC play when hitting above .200.
• The Rebels rank in the top five in the SEC in hitting percentage (.241 - 5th) and kills per set (13.62 - 5th), while leading in services aces per set (1.61).
• Ty Laporte ranks fifth in the SEC in hitting percentage at .392 and sixth in SEC matches only at .391. Nakeyta Clair ranks seventh in the SEC in hitting percentage at .372. Clair also ranks 14th in the SEC in points per set with 3.65. Kristen Brashear ranks fifth (0.32) in aces per set and Kathryn Cather ranks sixth (0.32). Brashear ranks sixth overall in digs per set at 4.02 and is fourth in SEC matches only at 4.42 per set.
Scouting Texas A&M
Texas A&M comes into Friday's match at 17-6 overall, 10-2 in the SEC, and riding an eight-match winning streak. The Aggies are led by Jazzmin Babers who ranks ninth in the SEC in kills per set (3.23), third in blocks per set (1.37) and second in hitting percentage at (.432). Babers was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week as she led A&M with 1.83 blocks and 5.08 points per set last week. Setter Stephanie Aiple was named the SEC Setter of the Week for the fourth consecutive week after averaging 14.75 assists per set in the Aggies' shutout wins vs. Missouri and Georgia last week.
Last Meeting
Ole Miss suffered a 3-0 loss at Texas A&M (13-25, 20-25, 13-25) on Oct. 4. With the score tied at 5 early in the first set, the Aggies began a run of four straight points to go up 9-5. The Rebels never could get their footing in the set as A&M closed it out 25-13. Kate Gibson had six of her 12 kills in the set, but that was it for the Rebels, who hit just .105 to A&M's .500.The Aggies maintained control of the match in the second set and put the Rebels behind 7-3 early. The Rebels never got closer than three the rest of the way, falling 25-20, as A&M took a 2-0 lead in the match. A&M started the third set 7-2 and once again never let the Rebels get into it, going on to take it 25-13 for the 3-0 win.
Looking at LSU
LSU enters the weekend at 9-14 overall and 5-7 in the SEC. They have been bit by the injury bug. Senior outside hitter Cati Leak was ruled out for the year after sustaining a lower-leg injury during team warmups prior to the Tigers' match at Kentucky. Sophomore outside hitter Gina Tillis ranks sixth in the SEC with 3.30 kills per set.
In the National Rankings
In the latest NCAA Rankings, the Rebels rank 47th in winning percentage at .741 and 24th in aces per set at 1.61. Senior middle blocker Ty Laporte ranks 34th in hitting percentage (.392).
RPI Watch
In the latest RPI rankings, Ole Miss ranks No. 75, while Texas A&M is No. 16 and LSU is No. 114.
20-Win Seasons
The win against Arkansas gave the Rebels consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time since 1984-86 and head coach Steven McRoberts his 18th 20-win campaign in 19 seasons as a head coach.
Quoting Head Coach Steven McRoberts
"We didn't play well at their place in the last meeting. Texas A&M is pushing to win the conference championship for a reason. They are a great team, and when they are at their best, they're as good as anybody in our conference and just about as good as anybody in the nation. We have our work cut out for us. Hopefully we give them a better match at our place."
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.
