The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
21-9, 7-8
Auburn
16-11, 8-7
Rebels Fall to Auburn in Five
11/20/2015 | Volleyball
AUBURN, Ala. - For the sixth time this year and the second time on the road, the Ole Miss volleyball team went to five sets, this time against an Auburn team who had recently knocked off Florida in five at home. The Tigers outlasted the Rebels 3-2 (17-25, 25-16, 21-25, 25-19, 8-15) here Friday night at Auburn Arena.
After Ole Miss won set four to tie the match at 2-2, Auburn delivered the early blow in the final set, taking a 5-2 lead, forcing the Rebels to call a timeout. Ole Miss never got closer than three and Auburn went on to win it 15-8 for the match.
"It was a hard-fought match, but we didn't come out playing very well in the first set," head coach Steven McRoberts said. "I felt like we controlled the second and fourth sets, and even in the third set we had some opportunities. We let them go on a huge run. We made a lot of errors to close out the third set and we followed that up in the fifth. I think we had nine errors in the fifth set. Auburn had a little to do with it, but we didn't control what we were controlling when we won the two sets.
"It's disappointing to get that close on the road and have an opportunity to win and move up in the conference. Two out of the last three matches, we've had opportunities in the fifth set and just haven't been able to get it done."
Both teams battled back and forth in set one and it was tied 11-11, before Auburn went on a 14-6 run to close out the Rebels 25-17. Ole Miss hit just .030 in the first set to Auburn's .290.
The Rebels hit .500 in set two to power their way to a 25-16 win and even the match at 1 heading into intermission. Ole Miss led 10-9, but used a 5-2 run to take a 15-11 lead midway through the set, forcing Auburn to call timeout. The Tigers never got closer than three. The Rebels increased their lead to six and Auburn used its final timeout, trailing 18-12. Ole Miss closed on a 7-4 run to finish off the Tigers.
With set three tied at 10, Ole Miss went on a 6-2 run to lead 16-12. The Tigers answered with a 4-0 run to tie it at 16. Auburn finished off the set outscoring the Rebels 9-5 to win it 25-21 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Set four continued much like set three with neither team taking control until the Rebels won three straight points to go up 20-17 and force Auburn to call timeout. Two points later Kathryn Cather put one down to give the Rebels a five point lead, 22-17, and Auburn used its final timeout. The Tigers never got any closer, as the Rebels close out the set 25-19 to send it to five.
The Rebels return home Sunday to host Missouri for Senior Day at the Gillom Sports Center. First serve is set for 1:30 p.m. Fans are encouraged to arrive early as the team will honor its seniors before starting at 1:24 p.m.
"We have to bounce back, get in the gym tomorrow and get our gameplan for Missouri together, so we can hopefully send our seniors out with a final home win,"McRoberts said.
Quick Hits
• In the second set, senior Nakeyta Clair set the single season record for block solos with 29 currently. She now holds all three career and single-season blocking records.
• Three recorded double-digit kills. Ty Laporte finished with 11 on a .350 clip. Freshman Kathryn Cather posted 11 kills on a .440 clip. Sophomore Kate Gibson finished with 10 kills.
• Cather hit above .400 for the fourth time in conference play.
• Four players notched double-digit digs, as the Rebels finished with 69 total. Junior Kristen Brashear led with 21 and Lexi Thompson had 17. Brashear has posted double-digit digs in 14 of 15 SEC matches.
• Junior setter Aubrey Edie had a solid all around night, posting her team-leading ninth double-double with 38 assists and 13 digs. She also posted 7 kills and hit .700.
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.
