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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
22-11 (8-10)SEC
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Mississippi State
17-15 (6-12)SEC
Rebels Drop Final Match of the Season
11/27/2015 | Volleyball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Senior Nakeyta Clair posted 15 kills on a .308 clip in her final match for the Ole Miss volleyball team and Lexi Thompson added a double-double, but it was not enough, as Mississippi State handed the Rebels a 3-1 loss here Friday at Newell-Grissom.
With the loss the Rebels end the year at 22-11 overall and 8-10 in the SEC, while Mississippi State improved to 17-15 overall and 6-12 in the SEC.
In the first meeting back in September, the Bulldogs jumped on the Rebels early and never let them into it. Ole Miss had seven errors in the first set State as State maintained a three to four point lead throughout. The Bulldogs closed 25-21 to gain the early 1-0 lead.
The Rebels trailed by one in the second set, 9-10, before State went on a 5-1 run to lead 15-10 at the media timeout. The Bulldogs never relinquished control, hitting .414 in the set to win it 25-18 and take control of the match 2-0.
Ole Miss came out of the locker room after the 10-minute break and started off strong in the third set and led 16-11 midway through. State got to within two, 22-20, but the Rebels won the final three points to take the set 25-20 and stay alive in the match.
With set four tied at 8, the Bulldogs went on a 4-0 run to go up 12-8. They led 15-11 at the media timeout, but the Rebels pulled to within one, 21-22 forcing State to call timeout. After the timeout, the Bulldogs won the next point and the Rebels immediately used their final timeout trailing 21-23. An attack error by the Bulldogs allowed Ole Miss within one again, 22-23, but a service error handed the Bulldogs match point, 24-22. Lexi Thompson came up with one of her 11 kills to erase one match point, but on the next rally State's Evie Grace Singleton posted her 16th kill for the set (25-23) and the match.
Quick Hits
• This marks the first time the Rebels have lost to State twice in the same season since 2009.
• Senior Nakeyta Clair turned in a solid performance in her last match for the Rebels. She finished with 15 kills on a .308 clip and also added five blocks.
• Sophomore Lexi Thompson posted her sixth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 11 digs.
• Junior Aubrey Edie finished with 43 assists. She also had four kills on a .667 pct.
• Freshman Alexis Lee tallied seven kills and four digs.
• Junior Kristen Brashear posted 13 digs.
Quoting Head Coach Steven McRoberts
"Although it's not the way we'd like to end the season, I'm proud of this team and the overall season that we had. We overcame a lot of obstacles to get to 22 wins and finish in the top half of the SEC.
"I am thankful for the contributions that Nakeyta, Ty and Laura made to this program and they really helped us take some positive steps forward the past two seasons. With the freshmen we have coming in combined with our returners, we expect to make a strong push for the NCAA Tournament in 2016."
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.
