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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
5-9
UAB
13-1
Rebels Win Ninth Straight
9/18/2015 | Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Two Ole Miss teams are competing in the state of Alabama this weekend, and the Rebel volleyball team got the party started with two wins Friday in the Fight Like Hal Memorial Tournament hosted by UAB here at Bartow Arena.
Earlier in the day, the Rebels defeated Jacksonville State 3-1 and then handed host UAB a 3-1 loss for their ninth consecutive win to improve to 13-1 on the season.
With one of their top pins out, the Rebels have been relying on their middle play, and Friday, both senior middle blockers Nakeyta Clair and Ty Laporte were on point. Laporte finished the day with 30 kills and 10 blocks, while hitting over .500. Clair posted 32 kills and hit over .400 for the day.
Against UAB, the Rebels took the first set 25-21 and had a chance to go up 2-0, leading 23-20 in the second set, before some hitting errors allowed the Blazers to come back and take the set 25-23. Coming out of the intermission, the Rebels took control of the match and never relinquished it. They hit .379 in the third set to win it 25-18 and followed with .391 in the fourth set to win it 25-12 and the match.
JSU Rewind
In the opening set against Jacksonville State, the Rebels had two set points up 24-22, but the Gamecocks won four straight points to win it 26-24 and gain the early momentum. Ole Miss raced out to a quick 6-1 lead in the second set and never looked back, winning it 25-14 to even the match. Set three saw the Gamecocks get out to an early lead, before the Rebels tied it up. They would go on to win it 25-20 for a 2-1 lead. Both teams battled early in the fourth set to a 9-9 tie, before Ole Miss used a 16-10 run to close out the set 25-19 and the match.
Quick Hits
• The Rebels improved to 14-2 all-time against Jacksonville State and 21-4 vs. UAB.
• Senior Ty Laporte broke into the top five in total blocks for a career with 10 combined. She now has 278 for her career, which ranks her fourth.
• Junior Aubrey Edie passed out 89 assists on the day to move into second place all-time with 2,857.
• Freshman Alexis Lee posted a career-high 13 digs against UAB.
• Senior Nakeyta Clair came into the weekend ranked second in the SEC and top 10 in the nation in hitting percentage. She has now hit above .400 in 11 of 14 matches and above .300 in 13 of 14.
The Rebels will conclude play in the Fight like Hal Memorial Invitational against Mississippi Valley State Saturday at 2 p.m., looking to match the best start in school history (14-1 in 2014).
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.
