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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Fall to Texas A&M 3-1
10/9/2016 | Volleyball
Box Score (PDF)
OXFORD, Miss. - Despite 22 kills on a .280 clip from junior outside hitter Kate Gibson, the Ole Miss volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-12, 21-25, 25-20, 25-18) decision to defending SEC Champion Texas A&M Sunday at The Pavilion at Ole Miss.
The Aggies came out of the gate and used a 6-1 run to open up the first set 8-3 and force Ole Miss to use their first timeout. Texas A&M followed the timeout with a 6-2 run to go up 14-5, forcing the Rebels to call their last timeout of the set. The Aggies closed out the Rebels 25-12 on a .286 hitting percentage and sided out 83 percent, while the Rebels were held to -.032 and sided out at just 40 percent.
Ole Miss rebounded nicely in the second set hitting .361 and siding out at 71 percent to get back in the match. The Rebels started off with a 5-2 lead forcing A&M to use their first timeout. The Aggies went on a 10-5 run to take the lead 12-10 and Ole Miss called timeout. Following the timeout, the Rebels won two straight points. The teams traded points to 15-15, before Ole Miss went on a 4-1 run to pull ahead 19-16. A&M got as close as 19-20 after a timeout, but the Rebels finished on a 5-2 run to win the set 25-21 and even the match at 1-1.
The Rebels came out of the break down 0-4 which led to an Ole Miss timeout. Following the timeout, the Rebels went on a 10-4 run to take a 10-8 lead forcing A&M to call timeout. The two teams traded points, but at 11-11, the Aggies used a 4-0 run to pull ahead by four 15-11 as Ole Miss called timeout. The Rebels kept battling and tried to inch closer, getting to within one, 19-20, before the Aggies closed out the set 5-1 for 25-20 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
In the previous two meetings in Oxford, the match went five sets. Looking to extend the match to another fifth set, the Rebels got off to a good start in the fourth, up 5-2. Texas A&M regained the lead in the middle of the set and never relinquished it again, winning 25-18 to finish off the Rebels 3-1.
The Rebels failed to incorporate their middle hitters with Taylor Alexander and Nayo Warnell combining for six kills on the day, while A&M's middle blockers combined for 22 kills and both hit over .300. Alexander did finish with five blocks.
Quick Hits
• The Rebels fell to 12-6 overall and 1-4 in the SEC, while A&M improved to 10-6 and 4-1.
• Junior outside hitter Kate Gibson posted a match-high 22 kills on a .280 clip and also added 7 digs. It marked the fifth match this season and second straight for Gibson to record at least 20 kills. Gibson has recorded double-digit kills in all but one match this season.
• Junior outside hitter Lexi Thompson posted 10 kills and 6 digs on the day, marking the 14th match of the season for her have double-digit kills.
• With her 6 digs, Lexi Thompson moved into 10th place on the career list at Ole Miss with 763 career digs.
• Freshman Emily Stroup got her first start of the season, starting on the right side and finished with a career-high 5 kills, 4 blocks and 4 digs.
Up Next
Ole Miss will hit the road for two matches next weekend at Tennessee and Kentucky. The Rebels will face the Volunteers Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. CT and then travel to Lexington Oct. 16 to face the Wildcats at 12:30 p.m. CT.
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.
