The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
14-10, 3-8SEC
LSU
7-16, 2-10SEC
Rebels Tame Tigers 3-1
11/4/2016 | Volleyball
BATON ROUGE, La. - After dropping the first set on LSU's home floor, the Ole Miss volleyball team rallied to tame the Tigers 3-1 (14-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-17) here Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Ole Miss got revenge for a loss to the Tigers at home last month and won in Baton Rouge for the first time since 2011.
LSU jumped out to a 12-7 lead to begin the match, forcing Ole Miss to use its first timeout. The Rebels couldn't recover dropping the first set 25-14. LSU hit .323 and sided out at 78 percent in the opening frame, while the Rebels hit just .061 and sided out at only 43 percent.
It looked like at the start of the second set, the Tigers would keep the momentum, as they broke a tie to go up 13-10 midway through. That's when the Rebels took over. Paced by a .333 hitting percentage and strong defense, the Rebels went on a 15-3 run to close out LSU 25-16 and even the match at 1-1. Ole Miss held LSU to .125 hitting. Gibson and Thompson combined for seven kills in the set to lead the Rebel offensive attack.
Ole Miss kept the momentum on its side in the early part of set three racing out to a 10-5 lead and forcing LSU to call a timeout. The Rebels kept the pressure on the Tigers increasing their lead to 14-5, as the Tigers called their final timeout of the set. With the Rebels up 20-9, LSU went on a 5-0 run to get within six, as Ole Miss called its first timeout of the set. Freshman Emily Stroup ended the run with a kill. The Tigers never got any closer, as the Rebels closed out the set 25-17 on a dump by senior Aubrey Edie at the net.
Looking to close out the match in four, the Rebels fell behind early in set four 11-7 and called their first timeout to regroup. Following the timeout, the Rebels won three of the next four points to pull within two, as LSU called its first timeout leading 12-10. Stroup put one down in the corner to tie it at 13-13. A service ace by Thompson gave the Rebels the first lead in the set, and 14-13. After LSU tied it up on a kill by Gina Tillis, the Rebels went on a 3-0 run to back ahead 17-14. They never trailed again, closing out the Tigers 25-17 for the 3-1 win.
Quick Hits
• The Rebels improved to 14-10 overall and 3-8 in the SEC. It marks their first win in Baton Rouge since 2011.
• Junior Kate Gibson recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 11 kills and 14 digs.
• Senior Aubrey Edie notched her eighth double-double of the season with 34 assists and 11 digs. She also had two service aces and five blocks.
• Junior Lexi Thompson missed her 16th double-double by one dig, as she finished with 14 kills and 9 digs. She also chipped two assists, two service aces and two blocks.
• Junior Taylor Alexander posted six kills and two blocks, two assists and two service aces.
• Freshman Nayo Warnell tallied six kills on a .357 clip and came within one of tying her career-high for total blocks, with seven on the night.
• Freshman Emily Stroup contributed six kills.
• The Rebels finished with a .243 hitting percentage and held LSU to .126.
• Ole Miss finished with 72 digs paced by Louisiana native Caroline Adam's 22. Defensive specialist Nicole Purcell had 12.
Up Next
The Rebels will continue on the road Sunday at Auburn. The match will be broadcast on SEC Network+ beginning at 1:30 p.m.
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.
