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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels to Welcome No. 6 Florida in SEC Opener
9/21/2016 | Volleyball
Complete Notes (PDF) | Watch (SECN+) |
OXFORD, Miss. -- Following two weeks away including a championship at the Scenic City Showdown last weekend, Ole Miss volleyball returns home to welcome No. 6 Florida for its Southeastern Conference opener.
The Rebels and Gators will square off at 6:30 p.m. Friday at The Pavilion at Ole Miss, and admission is free. For those who can't make it to the match or live out of town, it will be broadcast on SECN+ via WatchESPN with Will Kollmeyer and Renata Heard on the call.
Following the Florida match, the Rebels will head to Columbia, Missouri to face the Tigers Sunday at 12 p.m., on ESPNU.
Promotions
SEE YOU AT THE PAVILION NIGHT: Join the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for "See you at the Pole" in the morning and "See you at the Pavilion" at night. Fans will get "Beat Georgia" buttons.
Quick hits
• Ole Miss went 2-1 last week and captured the Scenic City Showdown. The Rebels downed Tennessee State and Appalachian State 3-0 and then lost a tight 3-2 match to the host, Chattanooga. Tennessee State, Chattanooga and Ole Miss finished 2-1, but the Rebels won the tiebreaker in sets head-to-head.
• Ole Miss is now 39-3 in non-conference matches under head coach Steven McRoberts.
• The Rebels won their 11th regular season tournament title under Coach McRoberts.
• Junior middle blocker Taylor Alexander was named MVP of the tournament. She finished with a career-high 17 kills against UTC on a .438 attack percentage. She also added 6 blocks, 3 service aces and 4 digs. For the weekend, she averaged 5.32 points per set, 3.91 kills per set, hit .507 and tallied 1.73 blocks per set.
• Alexander has now hit above .400 in 9 of 13 matches this year.
• Junior outside hitter Lexi Thompson and senior setter Aubrey Edie joined Alexander on the All-Tournament Team. Thompson posted her 10th double-double of the season with 21 kills and a match-high 16 digs against UTC. She also had a double-double with 11 kills and 18 digs in the win over Tennessee State.
• Aubrey Edie recorded her 4,000th career assist in the win over Tennessee State and now has 4,090. She posted her fifth double-double of the year with 50 assists and 10 digs against UTC.
• Taylor Alexander ranks third in the SEC with a .410 attack percentage and 10th in blocks per set at 1.08.
• Kate Gibson ranks eighth in the SEC with 3.70 kills per set and ninth in points per set at 4.10. Lexi Thompson ranks 10th in kills per set with 3.32 and 12th in points per set at 3.84. She also leads the SEC in double-doubles with 10.
Scouting Florida
Florida comes into Friday's match at 10-1 with their only loss coming against No. 1 and defending NCAA Champion, Nebraska. The Gators are led by junior outside hitter Carli Snyder's 4.09 kills per set and junior middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan, who leads the SEC and ranks 16th in the nation with a .415 hitting percentage. Redshirt sophomore Allie Monserez, sets up the Gator attack with an SEC-leading 12.12 assists per set. As a team, Florida is hitting .348 with 14.22 kills per set. Defensively, the Gators lead the SEC with 2.81 blocks per set paced by reigning SEC Player of the Week, Alhassan (1.37 B/S) and freshman Rachael Kramer, (1.45 B/S).
Rebels vs. Gators
Florida leads the all-time series 41-6. The Rebels last win (3-2) in the series came in 1989 in Oxford. This will be the first of two meetings this year against the Gators. The Rebels will travel to Gainesville on Oct. 28.
Coach McRoberts on Florida
"Florida is ranked No. 6 with one loss to the No. 1 team in the nation. They're always good, predicted to win the conference again, but watching a little bit on film, if we play with confidence, the way we're capable of it could be a really good match. We'll have to have some things fall in line for us to do that, but this is probably the most confident I've been in the three years that I've been here that we have players who will go into that match confident and play well."
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.
