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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Volleyball Welcomes South Carolina on Senior Night
11/21/2017 | Volleyball
Complete Notes (PDF) | Watch: SECN+ |
OXFORD, Miss. - Seniors Kate Gibson and Lexi Thompson have rewritten the record books at Ole Miss and Wednesday, the Rebels will honor them prior to their final regular season home match against South Carolina at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center.
First serve for the Rebels and Gamecocks will be at 6:32 p.m. For those who can't make it to the match, it will be streamed on SECN+ via the WatchESPN app.
Promotions…
In addition to Senior Night, it's also Dollar Dog Night.
Senior Salute…
Wednesday marks the final home match for seniors Kate Gibson and Lexi Thompson. Both will leave here with their names throughout the record book. Thompson owns the single season and career records for kills and the career record for service aces. She also ranks third all-time in digs. Gibson ranks sixth in kills and digs. Both also became the first members of the 1,000/1,000 club in the rally era at Ole Miss.
A win would mean…
The Rebels are looking for their third straight win against South Carolina and fourth straight in Oxford. The Rebels have not lost at home to the Gamecocks during the Steven McRoberts era.
Scouting South Carolina…
South Carolina enters Wednesday's match at 12-16 overall and 5-11 in the SEC. They are coming off a split of last weekend's matches, beating Alabama 3-1 at home and then dropping a 3-0 match at Texas A&M on Sunday. The Gamecocks are led by sophomore outside hitter Mikayla Shields, who ranks fifth in the SEC with 3.64 kills and 4.21 points per set. Junior libero Aubrey Ezell is third in service aces (0.43) and fourth in digs per set (4.49). She also ranks 20th nationally in service aces per set.
Rebels vs. Gamecocks…
South Carolina leads the overall series 27-19, but Ole Miss has closed the gap some with three straight wins, including a 3-0 victory earlier this year in Columbia. The Rebels' win in Columbia snapped a five-game winning streak for the home team in the all-time series. The Rebels have won three straight in Oxford.
Last meeting…
Senior Lexi Thompson posted a match-high 16 kills on a .333 attack percentage and senior Kate Gibson posted a double-double to lead Ole Miss to a 3-0 win against South Carolina at the Carolina Volleyball Center on Oct. 15. It marked the first win for the Rebels in Columbia since 2012.
Last time out…
Ole Miss lost to No. 6 Kentucky 3-0 (16-25, 10-25, 24-26) on the road Sunday. Sophomore Emily Stroup posted her 10th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 13 digs.
Dig it…
In 2016, the Rebels finished ranked second in the SEC in digs per set and set the single-season record in the 25-point era with 1,905 digs. They should eclipse that mark against South Carolina, needing just eight digs. The Rebels are averaging 16.08 digs per set (second in the SEC), and set the single-match record with 110 digs against North Dakota.
Three with 300 kills…
Ole Miss is the only school in the SEC to boast three players with at least 300 kills. Sophomore Emily Stroup leads the team with 375 kills, which currently ranks as the third most in a single season. Senior Kate Gibson is right behind with 361 kills, which ranks as the fifth best in a season, giving her two of the top five single-season marks for kills. Fellow senior Lexi Thompson has 331.
Three with 300 digs…
Not only is Ole Miss the only school in the SEC to have three players with 300 or more kills, but they are also the only school in the SEC to boast three players with at least 300 digs. Junior Caroline Adams leads the team with 436 digs, which currently ranks as the fourth most in a single season. Seniors Kate Gibson and Lexi Thompson own 365 and 308 digs, respectively.
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.
