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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
9-4
South Alabama
5-5
Stroup Leads Rebels Past South Alabama
9/16/2017 | Volleyball
Box Score (PDF) | Highlights | McRoberts Interview
OXFORD, Miss. - Sophomore right side Emily Stroup tallied 20 kills on a .432 clip to lead the Ole Miss volleyball team past South Alabama 3-1 here Saturday at the Gillom Sports Center in the second of two matches this weekend against the Jaguars.
Coming off a disappointing loss in five to the Jaguars Friday night in which the Rebels had two match points, they came out swinging in the first set and led 10-5 early. The Rebels hit .485 and sided out at 80 percent on their way to a 25-15 win. Stroup notched 7 kills on a .875 clip in the set to pave the way. Senior Kate Gibson added 4 kills on a .600 attack percentage.
South Alabama broke a 14-14 tie in set two with two kills by Kristina Alabastro to go up 17-14 forcing an Ole Miss timeout. The Jaguars increased the lead to 22-18 as the Rebels used their final timeout. South Alabama secured five match points at 24-19, before the Rebels won three straight to get within two points, 24-22. Following a timeout by the Jaguars, USA's Kelley Hartman sent one back to finish off the set 25-22 and tie the match.
Set three was a back and forth affair until the Rebels used a 4-0 run to go up 17-13. South Alabama never got closer and the Rebels went on to win it 25-19 to take a 2-1 lead overall.
The second match looked like it might be headed to five as well, before the Rebels rallied late to finish off the Jaguars in four. Tied 15-15 midway through the set, South Alabama went ahead 21-16 on a 6-1 run. Ole Miss cut into the lead as Stroup stepped up big and delivered three huge kills to make it 23-23. The next rally, Nayo Warnell and Caitlin Wernentin combined on the double-block to give the Rebels their first match point at 24-23. The Jaguars' Hannah Harris saved the match point, but then Wernentin knocked down her second kill of the match to hand the Rebels another match point, 25-24. On the ensuing play, a ball handling error by South Alabama gave the Rebels the set 26-24 and the 3-1 win.
Quick Hits…
• Ole Miss improved to 9-4 on the year.
• Ole Miss leads the series with South Alabama 7-3.
• The Rebels are now 48-7 in non-conference matches under head coach Steven McRoberts.
• Senior Lexi Thompson set the career record for kills in the rally era with 1,203
• Thompson now owns the career and single-season records.
• Sophomore Emily Stroup posted 20 kills and hit a season-best .432. The 20 kills is one off her career-high of 21 set earlier this year. She led all players with 23.0 points in the match.
• Sophomore Nayo Warnell tallied a career-high 11 kills with no errors and hit .550. She also added 2 solo blocks and 2 block assists.
• Senior Kate Gibson posted her ninth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 13 digs. She also had two service aces.
• Junior Caroline Adams tallied 16 digs to lead the defense, which averaged 16.25 digs per set.
• Sophomore Jordan Fate posted her third career double-double with a career-high 30 assists and 10 digs.
• Freshman Lauren Bars finished with 23 assists and had 2 kills.
Quoting Emily Stroup...
"Losing in five sets the way we did Friday, made me really mad, and I just wanted to come out and swing aggressively. The outsides and the middles stepped up which allowed me to have a hole in the block to hit in. I knew that we needed to play more together, and we did."
Lexi Thompson on the record...
"My family is probably more excited about it than I am, but it shows that hard work does pay off. I've had great teammates who have set and passed good balls to me during my career."
Next up…
Ole Miss stays at home next weekend to begin SEC play with Auburn Friday at 6:30 p.m. followed by Alabama Sunday 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.
