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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
10-5, 1-1
Alabama
11-4, 0-2
Rebels Rally to Top Alabama 3-1
9/24/2017 | Volleyball
Box Score (PDF) | Highlights | McRoberts Interview
OXFORD, Miss. - Facing seven set points in the third set, the Ole Miss volleyball team rallied to steal back the momentum against Alabama and hung on for a 3-1 (18-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-22) win Sunday afternoon at the Gillom Sports Center.
Alabama jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the first set and went on to win it 25-18 behind seven attack errors by the Rebels.
Ole Miss built an early 8-2 lead in set two, before the Tide used an 8-0 run to take a 10-8 lead midway through the second set. Six kills from Ole Miss in the next 10 points, including three from senior Kate Gibson, gave the Rebels the lead again, 15-13. The Rebels never trailed the rest of the way, winning the set 25-21 to even the match.
Tied 14-14 in the third set, Alabama went on a 10-3 run to go up 24-17 with seven set points. Junior Caitlin Wernentin got the comeback started with a huge kill and then Nicole Purcell began a string of eight straight serves. Lexi Thompson and Gibson posted back-to-back kills to pull the Rebels within 24-20, forcing an Alabama timeout. Two huge blocks by Thompson and freshman Bayleigh Scott made it 24-22 and the Tide used their final timeout. The Rebels tied it up 24-24 on a double block from Wernentin and Scott followed by an attack error from Alabama. Gibson and Thompson, who both finished with double-doubles, delivered back-to-back kills again to cap the 9-point comeback for the set 26-24 and a 2-1 lead.
With momentum on their side and the partisan crowd worked into a frenzy after the third set comeback, the Rebels looked to finish the Tide off in four, but Alabama stayed close the entire set. Ole Miss led 15-14 at the media timeout. Tied 17-17, the Rebels won three of the next four points to lead 20-18 helped out by one of Gibson's three service aces in the match. Bama called timeout, but they never got closer than two. With the Rebels leading 23-21, sophomore Emily Stroup put down her 10th kill of the match to hand the Rebels their first match point, 24-21. Alabama won the next point, but Thompson was not about to let it get any closer, stepping up and closing out the Tide 25-22 and the match 3-1.
Quick Hits...
• Ole Miss improved to 10-5 overall and 1-1 in the SEC.
• The Rebels have now won five of the last six against Alabama, including three straight in Oxford.
• Senior outside hitter Lexi Thompson notched her 10th double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs and added two blocks.
• Kate Gibson posted her SEC-leading 11th double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs and added 2 blocks and 3 service aces.
• Sophomore Emily Stroup posted a double-double from the right side with 10 kills and 10 digs.
• Nayo Warnell tallied 8 kills and freshman Bayleigh Scott finished with 6 kills on a .500 clip from the middle. Scott also had 4 huge blocks.
• Sophomore Jordan Fate finished with 28 assists an 8 digs and freshman Lauren Bars had 18 assists as the Rebels hit .224 for the match.
Next up...
Ole Miss travels to Starkville for a Wednesday night showdown against arch-rival Mississippi State in a nationally-televised match on ESPNU at 8 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.
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