The University of Mississippi Athletics
Sunday, November 24
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14-13, 6-10SEC
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Texas A&M
20-6, 12-4SEC
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Purcell Sets Single-Season Record in Rebels Loss Sunday
11/24/2019 | Volleyball
Senior libero Nicole Purcell reaches 525 digs on the season
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – Just a little over a month after tallying her 1,000th career dig, Ole Miss Volleyball's senior libero Nicole Purcell has again achieved a major milestone, becoming the program's 25-point rally scoring single-season leader in digs in the squad's 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 24-26, 20-25) loss to (RV) Texas A&M Sunday in Reed Arena.
With the defeat, the Rebels slip to 14-13 on the season and 6-10 in the SEC, while the Aggies improve to 20-6 and 12-4.
Purcell registered 21 digs in the contest, her 15th game of the season with 20 digs or more and her fourth straight. The league's leader in both digs and digs per set, she was flawless with no reception errors for the ninth time this season.
Classmate Emily Stroup posted a match-high 21 kills, her second consecutive contest with 20 or more. Stroup added 12 digs, tying for the league lead with 15 double-doubles with junior setter Lauren Bars, who dished out 40 assists to accompany 10 digs.
Sophomore Lauren Thompson recorded career-highs in multiple categories Sunday with eight kills on a .400 hitting efficiency, while senior Nayo Warnell lead the squad with six blocks.
"I thought we had a great effort today," head coach Steven McRoberts said. "It was a high-level match. Our team is still fighting and I love that about them."
Texas A&M used three straight points to build an early lead in the opening stanza at 10-6, but the Rebels were quick to even the score at 11-11, after a 5-1 run, which included a pair of blocks from Warnell and company.
Ole Miss continued to keep things knotted, using kills from Bars and Warnell to even things once more at 13 all. The Aggies then rallied for four consecutive points to put up a 17-13 advantage, but it was quickly trimmed again to 17-15 on a set of back-to-back slams from Stroup. The Rebs continued to threaten as late as 23-21, before A&M secured the first frame and match advantage at 25-21.
The Aggies ran with the momentum to begin Set 2, picking up the first four points and forcing Ole Miss to burn an early timeout. The break worked, as the Rebels began to chase the A&M lead and keep the gap narrow, eventually tying the contest at 11-11 on a Stroup kill.
Ole Miss then used three straight kills, courtesy of Stroup, Warnell, and Thompson to take control and add to the lead at 14-12. A game of back-and-forth ensued, as the two squads endured seven tied scores from that point.
A&M pulled ahead 21-18 on a 4-0 run, but the Rebels answered with four of their own, including a set of Stroup kills, to tie the contest and take the lead at 22-21.
Ole Miss evened the match after registering three of the final four points of the frame to take it 25-23, relying on Stroup for a kill and a block she teamed up with fellow veteran Warnell.
The Aggies responded with momentum, building a six-point advantage in the fourth set at 9-3. A&M continued to control the set, widening the gap to 14-6. Three straight slams from Stroup trimmed the deficit to 14-9, and then the Rebels used another three-point sequence to continue the comeback at 16-12, and yet again at 17-15 on kills from Stroup, Bars, and Thompson.
The Aggies added cushion, going up by five before Ole Miss picked up four consecutive points, capitalizing on three A&M errors and a block from the duo of Warnell and classmate Leah Mulkey to tie things at 23-23.
Stroup forced extra set points, but the Aggies outlasted, taking a 2-1 match lead at 26-24.
The Rebs used a mini three-point rally to take the lead early in the fourth frame, before A&M registered a 6-1 run to shift the momentum and go up 7-4. The rest of the set was a cat-and-mouse affair, as both teams stayed within two points of each other until the Aggies recorded four consecutive points to build some cushion at 22-17.
The Rebels threatened, capitalizing on an A&M service error followed by a Thompson ace to stay alive at 22-19, but could not thwart the Aggies, who claimed three of the final four points to take the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
UP NEXT
Ole Miss returns to Gillom Athletics Performance Center for its final home match of 2019, hosting (RV) Missouri Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. It is Senior Night, as the four seniors will be honored prior to the match. There will also be a pint glass giveaway.
"We have four seniors that we will be honoring this Wednesday at Gillom," McRoberts added. "They have meant so much to this program and to me personally."
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Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB, Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball, @olemissvb on Instagram. You can also follow head coach Steven McRoberts on Twitter @CoachMcRoberts.
With the defeat, the Rebels slip to 14-13 on the season and 6-10 in the SEC, while the Aggies improve to 20-6 and 12-4.
Purcell registered 21 digs in the contest, her 15th game of the season with 20 digs or more and her fourth straight. The league's leader in both digs and digs per set, she was flawless with no reception errors for the ninth time this season.
Classmate Emily Stroup posted a match-high 21 kills, her second consecutive contest with 20 or more. Stroup added 12 digs, tying for the league lead with 15 double-doubles with junior setter Lauren Bars, who dished out 40 assists to accompany 10 digs.
Sophomore Lauren Thompson recorded career-highs in multiple categories Sunday with eight kills on a .400 hitting efficiency, while senior Nayo Warnell lead the squad with six blocks.
"I thought we had a great effort today," head coach Steven McRoberts said. "It was a high-level match. Our team is still fighting and I love that about them."
Texas A&M used three straight points to build an early lead in the opening stanza at 10-6, but the Rebels were quick to even the score at 11-11, after a 5-1 run, which included a pair of blocks from Warnell and company.
Ole Miss continued to keep things knotted, using kills from Bars and Warnell to even things once more at 13 all. The Aggies then rallied for four consecutive points to put up a 17-13 advantage, but it was quickly trimmed again to 17-15 on a set of back-to-back slams from Stroup. The Rebs continued to threaten as late as 23-21, before A&M secured the first frame and match advantage at 25-21.
The Aggies ran with the momentum to begin Set 2, picking up the first four points and forcing Ole Miss to burn an early timeout. The break worked, as the Rebels began to chase the A&M lead and keep the gap narrow, eventually tying the contest at 11-11 on a Stroup kill.
Ole Miss then used three straight kills, courtesy of Stroup, Warnell, and Thompson to take control and add to the lead at 14-12. A game of back-and-forth ensued, as the two squads endured seven tied scores from that point.
A&M pulled ahead 21-18 on a 4-0 run, but the Rebels answered with four of their own, including a set of Stroup kills, to tie the contest and take the lead at 22-21.
Ole Miss evened the match after registering three of the final four points of the frame to take it 25-23, relying on Stroup for a kill and a block she teamed up with fellow veteran Warnell.
The Aggies responded with momentum, building a six-point advantage in the fourth set at 9-3. A&M continued to control the set, widening the gap to 14-6. Three straight slams from Stroup trimmed the deficit to 14-9, and then the Rebels used another three-point sequence to continue the comeback at 16-12, and yet again at 17-15 on kills from Stroup, Bars, and Thompson.
The Aggies added cushion, going up by five before Ole Miss picked up four consecutive points, capitalizing on three A&M errors and a block from the duo of Warnell and classmate Leah Mulkey to tie things at 23-23.
Stroup forced extra set points, but the Aggies outlasted, taking a 2-1 match lead at 26-24.
The Rebs used a mini three-point rally to take the lead early in the fourth frame, before A&M registered a 6-1 run to shift the momentum and go up 7-4. The rest of the set was a cat-and-mouse affair, as both teams stayed within two points of each other until the Aggies recorded four consecutive points to build some cushion at 22-17.
The Rebels threatened, capitalizing on an A&M service error followed by a Thompson ace to stay alive at 22-19, but could not thwart the Aggies, who claimed three of the final four points to take the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
UP NEXT
Ole Miss returns to Gillom Athletics Performance Center for its final home match of 2019, hosting (RV) Missouri Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. It is Senior Night, as the four seniors will be honored prior to the match. There will also be a pint glass giveaway.
"We have four seniors that we will be honoring this Wednesday at Gillom," McRoberts added. "They have meant so much to this program and to me personally."
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Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB, Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball, @olemissvb on Instagram. You can also follow head coach Steven McRoberts on Twitter @CoachMcRoberts.
Team Stats
OM
TAMU
Kills
50
73
Errors
18
27
Attempts
158
180
Hitting %
.203
.256
Points
58.0
87.0
Assists
48
68
Aces
1
2
Blocks
7.0
12.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
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/ Volleyball
MB
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