The University of Mississippi Athletics

Sunday, September 1
Oxford, Miss.
12 PM

Ole Miss

0-3

2
vs
3

UCF

2-1

1
2
3
4
5
F
UCF
24
21
25
25
15
3
Ole Miss
26
25
21
21
10
2

Volleyball Falls in Five Sets to UCF

9/1/2019 | Volleyball

OXFORD, Miss. – Senior Emily Stroup recorded her second consecutive double-double for the Ole Miss Volleyball team, but it was not enough to hold off UCF (26-24, 25-21, 21-25, 21-25, 10-15) on Day Three of the Rebel Invitational at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center on Sunday.
 
Stroup finished with 21 kills and 14 digs, while freshman Anna Bair continued to impress in her first weekend as a Rebel, tallying 19 kills. All-Tournament performer senior Nicole Purcell recorded 25 digs, just one short of a career high.
 
Junior Lauren Bars also record a double-double with 47 assists and 10 digs.

A back-and forth first set ended with a pair of clutch Stroup kills to give the Rebels a nail-biting 26-24 win. Stroup and Bair finished the first set with six kills apiece. That momentum carried over into the second set as a potent Rebel attack quickly became a 9-2 early advantage.
 
Just as the Knights (2-1) began to threaten late in the second, Nayo Warnell and Lauren Thompson teamed up for a huge block, pushing the Ole Miss (0-3) lead to 20-14 and forcing a Knight timeout.
 
UCF, the reigning American Athletic Conference champions, held the Rebels off twice at set point, but Stroup provided an answer on the third try, ending the set 25-21 in favor of the Rebels.
 
The third frame was a set of runs with nine ties and five lead changes. The Knights started the third fast, but Ole Miss used a 6-1 run to lead 10-9. Up 14-13, four errors gave the Knights the momentum from there.
 
The fourth set was also fiercely competitive, featuring nine ties amid a tug-of-war. Tied 18-18, the Knights found their stride, winning seven of the final 10 points to force a decisive fifth stanza.
 
Bair recorded a fifth-set opening kill, but UCF continued to take control, recording the next four points. A Lauren Thompson kill followed by a Stroup ace gave the Rebels life, pulling the Rebels to a 6-5 deficit.
 
The run was short lived, though, as UCF finished the match on a 9-5 clip and a 15-10- final score en route to the match victory.

Ole Miss will now head to New Orleans for the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Volleyball Classic and face a trio of nonconference opponents, beginning with Houston Baptist on Friday, Sept. 6 at 3 p.m. CT.
 
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

2019 Rebel Invitational All-Tournament Team
 
Rice (2-0)
Anota Adekundle
Lee Ann Cunningham
Nicole Lennon
 
UCF (2-1)
Makenzie Kuchmaner
Anne-Marie Watson
 
Iowa State (1-1)
Eleanor Holthaus
 
Ole Miss (0-3)
Nicole Purcell
 

Team Stats

UCF
OM
Kills
69
63
Errors
20
26
Attempts
176
178
Hitting %
.278
.208
Points
83.0
78.5
Assists
66
58
Aces
1
5
Blocks
13.0
10.5

Game Leaders

Kills
21
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
6

Players Mentioned

OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
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