The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
19-8,8-8SEC
Georgia
11-16,7-9SEC
Volleyball Falls in Heartbreaker to Georgia
11/19/2021 | Volleyball
Rebels Can’t Complete Comeback on Senior Night
OXFORD, Miss – After a five-set battle on senior day, Ole Miss volleyball fell in a heartbreaker to Georgia 3-2 on Friday night in the Gillom Center.
Three Rebels picked up double-digit kills, but it wasn't enough to power past the Bulldogs. It was only fitting that senior Lauren Thompson racked up a team-high 17 kills, while grad transfer Kylee McLaughlin was one assist shy of 50. Sasha Ratliff also had an extremely efficient night at the net, hitting .500 and recording 13 kills in the loss.
For the fourth consecutive match, Ole Miss (19-8, 8-8 SEC) took the opening set. The Rebels used an early 4-0 run to force Georgia (11-15, 7-9 SEC) to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, Ratliff picked up back-to-back kills, making the Bulldogs burn their second timeout. Ole Miss fended off a comeback attempt as Georgia cut the lead to one, but Thompson and Katie Corelli came up with two clutch kills down the stretch, helping the Rebels hang on and take set one, 25-23.
Both teams came out swinging in set two. Ole Miss and Georgia saw 12 ties and three lead changes in a hard-fought set. However, the Dawgs pulled away at the end with a 3-1 run to win 25-23. The battle continued with both teams even at one. The Rebels worked from behind the majority of set three but managed to pull even at 21 all. Once again, Georgia locked in for a late run to take the set 25-22 and go up 2-1.
With their back against the wall, Ole Miss used two big runs to get back in the contest. Down 10-5 early, Thompson gave the Rebels the spark they needed to climb back into the match, and a Ratliff block kicked off a 7-1 run to take the lead. Looking to complete the comeback, the Rebels went on a 5-0 run to win the set 25-19.
Unfortunately, they ran out of steam in the fifth set, falling 15-10 as Georgia's Kacie Evans registered the Dawgs' final three kills.
Ole Miss wraps up its regular season on the road in Tuscaloosa next week, taking on Alabama on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 26 and 27. Both matches will be available to stream on SEC Network+.
Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB, Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball, and on Instagram at @olemissvb. You can also follow head coach Kayla Banwarth on Twitter @KaylaBanwarth2.
