Ole Miss Volleyball defeated Missouri 3-1 on Friday, Oct. 2 and was swept by Vanderbilt on Sunday, Oct. 4. The Rebels are 2-1 in SEC play so far and are 8-6 overall.
Missouri
The Rebels returned to the Gillom Center last Friday to take on an 8-5 Missouri team. The Tigers looked to get their first SEC win of the season.
Ole Miss started hot in the first set. Strong play from outside hitter Melia Johnson propelled the Rebels to a 10-5 lead early.
Both teams were converting kill opportunities at a high rate. Missouri finished with an incredible .435 hit percentage, while Ole Miss was not far behind at .346. Ole Miss maintained their lead for the entire set, never letting the Tigers within three points. The Rebels won the first set 25-20.
Johnson was on fire in the beginning of the match, converting on 11 kills in the first and second sets. Jorda Crook showed off her pedigree as well, ending the night with 13 kills and three blocks. She recorded her 1000th kill in her college career, which puts her in a prestigious club of athletes.
The second set also went the way of the Rebels. They won 25-22 behind some costly Tiger attack errors and strong offensive play. Vivianna Samaniego set up Crook for the set-clinching kill.
The beginning of the third set was deadlocked. Both teams remained within two points of one another until Missouri went on a nine-to-four run to put them up 20-13. The Rebels fought back, but ultimately the deficit was too much to recover from. Missouri won the set 25-20.
Both teams were rolling to start the third, but as the match dragged into the third and fourth sets, the hitting percentages tanked. Ole Miss recorded a zero hitting percentage in the third set, and Missouri recorded a zero hitting percentage in the fourth.
While Ole Miss only recorded a .065 hitting percentage in the fourth set, their stellar defense and Missouri’s eight errors allowed them to take the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
In the postgame press conference coach Bre Henry attributed the win to Ole Miss’ depth.
“That’s one of our strengths,” Henry said. “We have a recipe for success when we can throw anyone in there, and everyone has each other’s backs.”
While that statement is true and the stats reflect it, it’s important to mention Samaniego’s 33 assists. That is good for the most assists she has recorded early on in SEC play. Her stellar play was integral to the Ole Miss win.
Vanderbilt
After a great 2-0 start to SEC play, Ole Miss ran into a juggernaut of an opponent in the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Rebels were outmatched throughout the contest and were defeated in a resounding 0-3 sweep.
The Commodores executed at an incredibly high level throughout the entire match. They recorded an astonishing .374 hit percentage, which dwarfed Ole Miss’.148.
One of the few bright spots for the Rebels was sophomore middle blocker Keirstyn Carlton. She recorded five kills on seven attempts, a block and a kill in limited playing time. After returning from injury, Carlton has impressed and should see increased playing time as the season goes along.
The match was never competitive besides a brief moment late in the second set, when the Rebels cut the deficit to 21-19. Vanderbilt proceeded to close out the set on a 4-1 run. The first and third sets both were runaway victories for the Commodores.
“I’d like to see us execute on the defensive side of the ball,” Henry said in the postgame press conference. “We have to figure out how to slow down attackers.”
The Rebels have two opportunities to grow in that area this week against No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers and No. 10 Kentucky Wildcats.
Both matches are on the road, with Tennessee on Friday, Oct. 9, and Kentucky on Sunday, Oct. 11. SEC Network+ will broadcast both matches.
