The Road Rebs keep flying high. The Ole Miss volleyball team won their 12th straight match on Sunday, knocking off No. 22 Missouri on the road for their first win over a ranked opponent since Oct. 15, 2010, against LSU.
Missouri was without star middle blocker Tyanna Omazic, and it showed, as the Tigers were woeful on offense and committed error after error even on in-system plays.
In the first set, the Tigers looked ferocious and only trailed 1-0 before controlling the rest of the set. Junior transfer Kylie Deberg had seven kills in the first set and looked nearly unstoppable. The Rebels hung in the set most of the way and trailed just 17-15 after a kill by senior outside hitter Emily Stroup, but the Tigers responded with an 8-3 run to close out the set at 25-18.
It was all Rebels after the first set. The second set was contentious most of the way but saw Ole Miss explode late. The teams battled back and forth to a 17-17 deadlock before the Tigers imploded with error after error. Six of the last nine Rebel points came from errors by Mizzou, and the Rebels won the second set 25-20 to even the match at one set a piece.
Ole Miss dominated the beginning of the third set, jumping out to a 15-7 lead before a 6-1 run by the Tigers brought the gap back to just three. From there, the teams exchanged points back and forth resulting in a 25-22 win for the Rebels. Stroup put the team on her back with five kills in the second set and four in the third and looked poised for another dominant set heading into the potential clincher.
The fourth set was a nerve-wracking affair with both teams committing countless errors down the stretch. After battling back and forth early Ole Miss looked as if they would put it away when they extended their lead to 18-14. A 7-2 response by the Tigers gave them a one point advantage before the Rebels stormed back with four straight to force match point.
Mizzou scored on three straight match points to tie the set at 24 and force it into extra points. After Ole Miss scored to take advantage, the Tigers responded with back-to-back points and looked as if they would force a fifth set. A kill by senior middle blocker Nayo Warnell kept the Rebs in the set, but her following service error gave the lead right back to Missouri at 27-26.
Ole Miss then responded admirably with a kill by Stroup, an ace from junior setter Lauren Bars and a kill from senior outside hitter Leah Mulkey. This solid response gave the Rebels a 29-27 set win and a 3-1 victory in the match.
Stroup led the way with 18 kills on a .289 hitting percentage as well as seven digs and three blocks. Freshman Anna Bair contributed 12 kills and two blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Aubrey Sultemeier led the team in blocks with five total, and Bars set the way with 40 assists to go along with four kills, six digs, two aces and two blocks.
The Rebels will move on to play Auburn at home on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the Gillom Center. It is their only matchup this season against Auburn.
Last year, the Auburn Tigers had a disappointing season at 12-16 (5-13 SEC). They finished near the bottom of the league standings but won both of their matches against Ole Miss last season including a 3-1 win over the Rebels in Oxford.
This year Auburn sits at 6-9 (0-4 SEC) and looks like they will spend another season as SEC bottom-dwellers. This bodes well for an Ole Miss team that must continue to build momentum before they take on Kentucky at home on Oct. 27.
The Tigers lost their only match against a ranked opponent so far this season when they fell in straight sets to No. 14 Florida on the road. The Rebs should be in good shape to extend their winning streak to 13 straight.
