University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
Mississippi
Ole Miss Volleyball Pushes Past Memphis 3-1
Oct 08, 2002 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 8, 2002
OXFORD, Miss. - Story Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports Information
The Ole Miss women's volleyball team entered Tuesday's match against Memphis looking to pull even on the season and build some confidence before hitting the road again to continue conference play. Ole Miss (8-8, 1-3 SEC) would earn the win, downing the Tigers 3-1 (25-30, 30-18, 30-19, 30-23).
The win over Memphis (13-6) would come after a solid team performance, featuring a dominating attack from three Lady Rebels and a superb defensive effort from three more players.
Seniors Erin Newsom and Cheryl Wilson combined with sophomore Elena Garcia to pound away at the Tiger defense. Newsom was perfect on the night, recording 14 kills and no errors on 22 attempts. Wilson continued her play from the Auburn game as she turned in 11 kills against Memphis while Garcia recorded a double-double notching 12 kills and 15 digs.
Defensively, three Lady Rebels stepped up and literally dug the team out of trouble and helped keep the offense rolling as junior Karla Zschau, and freshmen Nikki Veach and Katie Griffin turned in 13, 12 and 10 digs respectively.
The Rebels also dominated at the net, turning in 14 blocks on the night, a season-high for the squad.
"We showed great maturity as a team tonight," said head coach Joe Getzin. "Memphis played a great first game and we played with them then stepped up the intensity in the rest of the match. After the first game we settled down some and started passing the ball well."
Memphis came out and attacked the Lady Rebels quickly in the first game, storming out to a 9-3 lead before Ole Miss could gather its senses. The Lady Rebels buckled down and fought back to pull within two at 15-13, before Memphis put together a run to pull ahead again. Memphis would threaten to close out the match, but Ole Miss would counter with an attack that pulled them back within three at 28-25, forcing the Tigers to call for timeout. Memphis would put it together and take the first game with two quick scores, 30-25.
Ole Miss put up more of a fight in the early going of the second game, matching Memphis' intensity and taking the attack back at the Tigers. The Tigers would pull ahead with a slight lead before Ole Miss could tie it at eight. Memphis would push ahead again on a net call against the Lady Rebels, followed by several attacks before Rachel Refenes would power a kill at the Tiger back row to renew the Lady Rebel scoring. Ole Miss would tie the match again at 12 on a Refenes block solo slammed the ball back down on Tiger star Tiara Gilkey.
The Lady Rebels took the lead on a net violation call against the Tigers followed by an Erin Newsom kill to go up 16-14. An Ole Miss run would force the Tigers into a timeout at 20-16, as momentum started swinging toward the home team. The Lady Rebel run continued out of the timeout, including two service aces from Zschau as Ole Miss would score seven straight points to push out to a 27-16 lead. The Lady Rebels claimed the second game 30-18.
Ole Miss brought the intensity from game two to the table again in the third game, tearing out to a 7-2 lead. The Tigers would rally, pulling back within three at 9-6, before Ole Miss would resume a run of its own and force a Memphis timeout at 14-8. Another Lady Rebel run forced the Tigers into the second timeout of the match with the score sitting at 21-12. The Lady Rebels continued to pound away at the Tigers, dominating at the net to claim game three 30-19.
Both teams took the floor with determination in the fourth game, trading points as Ole Miss fought to continue to control the tempo and Memphis sought to wrest away momentum. The Tigers took the first lead of more than a point at 11-9 off a mishit by the Lady Rebels. Ole Miss would correct the problem as Refenes powered a ball back at the Tiger front line the on the next point. The two squads would trade points again until Memphis pulled ahead again 18-16, but a Katie Griffin kill would pull Ole Miss back into the match.
The Rebels wrestled control of the match away from Memphis and took the lead for good on kill Garcia slammed past the Tiger front-line. Ole Miss would put together a run to go up 24-19 and force another Memphis timeout. The Lady Rebels would continue to assault the Tigers and closed out the match on a mishit by Memphis 30-23.
Memphis saw superb play from Brittany Barnett and Tiara Gilkey, who turned in 18 and 17 kills, respectively, on the night. Defensively, Heather Watts, Lauren Berg and Barnett stepped it up notching 16, 15 and 12 digs.
The Lady Rebels will return to the road this weekend, playing conference foes Georgia and Florida. Ole Miss will play Georgia on Friday night at 6 p.m. and Florida on Sunday at 1 p.m. Memphis returns home to host Houston, Friday, at 7 p.m., and TCU, Saturday, at 7 p.m.
