Photos by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics
Twitter: @OleMissPix
Thompson, who is closing in on the career kills record, finished with 12 kills and hit .267 for the night, while Stroup was solid from the right side with 11 kills on a .429 percentage. Gallagher in her first start of the year, tallied six kills and three blocks.
The Rebels got out to an 8-4 lead in set one, but the Bears used a 5-1 run to tie it at 9-9, but Ole Miss led 15-13 at the media timeout. With the score tied 19-19 late, the Rebels went on a 6-2 run to close out the set 25-21. Lexi Thompson had six kills in the set on a .417 clip to lead the charge.
Ole Miss led 13-9 in set two, but the Bears went on a 11-6 run and led 20-19 late. With UNC up 23-20, the Rebels tied it up on a kill and block from Delaney Gallagher and two errors from UNC. The Bears earned a set point (24-23) on a kill by Kortney Lockey, but then Emily Stroup put one down to tie it at 24. On the very next play, Stroup and freshman Bayleigh Scott blocked Kortney’s attempt to hand the Rebels their first set point, 25-24. UNC’s Alex Kloehn sailed one long to give the Rebels the set 26-24 and a 2-0 lead.
With a long flight back to Oxford on the horizon, the Rebels did not want to let Northern Colorado back in the match at all. They jumped out to a 13-5 lead forcing a timeout by the Bears. The Rebels increased their lead to 19-12, but Northern Colorado made a charge late to pull within 22-20. The Rebels gained their first match point, 24-21, on a ball handling error from UNC. The Bears’ Lockey saved one match point with her 10th kill of the night. Gallagher responded with her sixth kill on the night to cap the set 25-22 and the 3-0 win.
Quick Hits…
• Ole Miss improved to 8-3 on the year and has won four in a row.
• This marked the first ever meeting between Northern Colorado and Ole Miss
• In 2016, the Rebels posted five shutouts the entire year and already have five this year in 11 matches.
• Senior outside hitter Lexi Thompson finished with a team-leading 12 kills and hit .267. She now needs just 18 kills to set the career record.
• Sophomore Emily Stroup had a strong night from the right side with 12 kills on a .429 clip.
• Senior outside hitter Kate Gibson recorded 11 digs
• Sophomore Jordan Fate notched 23 assists and freshman Lauren Bars finished with 12.
Next up…
The Rebels were scheduled to go to Orlando, Florida this weekend for the UCF Tournament, but due to Hurricane Irma they canceled. Instead, the Rebels will host South Alabama Friday night at 6:30 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center.
For more information on Ole Miss Volleyball, follow the Rebels on Twitter, @OleMissVB, on Facebook at OleMissVolleyball and on Instagram at OleMissVB. Also follow Coach McRoberts on Twitter, @CoachMcRoberts.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
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