Ole Miss Tops George Washington 3-1

Brashear, Laporte named All-Tournament

Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Communications

WASHINGTON – The Ole Miss volleyball team faced set point in the fourth set Saturday night at George Washington after once holding a late lead. The young Rebels (2-1) never wavered however, and rallied to score three straight points to cap off a 3-1 (25-19, 26-28, 25-20, 26-24) victory over the Colonials (1-2) at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C.

Freshman libero Kristen Brashear continued her match-by-match improvement with 28 digs, and sophomore middle blocker Ty Laporte had seven kills and five block assists. After the match, Laporte and Brashear were each named to the GW Invitational All-Tournament team.

Junior outside hitter Marie-Pierre Bakima recorded her second consecutive double-double with 16 kills and a dozen digs, and freshman setter Aubrey Edie recorded her first double-double with 37 assists and 10 digs to go along with her six kills.

“It’s always tough to win on the road, especially against a scrappy George Washington team,” Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin said. “I’m really proud of the way the team played with the energy that they did throughout the match.”

With the score tied at 12 and neither team establishing a lead great than two, Ole Miss went on a 6-1 run to take an 18-13 lead. George Washington would close the gap and pull to within one at 19-18, but the Rebels closed the set on a 6-1 run to take the first set 25-19. Edie facilitated the Rebels’ offense beautifully, dishing out 14 assists as Ole Miss hit at a .400 clip.

The Rebels jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the second set, including the set’s first four points, but the Colonials raced back and tied the set at 10. From there, both teams exchanged the lead nine times to go along with 15 ties. Ole Miss staved off set point once and George Washington fought off set point twice before eventually taking the set 28-26 on a service ace.

Tied 18-18, Ole Miss closed out the third set on a 7-2 run to win 25-20 and take a 2-1 lead in the match. Before the Rebels’ 7-2 run to finish the set, neither team had led by more than three in what was once again a close, competitive set. Brashear paced the Rebels defensively in the third set with eight digs.

Ole Miss gained a four-point lead at 19-15 in a close fourth set, but George Washington fought back to take a 24-23 lead. Facing set point, the Rebels called timeout and answered after the break by scoring the next three points to win 26-24 and claim the match 3-1. Bakima finished the match strong with six kills in the fourth set.

Ole Miss opens its home slate Sept. 6 against Kennesaw State (11:00 a.m. CT) and Georgia Southern (7:30 p.m. CT) as part of the Magnolia Invitational. The Rebels have won the tournament for each of the last six years. Ole Miss will close out the Magnolia Invitational on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. CT against Arkansas State.

For all Ole Miss volleyball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com. Fans can also follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB and on Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball.

— Ole Miss Sports Information