Ole Miss Volleyball Drops Road Match at Arkansas

Freshman Aubrey Edie Passes Out 34 Assists In Match At Hometown

Photo courtesy of Joshua McCoy / Ole Miss Athletics

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In a return trip back to her hometown of Fayetteville, Ark., freshman setter Aubrey Edie passed out 34 assists, but the Ole Miss volleyball team couldn’t stop the Arkansas attack and lost 3-0 (19-25, 20-25, 23-25) on Sunday afternoon.

Edie’s 34 assists are a career-high in a three-set match against a Southeastern Conference opponent. Sophomore middle blocker Nakeyta Clair led the Rebels with a team-high 12 kills on a .556 hitting percentage. Freshman right side hitter Melanie Crow had nine kills and freshman outside hitter Margaret Eggert had seven kills on just 10 attempts. Junior libero Cara Fisher had eight digs for the Rebels. As a team, Ole Miss (11-12, 1-9 SEC) hit at a .300 clip against the Razorbacks’ defense.

“Offensively, we’ve had two straight matches where we’ve attacked the ball well,” Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin said. “I’m disappointed in our defensive effort. We need to have them match our offense right now. We have to put this behind us now and face a good and determined Mississippi State squad Wednesday.”

Edie, who got a large round of applause at pre-game introductions, excited her hometown fans on the very first play of the opening set with a nice no-look kill at the net to give Ole Miss a 1-0 lead. Arkansas (14-10, 7-6 SEC) went on a 5-1 run from there and stretched its lead 14-8 before the Rebels used their first timeout. After falling behind by nine points later in the set, the Rebels made a late rally, but it wasn’t enough as the Razorbacks took a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 win in the set. The Razorbacks had no answer for Clair in the opening set as the Country Club Hills, Ill., native had a whopping seven kills on 10 attempts. Edie finished the first set with a dozen assists.

After a tight opening to the second set, the Razorbacks went on a 4-1 run to take a 17-12 lead and prompt a Rebel timeout. Ole Miss responded out of the break with a 4-1 run of its own to pull back within two at 18-16, but the Razorbacks took it over from there and closed out the set on a 7-4 run to win 25-20. Crow led the Rebels offensively in the second set with five kills, while Edie passed out 13 assists.

After a 4-0 start by Arkansas to open the third set, Ole Miss scored three of the next four points to cut its deficit to two at 5-3. After Arkansas stretched its lead to 14-10, Ole Miss used its first timeout of the set. Arkansas’ attack stayed hot out of the break and the Razorbacks took a 20-15 lead before Ole Miss called its final timeout. The Rebels continued to fight to the end and tied the match at 23 points apiece, but the Razorbacks scored the final two points of the set to win 25-23 and take the match. Sophomore middle blocker Ty Laporte had a team-high five kills in the third set.

Ole Miss continues its road trip Wednesday with a match at intrastate rival Mississippi State at 7:00 p.m. CT on ESPNU. The Rebels will then travel north to Knoxville, Tenn., to face the Tennessee Lady Vols on Friday at 6:00 p.m. CT. Ole Miss will close out the week at home Sunday, Nov. 10 with a match against Texas A&M at 1:30 p.m.

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

— Metz Camfield, Ole Miss Sports Information