Volleyball prepares for final tournament of regular season
Photo courtesy Joshua McCoy / Ole Miss Athletics
OXFORD, Miss. – Coming off a 3-1 week at the TCU Nike/Molten Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas, the Ole Miss volleyball team (7-3) returns home to host the Rebel Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Gillom Sports Center.
The Rebels will face Southern Miss on Friday at 7 p.m. CT, followed by a doubleheader Saturday against Chattanooga (11 a.m. CT) and Louisiana-Lafayette (7 p.m. CT).
“We haven’t hosted two tournaments in quite some time,” Ole Miss volleyball head coach Joe Getzin said. “We’re looking forward to being back at home for the next couple of weeks. What that allows us to do is get a little more training time in. It allows us to work on some things as we go forward.
“Offensively, we’ve got to continue to work on producing better numbers and getting more kills per swing. We have different styles of teams in the Rebel Classic this weekend, a little bit scrappier than what we face in the SEC. That’s always a point where you have to stay patient.”
Ole Miss went 3-1 in the Lonestar State last week, defeating Grambling State, Stephen F. Austin and Houston by 3-0 scores before falling to tournament-host TCU in front of a raucous environment in five sets.
The Rebels recorded their second and third highest hitting percentages of the rally scoring era at the TCU Nike/Molten Invitational. Ole Miss hit at a .425 clip in a 3-0 victory over Stephen F. Austin, and hit .419 one match earlier in a 3-0 win over Grambling State.
Sophomore Ty Laporte and senior Kara Morgan were each named to the all-tournament team for their play. Laporte averaged 2.75 kills per set on a .458 hitting percentage, and 1.42 blocks per set, which was highlighted by an eight-block assist performance vs. Houston. Morgan averaged a team-high 2.86 kills per set and also added 1.43 digs per set.
For the season, Laporte is averaging a team-high 2.58 kills per set. After starting each of the four matches in Fort Worth, freshman setter Aubrey Edie is averaging 8.38 assists per set, and fellow freshman Kristen Brashear is averaging 3.89 digs per set from the libero position. Defensively at the net, sophomore middle blocker Nakeyta Clair has been fantastic with a 1.26 blocks per set average, which is the third best in the SEC.
For all Ole Miss volleyball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB and on Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball.
— Ole Miss Sports Information
