Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Rebels Top VB Bulldogs In Oxford, 3-0
October 10, 2008 | Volleyball
? Official Statistics
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Freshman Faith Steinwedell matched a seaosn-best with 11 kills Friday but in a losing effort as the Bulldogs (6-11, 1-5 SEC) dropped a straight-sets decision (25-20, 25-20, 25-22) to division-leading instate SEC rival Ole Miss (8-7, 4-2 SEC) before 539 fans at the Gillom Sports Center. The rookie from LaJolla, Calif., tallied seven kills in the third set as the Bulldogs erased an 8-0 deficit to take the Rebels to the wire before falling in the final stanza. The Rebels got an impressive 16-kill, .682 hitting performance from Regina Thomas and a seven-kill, five-block effort from Miranda Kitts. "Faith really came on strong for us tonight," said coach Tina Seals. "I was proud of the way we battled back from being down early in the third set. But we continue to make too many mistakes to be successful on the road." State had 24 hitting errors and seven service errors. Miranda Kitts and Regina Thomas tallied five kills each as Ole Miss pulled away from a tight 10-9 contest for a 25-20 win in the opening set. State hit but .061 with freshman Faith Steinwedell tallying four of the Bulldogs' nine kills. A pair of Bulldog hitting errors helped UM jump out to a 3-0 lead in the second set, and the Rebels never trailed registering another 25-20 win. Freshmen Steinwedell and Mandy Mellencamp tallied four kills each in the set for State. State battled back into the fray with solid play at the net and a pair of blocks by Mellencamp that tightened the set and forced a UM timeout at 19-15. The Rebels, riding another five-kill set by Thomas, cruised home to the 25-20 win and a 2-0 match lead at the break. The Rebels wasted little time in taking command of the third set, reeling off eight straight points off the serve of Allison Weber. Ioana Demian, limited to three kills over the first two sets, delivered a kill that halted the 8-0 Rebel run, and a block by Dorey Gray capped a furious State rally that gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the set at 19-18. A Rebel service ace broke a 21-21 deadlock and UM out-pointed State down the stretch for a match-clinching 25-22 win. Ioana Demian finished with seven kills and Mandy Mellencamp six. Ashley Newsome paced State at the net with five blocks while Steinwedell and Gray tallied nine digs each to pace MSU on defense. The Bulldogs continue their SEC Western Division weekend road trip in Fayetteville, Ark., Sunday, testing the Razorbacks (4-11, 1-4 SEC) in a 1:30 p.m. match at Barnhill Arena.
? Official Statistics (PDF)
