Ole Miss is the best 1-7 team the Southeastern Conference has ever seen.
As ludicrous as that title might sound, it’s exactly how Florida volleyball coach Mary Wise has described the squad her team will face tonight at 8 in Oxford, Miss.
“It seems like such a fluke for all of us that their record is what it is,” Wise said.
Last year the Rebels finished second to only LSU in the SEC’s West division. Ole Miss made its third trip to the NCAA Tournament in five years and picked up its first-ever All-America selection in then-junior middle blocker Regina Thomas.
Heading into 2011, expectations were high. The Rebels returned their leading player at each position on the court, also getting Thomas and fellow middle blocker Courtney Cunningham back from season-ending ACL injuries.
“We have to stay healthy,” Ole Miss coach Joe Getzin said before the season.
“That will be a crucial part of our game plan.”
But so far this year, the Rebels (5-11, 1-7 SEC) look nothing like they did last season. Thomas took time to adjust to game-speed early in the year and is just now returning to All-America form.
“We all knew that as soon as they got healthy they’d be really dangerous and it looks like they are healthy now, and we’ll get to see them playing their very best,” Wise said.
The signs of an Ole Miss resurgence are on the horizon. On Sunday, Ole Miss went to Knoxville, Tenn., and took the SEC’s first-place team to match point in the fifth set before losing, despite out-hitting the No. 19 Volunteers.
“They definitely do a good job of exposing weaknesses, getting you out of your comfort zone, placing the ball in places where we’re going to have to work extra hard to make sure we can get solid contact,” junior middle blocker Tangerine Wiggs said.
Helping Ole Miss recently has been sophomore outside hitter Kara Morgan, who is currently just six kills shy of her season mark from 2010. Although the Rebels have been error-prone on offense, they are near the top of the conference in blocks.
“This is the same team it was last year, and their record was reversed,” junior middle blocker Betsy Smith said. “We totally respect them, and we’re ready for their best shot.”
No. 13 Florida (13-3, 6-1 SEC) will look to continue its four-game winning streak in which the Gators have out-hit opponents .355 to .188. And while Ole Miss might boast experience, Florida players insist it’s that same experience that could hurt them.
“We know a lot of their tendencies already,” Wiggs said. “We have a pretty good picture of Ole Miss and their identity as a team.”
Florida coach Mary Wise said her team should not look past Ole Miss, even though the Rebels currently have a 1-7 record in the SEC.
