Volleyball Gives No. 12 Florida A Scare; Falls In Five Sets

OXFORD, Miss. – With emotions running high on senior day inside the Gillom Athletics Performance Center, Ole Miss volleyball channeled its energy a gave No. 12 Florida a scare, nearly upsetting the SEC Champions in a five-set thriller.

The Rebels (11-17, 7-11) honored their senior leaders in Anna Bair, Riley Fischer and Maggie Miller, prior to the match. Joined by their families on the court, the trio gave Ole Miss the emotional spark that it needed to battle with Florida (23-5, 15-3 SEC) for five sets. Payton Brgoch was virtually unstoppable in the middle, tallying a season-best 16 kills with no attack errors. She was followed by Bair with 14 kills in what could be her final match in a Rebel uniform. Katie Corelli and Vivian Miller each found success on the attack, finishing with 13 and 12 kills, respectively.

Ole Miss battled with the Gators in the opening set as both teams traded early points. Florida found separation and quickly built up a six-point lead, forcing the Rebels to call timeout down 5-11. Spreading the attack around, Ole Miss quietly chipped away, pulling with one at 14-15 on a kill from Miller. Still, the Gators managed to hold the lead and stretch it back up to three. Brgoch continued will the Rebels, cutting the deficit to one on two occasions, but they could never get over the hump as Florida snatched the opening set 25-23.

The close nature of the match continued into the second set, with Ole Miss and Florida matching each other’s swings. It wasn’t until the Gators used a 5-1 run to pull away and a 6-1 run to close out the 25-16 set win and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Backs against the wall, Ole Miss responded in the third set. The Rebels jumped out to an early 6-2 lead and never looked back, hitting .441 in the set. Bair had the hot hand registering six kills on seven swings. Florida cut the lead to one multiple times, but a 3-0 run highlighted by a gutsy challenge call swung the momentum fully in Ole Miss’ favor. Schnitta delivered the final blow, giving the Rebels a commanding 25-19 victory and sending the match into a fourth set.

The Rebels’ rally continued into the fourth set as they battled from behind. Florida took an early 7-2 lead, but Ole Miss grinded its way back to tie the match up at 14 all. Brgoch was key down the stretch picking…