.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Sunday, October 6
Baton Rouge, La.
1 PM
Ole Miss
3
at
1
LSU
Rebels Remain Unbeaten in SEC, Trump Tigers 3-1 Sunday
10/6/2019 | Volleyball
Ole Miss is one two unbeaten teams in league play, joining nationally ranked Kentucky
BATON ROUGE, La. – Behind four double-digit kill performances, led by rookie Anna Bair, Ole Miss Volleyball turned in its 11th-straight victory Sunday, downing LSU 3-1 (27-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-19) and remaining undefeated in SEC play, joining No. 15 Kentucky as the only other unbeaten team in the league.
The 11 wins is the second-longest streak in head coach Steven McRoberts' six-year tenure, trailing just the 14-match stretch accomplished by the 2014 squad. It also marks the first win for McRoberts in Baton Rouge.
Bair tallied 15 kills on the day at a .244 hitting percentage, joined by 11 each from senior Leah Mulkey and sophomore Aubrey Sultemeier, while fellow senior Emily Stroup added 10. Stroup registered her seventh double-double of the season, adding 15 digs.
The last time Ole Miss had four Rebels with double digit kills dates back to October of 2017, a 1-3 loss to Missouri. The Rebels last won back-to-back league matches on the road in 2014, defeating Auburn and Alabama. In 2015, they defeated Georgia and Arkansas in back-to-back wins on the road, but played a pair of matches in Oxford in between.
Senior Nicole Purcell, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week, registered 21 digs, her seventh match of the season with at least 20 or more. Sultemeier posted nine blocks for a career-high performance.
Mulkey hit at a stellar .364 clip, registering her second-straight contest with an above .300 efficiency and double-digit kills.
Senior Nayo Warnell added nine kills on a .500 percentage, while sophomores Avery Bugg and Lauren Thompson added eight digs each and junior Lauren Bars dished out 44 assists.
After trading points early in the opening stanza, Ole Miss ignited, going on a 5-0 run to take the lead and build some cushion at 11-6. The Tigers responded with three straight points of their own, trimming the deficit to just one point. The squads continued to trade points, with the Rebels continuing to carry the slight edge.
A kill from Warnell followed by back-to-back Tiger attack errors handed Ole Miss a mini three-point rally, putting the Rebs in the driver's seat, up 19-16.
LSU once again responded with a run, this time securing four points to tie the set and take the lead. It was only brief, as the duo of Sultemeier and Bair turned in three straight rejections to put Ole Miss up to set point. It became a back-and-forth affair, as the two teams endured five ties from the 20-point mark, going through three extra set points. The squads tied 11 total times in the first set.
After an LSU attack error put the Rebels up once again at set point at 26-25, a commanding kill from Bair sealed the set for Ole Miss 27-25. Bair finished the frame with seven kills and four blocks, while Sultemeier totaled six rejections in the first set alone.
The second game was a back-and-forth affair, with five total lead changes. Ole Miss tallied six straight points, courtesy of four different Rebel attackers, to even things and take control of the set at 15-13. The Tigers continued to pressure, reaching ties at both the 16 and 17-point marks.
Two Sultemeier slams sandwiched between a Stroup kill gave Ole Miss some cushion at 21-19, and the Rebels looked to have momentum after a Bair kill put Ole Miss up 23-21 before LSU used an ace and three kills to steal the set from the Rebels and even the match at 25-23.
The Rebels used runs and rallies to control the third set, first tallying four straight early to take an 8-4 boost, and then another four-point rally to go up 15-10.
Ole Miss continued to control the remainder of the set, holding a steady lead of at least four points through the duration. A set of Bair kills and an additional slam from Mulkey handed Ole Miss the match advantage at 25-19 and 2-1. The Rebels were stellar in the third set, hitting at an incredible .406 hitting percentage.
Despite six lead changes in the fourth frame, the Rebels carried the momentum, going up by as many as six points at 18-12. Ole Miss ignited in the final moments of the match, picking up the final four points and taking the match 3-1 after a 25-19 mark in Set 4.
UP NEXT
Ole Miss will play in its first Wednesday matchup of the season, traveling to Columbia to face another set of Tigers in No. 22 Missouri. The game will be televised nationally on the SEC Network, beginning at 7 p.m. CT.
---------------------------------------------------------
Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB, Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball, @olemissvb on Instagram. You can also follow head coach Steven McRoberts on Twitter @CoachMcRoberts.
The 11 wins is the second-longest streak in head coach Steven McRoberts' six-year tenure, trailing just the 14-match stretch accomplished by the 2014 squad. It also marks the first win for McRoberts in Baton Rouge.
Bair tallied 15 kills on the day at a .244 hitting percentage, joined by 11 each from senior Leah Mulkey and sophomore Aubrey Sultemeier, while fellow senior Emily Stroup added 10. Stroup registered her seventh double-double of the season, adding 15 digs.
The last time Ole Miss had four Rebels with double digit kills dates back to October of 2017, a 1-3 loss to Missouri. The Rebels last won back-to-back league matches on the road in 2014, defeating Auburn and Alabama. In 2015, they defeated Georgia and Arkansas in back-to-back wins on the road, but played a pair of matches in Oxford in between.
Senior Nicole Purcell, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week, registered 21 digs, her seventh match of the season with at least 20 or more. Sultemeier posted nine blocks for a career-high performance.
Mulkey hit at a stellar .364 clip, registering her second-straight contest with an above .300 efficiency and double-digit kills.
Senior Nayo Warnell added nine kills on a .500 percentage, while sophomores Avery Bugg and Lauren Thompson added eight digs each and junior Lauren Bars dished out 44 assists.
After trading points early in the opening stanza, Ole Miss ignited, going on a 5-0 run to take the lead and build some cushion at 11-6. The Tigers responded with three straight points of their own, trimming the deficit to just one point. The squads continued to trade points, with the Rebels continuing to carry the slight edge.
A kill from Warnell followed by back-to-back Tiger attack errors handed Ole Miss a mini three-point rally, putting the Rebs in the driver's seat, up 19-16.
LSU once again responded with a run, this time securing four points to tie the set and take the lead. It was only brief, as the duo of Sultemeier and Bair turned in three straight rejections to put Ole Miss up to set point. It became a back-and-forth affair, as the two teams endured five ties from the 20-point mark, going through three extra set points. The squads tied 11 total times in the first set.
After an LSU attack error put the Rebels up once again at set point at 26-25, a commanding kill from Bair sealed the set for Ole Miss 27-25. Bair finished the frame with seven kills and four blocks, while Sultemeier totaled six rejections in the first set alone.
The second game was a back-and-forth affair, with five total lead changes. Ole Miss tallied six straight points, courtesy of four different Rebel attackers, to even things and take control of the set at 15-13. The Tigers continued to pressure, reaching ties at both the 16 and 17-point marks.
Two Sultemeier slams sandwiched between a Stroup kill gave Ole Miss some cushion at 21-19, and the Rebels looked to have momentum after a Bair kill put Ole Miss up 23-21 before LSU used an ace and three kills to steal the set from the Rebels and even the match at 25-23.
The Rebels used runs and rallies to control the third set, first tallying four straight early to take an 8-4 boost, and then another four-point rally to go up 15-10.
Ole Miss continued to control the remainder of the set, holding a steady lead of at least four points through the duration. A set of Bair kills and an additional slam from Mulkey handed Ole Miss the match advantage at 25-19 and 2-1. The Rebels were stellar in the third set, hitting at an incredible .406 hitting percentage.
Despite six lead changes in the fourth frame, the Rebels carried the momentum, going up by as many as six points at 18-12. Ole Miss ignited in the final moments of the match, picking up the final four points and taking the match 3-1 after a 25-19 mark in Set 4.
UP NEXT
Ole Miss will play in its first Wednesday matchup of the season, traveling to Columbia to face another set of Tigers in No. 22 Missouri. The game will be televised nationally on the SEC Network, beginning at 7 p.m. CT.
---------------------------------------------------------
Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB, Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball, @olemissvb on Instagram. You can also follow head coach Steven McRoberts on Twitter @CoachMcRoberts.
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballHIGHLIGHTS: VB at Vanderbilt
Sunday, October 19
HIGHLIGHTS: VB at Missouri
Friday, October 17
HIGHLIGHTS: Volleyball vs. Tennessee (10/12/25)
Sunday, October 12
HIGHLIGHTS: VB at Mississippi State
Friday, October 10