Ole Miss Opens SEC Action with Tennessee, Red Out Friday

			OLE MISS (8-3) vs. (RV) TENNESSEE (6-4) Friday, Sept. 27 • 6:30 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. Gillom Athletics Performance Center
Watch • Live Stats • Ole Miss Notes • Tennessee Notes • Coach McRoberts Preview • L eah Mulkey (SR, OH) Preview • A very Bugg (SO, DS) Preview

RALLY POINTS

Ole Miss enters SEC play on an eight-match win streak, the longest in the league, after picking up two wins in Washington, D.C. over the weekend. With the two victories, the Rebels have already doubled their number of road wins from a year ago (4).
A week after reaching the elusive 300 block club at Ole Miss and earning SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors, senior Nayo Warnell continues to climb the record books. After posting 13 blocks in D.C., Warnell now just sits 15 rejections away from moving into 3rd all-time for total blocks.
Ole Miss leads the conference with 15.76 digs per set, ranking second in the league with 662 total digs. Senior libero Nicole Purcell tops the SEC with 193, averaging 4.60 per set.
Freshman Anna Bair made program history last week, earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors two consecutive weeks. Bair became the first Rebel to ever earn back-to-back weekly honors. She posted 25 kills over the weekend on a .318 clip, the highest amongst league freshmen for the week.
In addition to Purcell, four other Rebels rank in the Top 10 in the SEC in statistical categories, including Warnell in hitting percentage (4th) and blocks (per set) (6th), senior Emily Stroup in kills (per set) (5th) and points (9th), sophomore Avery Bugg in service aces (t-7th), and junior Lauren Bars in assists (per set) (6th).
After beginning the season with just two winners on their current roster, the 2019 Rebels have claimed four SEC Weekly honors, earning two apiece in back-to-back weeks, a program first.

ON THE HORIZON
Senior Emily Stroup enters conference play needing just 135 kills to become the program's all-time leader. She currently has 1,279, holding the top two single-season records and the top three single-match marks for the category.

JuniorLauren Bars will likely eclipse a career milestone this weekend, needing just 32 assists to reach 2,000 in her career, a mark only reached three other times in program rally scoring history.

SCOUTING TENNESSEE
The Volunteers enter the weekend with a 6-4 ledger, having swept their home tournament to wrap up nonconference play. Tennessee is receiving votes in this week's AVCA Coaches' Poll, marking the third time this season the Rebels will have faced a team ranked or receiving votes. Three of the Vols' losses have come against Top 25 opponents in two five-setters to then-No. 6 Illinois and a sweep by then-No. 5 Baylor.

Leading Tennessee is All-SEC performer Tessa Grubbs, who tallies 164 kills on the season and is the current SEC Offensive Player of the Week. Senior Alyssa Andreno tops the team with 36 total blocks, while classmate and current SEC Setter and Player of the Week Sedona Hansen guides the offense with 328 assists. Junior libero Madison Coulter boasts a team-best 143 digs.

All-Time: Tennessee leads 45-10
Last Ole Miss win: November 11, 2016 in Oxford (OM 3, UT 0)

RED OUT
The first 250 fans in attendance Friday will receive a free red t-shirt, to help support the Red Out Promotion.

TO FOLLOW
Both matches will be streamed on SEC Network +, and fans can also follow along via live stats and the @OleMissVB Twitter account.

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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.

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