Rebels Ready for Road Test at No. 22 Florida

			OLE MISS (12-1, 1-1 SEC) at No. 22 FLORIDA (8-5, 2-1 SEC) Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 2-3 • 2 p.m. & 12 p.m. CT Gainesville, Fla. Exactech Arena
Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • SEC Notes (PDF)

Saturday, Oct. 2 at Florida 2 p.m. CT	Sunday, Oct. 3 at Florida 12 p.m. CT
Watch \| Live Stats	Watch \| Live Stats

RALLY POINTS

Ole Miss heads to the Sunshine State for the first time since 2018, after forcing five sets Wednesday night against No. 6 Kentucky for the squad's first loss of the season. Through 47 sets, Ole Miss has only dropped nine after winning the first 14 in a row.
For the first time since 2010, Ole Miss took down a top- 15 opponent after defeating No. 15 Western Kentucky 3-1 on their home court. This also marked the first win on the road over a top-15 opponent in program history.
At the net, Sasha Ratliff was a force through three matches at the Holiday Inn-University Plaza Invitational. The tournament MVP racked up 3.00 kills per set and matched a career-high 15 kills and nine blocks in the win over WKU. Her performance led to her earning SEC Player of the Week on Sept. 13 and Offensive honors, for the Rebels' first weekly honors this season.
On the outside, Anna Bair was electric throughout the Indiana Invitational, earning all-tournament honors. The St. Louis native, racked up double-digit kills in all three matches. Her 20 kills against Kentucky marked the most in a single-match by a Rebel this season.
Former Big 12 Co-Setter of the Year Kylee McLaughlin joined the Rebels as a graduate transfer this off-season after spending two years at Oklahoma. After averaging 10.20 assists and 3.50 digs per set, McLaughlin was named as the Ole Miss Invitational MVP. McLaughlin recorded her 4,000 career assist against Kentucky. McLaughlin ranks 11th overall in total assists among NCAA career active leaders.
Youth highlights the Rebel roster, as Banwarth added five freshmen to the squad. Outside hitter Julia Dyess highlights the freshmen as the Mississippi native earned Under Armour All American Honorable Mention.

MATCH MAKEUP

OLE MISS at No. 22 FLORIDA

Last Meeting: 1/30/21, in Oxford (Florida 3, Ole Miss 0)
Last Win: 1989, in Oxford (Ole Miss 3, Florida 2)
All-Time Series: 7-56 (First Meeting, 1977)

RUNDOWN

SCOUTING THE GATORS
Florida enters the weekend with a record of 8-5 after a 3-0 sweep against Georgia in Athens Wednesday night. After reaching the NCAA Tournament Regional Finals last season, the Gators returned six starters who have already picked up a top-10 win this season 3-1 against No. 10 Minnesota.

Four Gators earned a spot on the Preseason All-SEC team with T'ara Ceasar and Thayer Hall on the outsides as well as Lauren Forte in the middle and returning setter Marlie Monserez.

ALL TIME VS. FLORIDA
In the Rebels' first trip to the Sunshine State since 2018, Ole Miss is looking to pick up its first win in Gainesville in program history. Florida has held the advantage in the series leading all-time 56-7.

Ole Miss last toppled the Gators in 1989 in a 3-2 win in Oxford.

LAST TIME AGAINST UF
Last January, Ole Miss fell 0-3 against Florida from the Gillom Center. Aubrey Sultemeier racked up eight kills off of 12 swings, while GG Carvacho added six kills.

PREVIOUS MATCH
In the SEC home opener against No. 6 Kenutcky, Ole Miss pushed the Wildcats to the brink but was unable to finish with a win falling in five sets, 3-2. After dropping the first two sets, the Rebels rallied back to push the Wildcats to five sets for the first time this season, but a season-high 20 kills from Anna Bair wasn't enough.

LAST WOMEN STANDING
With SEC play heading into its second week, Ole Miss was the only team in the conference to go through non-conference play unblemished at
a perfect record of 11-0, to start off SEC play undefeated for the second time in program history.

VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
The Rebels are 6-57 all time against ranked opponents, after picking up a win against No. 15 Western Kentucky on the road for its first win in program history over a ranked opponent.

RECORD FIREPOWER
Ole Miss came out with some big swings against Alabama A&M hitting at a rally scoring era program record .488 clip. It marked the first time since the 2014 season that the Rebels hit for over .400 in a match.

DIGGIN' IT
The Rebel defense put on a strong show in the SEC opener against Auburn with both Sam Burgio, Maggie Miller and Kylee McLaughlin each recording double-digit digs. Burgio continued this streak with 13 digs against Kentucky to become the first Rebel to total ten plus digs in six straight matches since 2019.

HOT START
For the first time since 2014, Ole Miss started the season off 12-0 in the second year under Kayla Banwarth marking the second best start in program history.

BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
Not only did the Rebels open the season 2-0 for the first time since 2016, it also marked the first time since 2014 that Ole Miss has swept its first two opening matches.

THE BLOCK PARTY CONTINUES
With 2.66 blocks per set, Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC and 22nd nationally. Sophomore Payton Brgoch leads this charge, averaging 1.35 blocks per set.

SOPHOMORE SURGE
After appearing in 15 matches as a freshman, Brgoch has made a big jump in year two of her Rebel career. The middle blocker has already bested her previous career-highs, racking up 18 kills in the win at Western Kentucky. Nationally, Brgoch ranks 26th at a .402 clip and sixth in the SEC.

MVP PERFORMANCE
Sasha Ratliff sure had herself a weekend in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Atlanta native tied her career-highs racking up 15 kills and nine blocks in the win over No. 15 WKU. Ratliff was ultimately named the Holiday Inn-University Plaza Tournament MVP and was then the first Rebel since 2016 to be named the SEC Player of the Week.

READY FOR ROUND TWO
Year two of the Kayla Banwarth era continues, after an rigorous 2020-21 season with eight matches against top-15 opponents from the AVCA Poll. This marked the most matches against ranked opponents in a single-season dating back to 2003.

NEW FACES TO THE BENCH
Three new faces joined the Rebel volleyball family this offseason with the addition of former George Mason middle blocker Brad Creamer as a volunteer assistant coach.

Another former Patriot made his way to Oxford as well, with five-time letterwinner outside hitter Sam Greenslade joining the staff as a graduate manager.

Rounding out the staff is coordinator of operations Kendra Charles. Charles joins the Rebels after spending five seasons as the director of volleyball operations at Northern Colorado.

MISSISSIPPI MADE
When freshman outside hitter Julia Dyess made her Rebel debut against UTSA, she became the first Mississippi native to don a Rebel uniform since 2002. The Brandon native garnered Under Armour All-American Honorable Mention honors as a senior at Hartfield Academy.

CLIMBIN' ON UP
Senior middle blocker Aubrey Sultemeier continues to cement her legacy as a Rebel moving up the Ole Miss record book as one of the top middle blockers in program history.

The Fredericksburg, Texas, native is 21 total blocks away from cracking the top-five in the rally scoring era. She already holds the top spot in single-match block assists, recording nine on two separate occasions.

REBELS SLOTTED 11TH IN SEC PRESEASON POLL
After finishing in 12th last season, Ole Miss was tabbed to finish 11th overall in this year's SEC Preseason poll.

The defending national champions held the top spot, as Kentucky was picked as the favorite
to repeat as the conference champions again, receiving a total of seven first place votes.

KEEPING IT 100-AT THE GILLOM CENTER
Following a year of limited capacity at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center, Ole Miss is ready to welcome fans back into the venue for 12 home matches.

Admission to any Ole Miss volleyball match is free of charge. Fans are required to wear a mask in accordance with university policies.

UP NEXT
The Rebels return home next week to take on Arkansas Wednesday night from the Gillom Center at 6 p.m. CT. The match against the Razorbacks will stream on SEC Network +.

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Players Mentioned

Anna Bair

Payton Brgoch

Sam Burgio

GG Carvacho

Julia Dyess

Kylee McLaughlin

Maggie Miller

Sasha Ratliff

Aubrey Sultemeier

The University of Mississippi Athletics