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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
15-5,4-5SEC
Missouri
4-18,1-8SEC
Rebels Take Down Tigers in Straight Sets
10/23/2021 | Volleyball
Ole Miss Records Second Straight Sweep in SEC Play
COLUMBIA, Mo. — In the series finale against Missouri on Saturday night, Ole Miss took down the Tigers in three straight sets to record the program's first back-to-back sweeps in SEC play since 2011.
Ole Miss (15-5, 4-5 SEC) held Missouri (4-18, 1-2 SEC) to a .181 clip, while the Rebels racked up 47 kills. Anna Bair led the Rebels, recording her 15th match with double-digit kills this season with 12, while Lauren Thompson tied a season high 11. In the middle, Aubrey Sultemeier and Sasha Ratliff were a force as the two combined for 16 kills and five blocks. Kylee McLaughlin also got in on the action at the net, recording a season-high six blocks while dishing out 33 assists.
Missouri came out fired up in the first set after trailing 4-1, going on a 3-0 run to meet up with the Rebels at four all. The Rebel offense began to heat up with back-to-back kills from Bair on a 3-0 run to lead 8-5. The Tigers stormed back with a 6-2 run to take their first lead of the set at 11-10. The set continued to play tight through 19 when a Thompson kill and a Mizzou error gave Ole Miss at two-point lead, 21-19. Mizzou would not go away, coming within one at 23-22. Yet, the Rebels were able to fend off the Tigers taking the next two points to win set one, 25-22.
A block party broke out in the beginning of the second set, as Ratliff recorded her fourth of the night to give the Rebels a 5-1 lead. The Tigers continued to fight back, cutting the deficit to one at 9-8 as the Rebels worked to pull away. Mizzou would not back down, tying up the set at 11. The two teams battled back and forth, tied through 14 until a 3-0 run put Ole Miss back in the lead at 16-14. Missouri wouldn't go away, tying up the set again at 18 all. Ole Miss responded with four straight points to retake the lead 22-18 and put the Tigers behind them to pick up set two 25-20.
The Rebel middles continued to show their strength in set three, as Sultemeier added her ninth kill for the Rebels to go up 6-5. Mizzou came back to even the set at eight all. Both teams continued to go back-and-forth, remaining tied through 11. A 3-0 run provided the Rebels with a spark to lead 14-11. The Tigers stormed back with a 7-2 run to take their first lead of the set at 18-16. Again it was the middles who took control with three kills in a 3-2 run to cut the Tiger lead to one at 20-19. However, the Rebels held off the Mizzou attack as Bair and Ratliff came back to put the Tigers away, taking the set 25-23 and the match 3-0.
Ole Miss returns home to Oxford for a two-match series against South Carolina next Friday and Saturday (October 29-30) from the Gillom Center. Both matches against the Gamecocks will stream on SEC Network + at 6 p.m. CT.
