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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Alabama
Volleyball Closes Out Regular Season Against Alabama
11/24/2021 | Volleyball
Rebels Looking for First 20 Win Season Since 2017
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OLE MISS (19-8, 8-8 SEC) at ALABAMA (10-18, 2-14 SEC) Friday & Saturday, Nov. 26-27 • Tuscaloosa, Ala. Foster Auditorium  |
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| Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • Alabama Notes (PDF) • SEC Notes (PDF) |
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| Friday, Nov. 26 at Alabama 6 p.m. CT |
Saturday, Nov. 27 at Alabama 2 p.m. CT |
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| Watch | Live Stats | Watch | Live Stats |
RALLY POINTS
• Heading into its final two contests of the regular season, Ole Miss Volleyball travels to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama.
• The Rebels are looking for win No. 20 on the season, quite the turnaround from their 1-19 run last season.
• Senior Lauren Thompson recorded a career-high 19 kills against LSU on Nov. 11, besting her mark of 18 set in the previous match at Tennessee. Thompson has continued to rack up the kills, picking up 34 in the series against Georgia.
• With two matches remaining this season, Ole Miss has already broken the record for single-season block assists. The Rebels have tallied 392 block assists, topping the mark of 390 set in 2013.
• Seniors Lauren Thompson and Kylee McLaughlin have each been on a tear down the stretch. The duo has recorded a combined five double-doubles in the last three matches.
• Since taking over the libero role, Riley Fischer has continued to pile up career bests. In the first match against South Carolina, Fischer totaled a career-high 21 digs, the most by a Rebel in a single match this season.
• With one block in the loss at No. 22 Tennessee, Aubrey Sultemeier cracked the top-five in the Rebel record book with her 287th career block. The senior is currently averaging 0.80 blocks per set.
• Former Big 12 Co-Setter of the Year Kylee McLaughlin continues to make an impact for the Rebels after spending two years at Oklahoma. McLaughlin recorded her 4,000 career assist earlier this season against Kentucky and ranks 11th among active players in total assists. The Texas native also earned SEC accolades as the Player and Setter of the Week, October 25.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
Heading into the final series of the regular season, the Rebels travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama has lost eight straight, with its last victory coming against the Gamecocks on Oct. 23. As a team, the Tide are hitting .174 and averaging 12.1 kills per set. Junior right side Kennedy Muckelroy and senior outside hitter Abby Marjama lead the offense with a combined 453 kills. Setter Brooke Slusser has seen the majority of the action this season, averaging 6.40 assists per set through 27 matches. Defensively, the Tide ranks sixth in the SEC with 14.46 digs per set and have tallied 188.5 total blocks this season.
SERIES HISTORY
Alabama leads the all-time series 47-26 and has won each of the last three contests over the Rebels in five sets. Both teams faced off in the spring of 2021, with Alabama taking the two matches in Oxford.
LAST MEETING
Ole Miss and Alabama faced off in a pair of matches in February, with the Crimson Tide taking both in five sets. In the second match between the two teams, Alabama won a back-and-forth affair that featured 61 total ties. The Rebels came out strong to take the first and third sets but couldn't fend off the Tide's comeback as they won a tight fourth and fifth set.
MEET YOU AT THE NET
Ole Miss has been a dominant force at the net this season. With two matches remaining, the Rebels have already broken the single-season program record for block assists with 392 and counting, besting the mark of 390 set in 2013. Ole Miss ranks sixth in the SEC and 56th nationally with 2.43 blocks per set. Sophomore Sasha Ratliff leads the charge with 120 total blocks and has a chance to set the school record for most blocks in a season.
THE DIFFERENCE A YEAR CAN MAKE
The Rebels are on the verge of picking up their 20th victory of the season. In 2020-21, Ole Miss finished with a 1-19 record. However, head coach Kayla Banwarth has turned the program around in year two as the Rebels are on the brink of their first 20-win season since 2017.
FINAL CHAPTER
On Nov. 19, the Rebels will honor seniors Sam Burgio, Kylee McLaughlin, Aubrey Sultemeier and Lauren Thompson. Thompson and Sultemeier each spent four seasons in Oxford with the program, while Burgio and McLaughlin joined as graduate transfers, making an immediate impact. All four seniors played a crucial role in helping Banwarth revive the program.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE THE TROUBLE
Seniors Kylee McLaughlin and Lauren Thompson have recorded a combined 15 double-doubles this season. Especially as of late, the duo has been hot. McLaughlin has tallied 12 of them, including six of the Rebels' last eight matches, while Thompson has picked up two in her last three matches.
BANWARTH INKS TALENTED CLASS ON 2022 SIGNING DAY
Head coach Kayla Banwarth added top talent to the Rebels' 2022 class this fall with the addition of six signees, including multiple Prep Volleyball Top-150 honorees and numerous accolades from all-conference, to all-state team members. Of the six, five recently garnered AVCA All-America honors, tied with Florida for the most in the nation. Banwarth signed a trio of outside hitters in Shayla Meyer, Vivian Miller and Emma Schwieger, as well as two-time All-American setter Aly Borellis. She also added a libero/defensive specialist in Cammy Niesen and middle blocker Tessa Jones out of Ohio.
CLIMBING 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 cracked the top-five, recording one block in the loss at No. 22 Tennessee. She already holds the top spot in single-match block assists, recording nine on two separate occasions.
THIS GIRL IS ON FIRE
Sasha Ratliff could not be stopped in the series against the Gamecocks, racking up a total of 37 kills on the weekend, all while hitting at a .525 clip. For the first time in her career, Ratliff hit for 20 plus kills in the first match against South Carolina, totaling a career-high 22 kills. She remained just as dominant at the net, recording eight blocks for the third time this season.
4K AND CLIMBING
With 45 assists against Kentucky, Kylee McLaughlin eclipsed the 4,000 career assist mark. McLaughlin ranks 11th among active NCAA leaders in career assists with 4,561 and is one of 22 active players with over 4,000 in their career.
HOT HANDS
The Rebels could not miss in the first match against Missouri, slamming down 41 kills at a .383 clip. This marked the highest hitting percentage by the Rebels in an SEC match since 2014. Just one week later, Ole Miss bested this clip again, hitting at a .389 percentage in the second match against South Carolina.
GETTING IN A GROOVE
Riley Fischer has cemented her spot in the libero uniform, displaying her confidence with a 21 dig performance in the first match against South Carolina, setting a career-high. This also set the most digs by a Rebel in a single match this season.
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 also was the first time since the 2014 season that the Rebels hit for over .400 in a match.
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.
LAST WOMEN STANDING
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 SEC play undefeated for the second time in program history.
MVP PERFORMANCE
Sasha Ratliff sure had herself a weekend in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Atlanta native tied her then 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.
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.
READY FOR ROUND TWO
Year two of the Kayla Banwarth era continues after a 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.
REBELS SLOTTED 11TH IN PRESEASON POLL
After finishing 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.
