The University of Mississippi Athletics

Friday, February 5
Oxford, Miss.
12 p.m.

Ole Miss

vs

Alabama

VB vs. Florida

Volleyball Continues Home Slate with Alabama

2/4/2021 | Volleyball

Rebels to Face off Against Crimson Tide Friday-Saturday

OLE MISS (0-8, 0-8)
vs ALABAMA (2-8, 2-8)

Friday-Saturday, Feb. 5-6 • 12 p.m. • 2 p.m.
Oxford, Miss. • Gillom Center
SEC Network + SEC Network +
8830
WATCHLIVE STATSOLE MISS NOTES • ALABAMA NOTES 

RALLY POINTS
  • Leading Ole Miss on the court this season are captains senior Bayleigh Scott and junior Aubrey Sultemeier.  
  • GG Carvacho concluded the fall slate with her best performance of the season in the series against Missouri, totaling 30 kills over two matches to become the program's sixth SEC Freshman of the Week.
  • Carvacho's 20 kills on the second day against the Tigers are the most by a Rebel in a match this season. She is also the 11th freshman since 2001 to tally 20 or more kills in a match.
  • Sultemeier, who holds the record for most solo rejections ever by a freshman at Ole Miss with 30, is at a career total of 205 total blocks and needs just 29 to crack the rally scoring Top 10.
  • In her debut in an Ole Miss uniform, freshman right side Samantha Schnitta tallied a total of 10 kills and 12 digs for the first double-double of the season against the Aggies. She is the first freshman Rebel to record a double-double in a season opening match in the past 10 seasons.
  • Outside hitter Lauren Thompson, kicked off her junior campaign breaking her own personal bests. The first weekend she broke her career record with nine kills against Texas A&M and topped that the next weekend with 11 kills against Arkansas. She also recorded her first career double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs in the first match against the Razorbacks.
  • Ole Miss continues the spring slate in the comfort of their home state, in the second weekend at home, followed by a trip down the road to Starkville to face Mississippi State. The Rebels conclude their home schedule against Tennessee, before leaving the state for the final four weeks of the season.
ON THE HORIZON
Junior Aubrey Sultemeier needs 29 blocks to enter the Top 10 for total blocks in the rally scoring era.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE
Alabama is 2-8 off the season and coming off a 3-1 and a 3-2 loss against South Carolina. The Crimson Tide picked up victories in the victories in the fall at Georgia and against LSU, each win coming in four sets.

Leading the offense is junior outside hitter Abby Marjama, who paces the team with 115 kills on the season. At the net, Alyiah Wells is averaging .78 blocks per set, for a total of 28.0 on the year.

ALL TIME VS. ALABAMA
In a series dating back to 1976, Alabama holds a 45-25 advantage over the Rebels. In the last meeting, Ole Miss forced five sets against the Crimson Tide before falling 3-2 in Tuscaloosa. Aubrey Sultemeier totaled 12 kills and added four blocks.

CAREER NUMBERS AGAINST THE CRIMSON TIDE
Bair                5 sets    2 kills    2 blocks
Bugg              2 sets    1 ace    4 digs
Scott              5 sets    9 kills    4 blocks
Sultemeier    18 sets   42 kills  11 blocks

LAST TIME OUT
The Rebels were unable to overcome Florida and it's offensive firepower, falling in two straight matches 3-0. In her Ole Miss debut, Sasha Ratliff totaled two blocks against the Gators, as well as four kills. Aubrey Sultemeier hit for a career high .545 hitting percentage in the first match, and added a team-high seven kills.

FIERCE FRESHMEN
Two freshmen Rebels lead the squad in three of the five major statistical categoires. Samantha Schnitta paces the team with 64 kills and 15 service aces, while Payton Brgoch has made an immediate impact at the net with a team-high 16.0 total blocks.

HARD HITTING
Not only does Aubrey Sultemeier lead Ole Miss hitting at a .352 clip, but she's hit for over .300 in five of the team's eight matches. In these matches over .300, Sultemeier is averaging eight kills.

VERSUS RANKED FOES
The last time the Rebels took down a ranked team was on the road last season at No. 22 Missouri in a 3-1 victory. Anna Bair picked up eight kills in the win over the Tigers on Oct. 9 of 2019.

STIFF COMPETITION
The series against Florida marked the Rebels fifth and sixth matches against top-15 opponents ranked in the AVCA poll, the most in a single-season dating back to 2003.

FRESHMAN PHENOM
A stellar performance from GG Carvacho against Mizzou, led to the freshman claiming the Rebels first conference honors of the season as the SEC Freshman of the Week. Carvacho totaled 30 kills over two matches, hitting at a .279 clip. She is the ninth freshman since 2001 to tally 20 or more kills in a match.

SWITCHING IT UP
Ole Miss came out with a different look in each of their six fall matches. Middle blocker Aubrey Sultemeier and right side Samantha Schnitta are the only Rebels to have started in every match. This trend continued through the Florida series, with Sasha Ratliff cracking the line-up in her first two career matches

NEW REBELS ON THE BLOCK
Banwarth announced her inagural signing class on the 11th, with three new Rebels to join the squad next fall. Defensive specialists Bria Samilton and Bailee Middleton will look to assist the squad in the back row, while Under Armour All-American Honorable Mention honoree Julia Dyess will provide power on the outside.

REBELS SLOTTED 10TH IN SEC PRESEASON POLL
After finishing last season in ninth in the SEC with a record of 6-2, Ole Miss was chosen to finish 10th in the first year under Banwarth. Three of the Rebels four opponents this fall season were chosen to finish within the top-five of the conference.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK PROPS
After claiming just two awards total the previous two seasons, the 2019 Rebels set a program milestone, garnering six weekly awards from the SEC. Current Rebel Anna Bair won Freshman of the Week on back-to-back weeks, becoming the first ever player at Ole Miss to win a weekly award consecutively. Junior Aubrey Sultemeier also took home an award, winning Defensive Player of the Week.

NEW FACES TO THE COACHING STAFF
The Rebels offseason saw a shift in leadership, as Ole Miss hired Nebraska assistant Kayla Banwarth to take the helm.

Banwarth, a first-time head coach, arrived in Oxford after a storied career both at Nebraska and with the U.S. Women's National Team. Banwarth is an eight-time medalist with Team USA, including a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and has appeared in the NCAA Tournament seven times in her career (four times as a player, three times as a coach).

Banwarth completed her inaugural staff with fellow Nebraska staffer Beau Lawler and former Oregon standout Maggie Scott. Lawler served as the video coordinator in Lincoln, while Scott was a first-year assistant at La Salle University in Philadelphia. 

UP NEXT
Ole Miss hits the road next week for the first time this spring, to take on in-state rival Mississippi State Feb. 11-12. Both matches are at 12 p.m. and will air on SEC Network +.

 
 

Players Mentioned

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HIGHLIGHTS: 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