The University of Mississippi Athletics

Ole Miss Picks up Two Wins, First Top-15 Victory Since 2010.
9/10/2021 | Volleyball
Box Score 1Box Score 2<i class="icon-paper"></i> UT Martin Box Score<i class="icon-paper"></i> WKU Box Score
Rebels Take Down UT Martin and No. 15 Western Kentucky in Four Sets Each
BOWLING GREEN, Ky.— In the first day of the Holiday Inn-University Plaza Invitational hosted by Western Kentucky, Ole Miss picked up two wins and its first win over a top-15 team since 2010 with a 3-1 win over UT Martin and a 3-1 victory over No. 15 Western Kentucky from E.A. Diddle Arena on Friday. The Rebels continue their winning streak, opening the 2021 season unblemished at 7-0.
MATCH ONE | OLE MISS 3, UT MARTIN 1
The streaks continued for a couple Rebels in the first match of the day, as Anna Bair recorded her fourth straight match with 10-plus kills with a total of 18, while Kylee McLaughlin accounted for 30-plus assists for the fifth straight match as she finished with 38. Lauren Thompson had a career match defensively, totaling a career-high five blocks.
The Rebels were slow out of the gate to begin the match, giving up an early 5-0 run to trail 5-1. It took a run of their own for the Rebels to get back into the set, with a Payton Brgoch kill tying it up at six-all. However, UT Martin went on another run to create another lead at 11-7. With a short run and back-to-back Rebel kills, Ole Miss tied up the match again at 13-all. The set continued to play back-and-forth with a total of 6 ties, before a 5-0 Skyhawk run gave them the first set at 25-20.
Ole Miss came out with more fire to begin the second set with a 4-0 run to go up 5-2. Thompson continued her strongest match this season with her fourth kill to put Ole Miss up by eight at 13-5. UT Martin worked to charge back but the Rebels stood tough to control the set through its entirety and win set two handily, 25-12.
Bair continued her strong match from the outside into set three, hitting double-digit kills for Ole Miss to tie up the set at 3-all. Both teams played tight, with the set being tied up at 11 apiece until Ole Miss broke it open with a 5-0 run, highlighted by two Bailee Middleton aces to lead 19-12. The Rebels were able to cap off the set with a 6-0 run led behind the line by Thompson to win set 3, 25-14.
Ole Miss carried its momentum from set three into set four, going on an early 7-0 run to lead 10-4. It was all Rebels throughout the set, hitting at a powerful clip of .588. Ole Miss went on to dominate the remainder of the set 15-5, closing out a 25-9 set victory and the match 3-1.
MATCH TWO | OLE MISS 3, NO. 15 WESTERN KENTUCKY 1
Ole Miss capped off the day in a pure battle, going back-and-forth with No. 15 Western Kentucky. It was a show for the middle blockers as sophomores Brgoch and Sasha Ratliff teamed up to combine for 15 blocks and 31 kills. On the outside, GG Carvacho added 12 kills with McLaughlin setting up her hitters with 48 assists. Defensively, Burgio recorded her third match this season with double digit digs, finishing with a total of 17.
The 3-1 win marked Ole Miss' first win over an AVCA Top-15 opponent since 2010, when Ole Miss defeated No. 12 LSU 3-0 in Oxford. The win also made program history, with the Rebels defeating a top-15 opponent on the road for the first time ever. The victory snapped WKU's 53-match regular season winning streak, dating back to September of 2019.
After trailing early in the first set, the Rebels quickly got into a groove with a 5-0 scoring run to lead 6-5. It was an aggressive battle with the two teams fighting back-and-forth through the first set before Western Kentucky took its largest lead of the set at 19-16. A 3-0 Rebel run allowed them to tie things up at 19-all before a Ratliff kill, followed by a block from Bair gave Ole Miss a 21-20 lead. A WKU service error followed by Carvacho's fifth kill of the set put Ole Miss at set point up 24-22. After an Ole Miss error, McLaughlin sealed the set for the Rebels with a kill through the middle to take set one 25-23.
Both teams would not let up as the match continued into the second set before Ole Miss began to heat up. Back-to-back Rebel kills from Ratliff and Bair gave the squad an 8-5 lead. WKU battled back to tie up the set once again at 11-all, before the Rebel defense showed their strength with Brgoch and Carvacho teaming up for the team's fifth block of the night to lead 14-12. Ole Miss continued to build with a 3-0 run to go up 18-14, as Ratliff dominated the set with five kills. The Rebels' third ace, this time with one from Riley Fischer gave the Rebs a five-point lead at 22-17 as set point loomed. Despite a challenge from the Hilltoppers, Ole Miss rattled off a kill from Carvacho followed by an ace from McLaughlin as she closed out the set again to take it 25-20.
The Rebel back row continued to set up the offense strong in the third set, as Ole Miss was able to build an early lead at 8-6. WKU battled back but it was Brgoch who continued to anchor the Rebel middles to go up 11-10 with her fifth block of the match. It wasn't long before the two teams found each other tied again, this time at 19-all. Carvacho fired off her 10th kill to take a one-point lead at 20-19, before WKU tacked on two straight. A 4-2 run from the Hilltoppers allowed them to pick up their first set of the night, 25-22.
Out of the gate in the fourth set, it was the Rebel defense that set the tone. Back-to-back blocks from McLaughlin and Ratliff put Ole Miss up 4-1. A WKU 3-0 tightened the match to cut the Rebel lead by one as they led 6-5. Ole Miss was able to extend its lead to 10-6, before a 6-2 Hilltopper run tied up the match once again at 12 apiece. A 4-0 Rebel run broke things open to go up 17-13 with two Ratliff blocks. Ole Miss never let up the rest of the match, as the Rebel offense continued to fire rockets, going on a 5-0 run with five straight kills to lead 23-16. The Rebels gave up one final kill to WKU, before back-to-back Brgoch kills gave Ole Miss the set 25-17 and the win 3-1.
Ole Miss will wrap up its time in Bowling Green in its final match of the Holiday Inn-University Plaza against Samford tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT. The match will not be streamed but live stats links can be found at OleMissSports.com
Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB, Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball, and on Instagram at @olemissvb. You can also follow head coach Kayla Banwarth on Twitter @KaylaBanwarth2.
MATCH ONE | OLE MISS 3, UT MARTIN 1
The streaks continued for a couple Rebels in the first match of the day, as Anna Bair recorded her fourth straight match with 10-plus kills with a total of 18, while Kylee McLaughlin accounted for 30-plus assists for the fifth straight match as she finished with 38. Lauren Thompson had a career match defensively, totaling a career-high five blocks.
The Rebels were slow out of the gate to begin the match, giving up an early 5-0 run to trail 5-1. It took a run of their own for the Rebels to get back into the set, with a Payton Brgoch kill tying it up at six-all. However, UT Martin went on another run to create another lead at 11-7. With a short run and back-to-back Rebel kills, Ole Miss tied up the match again at 13-all. The set continued to play back-and-forth with a total of 6 ties, before a 5-0 Skyhawk run gave them the first set at 25-20.
Ole Miss came out with more fire to begin the second set with a 4-0 run to go up 5-2. Thompson continued her strongest match this season with her fourth kill to put Ole Miss up by eight at 13-5. UT Martin worked to charge back but the Rebels stood tough to control the set through its entirety and win set two handily, 25-12.
Bair continued her strong match from the outside into set three, hitting double-digit kills for Ole Miss to tie up the set at 3-all. Both teams played tight, with the set being tied up at 11 apiece until Ole Miss broke it open with a 5-0 run, highlighted by two Bailee Middleton aces to lead 19-12. The Rebels were able to cap off the set with a 6-0 run led behind the line by Thompson to win set 3, 25-14.
Ole Miss carried its momentum from set three into set four, going on an early 7-0 run to lead 10-4. It was all Rebels throughout the set, hitting at a powerful clip of .588. Ole Miss went on to dominate the remainder of the set 15-5, closing out a 25-9 set victory and the match 3-1.
MATCH TWO | OLE MISS 3, NO. 15 WESTERN KENTUCKY 1
Ole Miss capped off the day in a pure battle, going back-and-forth with No. 15 Western Kentucky. It was a show for the middle blockers as sophomores Brgoch and Sasha Ratliff teamed up to combine for 15 blocks and 31 kills. On the outside, GG Carvacho added 12 kills with McLaughlin setting up her hitters with 48 assists. Defensively, Burgio recorded her third match this season with double digit digs, finishing with a total of 17.
The 3-1 win marked Ole Miss' first win over an AVCA Top-15 opponent since 2010, when Ole Miss defeated No. 12 LSU 3-0 in Oxford. The win also made program history, with the Rebels defeating a top-15 opponent on the road for the first time ever. The victory snapped WKU's 53-match regular season winning streak, dating back to September of 2019.
After trailing early in the first set, the Rebels quickly got into a groove with a 5-0 scoring run to lead 6-5. It was an aggressive battle with the two teams fighting back-and-forth through the first set before Western Kentucky took its largest lead of the set at 19-16. A 3-0 Rebel run allowed them to tie things up at 19-all before a Ratliff kill, followed by a block from Bair gave Ole Miss a 21-20 lead. A WKU service error followed by Carvacho's fifth kill of the set put Ole Miss at set point up 24-22. After an Ole Miss error, McLaughlin sealed the set for the Rebels with a kill through the middle to take set one 25-23.
Both teams would not let up as the match continued into the second set before Ole Miss began to heat up. Back-to-back Rebel kills from Ratliff and Bair gave the squad an 8-5 lead. WKU battled back to tie up the set once again at 11-all, before the Rebel defense showed their strength with Brgoch and Carvacho teaming up for the team's fifth block of the night to lead 14-12. Ole Miss continued to build with a 3-0 run to go up 18-14, as Ratliff dominated the set with five kills. The Rebels' third ace, this time with one from Riley Fischer gave the Rebs a five-point lead at 22-17 as set point loomed. Despite a challenge from the Hilltoppers, Ole Miss rattled off a kill from Carvacho followed by an ace from McLaughlin as she closed out the set again to take it 25-20.
The Rebel back row continued to set up the offense strong in the third set, as Ole Miss was able to build an early lead at 8-6. WKU battled back but it was Brgoch who continued to anchor the Rebel middles to go up 11-10 with her fifth block of the match. It wasn't long before the two teams found each other tied again, this time at 19-all. Carvacho fired off her 10th kill to take a one-point lead at 20-19, before WKU tacked on two straight. A 4-2 run from the Hilltoppers allowed them to pick up their first set of the night, 25-22.
Out of the gate in the fourth set, it was the Rebel defense that set the tone. Back-to-back blocks from McLaughlin and Ratliff put Ole Miss up 4-1. A WKU 3-0 tightened the match to cut the Rebel lead by one as they led 6-5. Ole Miss was able to extend its lead to 10-6, before a 6-2 Hilltopper run tied up the match once again at 12 apiece. A 4-0 Rebel run broke things open to go up 17-13 with two Ratliff blocks. Ole Miss never let up the rest of the match, as the Rebel offense continued to fire rockets, going on a 5-0 run with five straight kills to lead 23-16. The Rebels gave up one final kill to WKU, before back-to-back Brgoch kills gave Ole Miss the set 25-17 and the win 3-1.
Ole Miss will wrap up its time in Bowling Green in its final match of the Holiday Inn-University Plaza against Samford tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT. The match will not be streamed but live stats links can be found at OleMissSports.com
Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB, Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball, and on Instagram at @olemissvb. You can also follow head coach Kayla Banwarth on Twitter @KaylaBanwarth2.
Team Stats
OM
WestKy
Kills
59
47
Errors
27
23
Attempts
136
143
Hitting %
.235
.168
Points
80
58
Assists
53
44
Aces
6
2
Blocks
15
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Players Mentioned
HIGHLIGHTS: VB at Oklahoma
Sunday, September 28
Shayla Meyer 500th Kill at Arkansas
Saturday, September 27
HIGHLIGHTS: VB at Arkansas
Friday, September 26
HIGHLIGHTS: Gabi Placide vs. UAlbany (Career High 27 Kills)
Saturday, September 20