Volleyball to Begin SEC Play at Auburn

			OLE MISS (11-0, 0-0 SEC) at AUBURN (8-1, 0-0 SEC) Wednesday, Sept. 22 • 8 p.m. CT • Auburn, Ala. Auburn Arena
WATCH • LIVE STATS OLE MISS NOTES (PDF) • SEC NOTES (PDF)

RALLY POINTS

Ole Miss continues to roll through the start of the 2021 season, with the Rebels starting 11-0 for the first time since 2014 and going undefeated through non-conference play for the second time in program history. Through 38 sets, Ole Miss has only dropped five 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 18 kills against Chicago State tied 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.
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 accolades coming out of high school.

MATCH MAKEUP

OLE MISS at AUBURN

Last Meeting: 10/13/19, in Oxford (Ole Miss 3, Auburn 0)
Last Win: 10/13/19, in Oxford (Ole Miss 3, Auburn 0)
All-Time Series: 37-30 (First Meeting, 1977)

RUNDOWN

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
In the second year under head coach Brent Crouch, the Tigers have found themselves off to a hot start at 8-1 winning their first six matches and sweeping their first five, before falling in five sets to Florida A&M.

Auburn ranks second in the conference as a team, averaging 2.78 blocks per set and first holding its opponents to a .101 clip. In the back row, the Tigers rank second as well, averaging 16.88 digs per set.

ALL TIME VS. AUBURN
Ole Miss holds the advantage in the series against the Tigers 37-30. In the recent years though, it has been the Tigers on top winning the last four of five.

LAST TIME AGAINST AU
After last spring's matches against the Tigers canceled due to Auburn forgoing the spring due to COVID-19, this is the first time the two programs have faced off since 2019. In the last meeting, Ole Miss swept the Tigers 3-0 in Oxford with Anna Bair racking up nine kills.

PREVIOUS MATCH
In a wire-to-wire three set match it was the Rebels who came out on top against the Hoosiers in a 3-0 sweep. With Indiana pushing Ole Miss to a potential fourth set with the third tied at 24 all, back-to-back kills from Samantha Schnitta and Anna Bair gave the Rebels the 26-24 set win and the match win 3-0.

SEC OPENERS
Ole Miss has struggled in SEC openers in recent history, winning one of out of the last four. The last time the Rebels came out victorious in a conference opener was in 2019 in a 3-2 win at home against Tennessee.

LAST WOMEN STANDING
With SEC play kicking off this week, Ole Miss is 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.

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.

HOT START
For the first time since 2014, Ole Miss has started the season off 11-0 in the second year under Kayla Banwarth. The Rebels rank first in the SEC, outhitting all other schools at a .300 clip.

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 2.76 blocks per set, Ole Miss ranks third in the SEC and 21st nationally. Sophomore Payton Brgoch leads this charge, averaging 1.48 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 45th at a .391 clip and fifth 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.

NON-CONFERENCE PLAY WRAPS UP
The Rebels head back on the road this weekend for the final preseason tournament. Ole Miss kicks off SEC play with a trip to Auburn, Wednesday Sept. 22.

READY FOR ROUND TWO
This weekend continues year two of the Kayla Banwarth era, 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.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Anna Bair

Payton Brgoch

Julia Dyess

Kylee McLaughlin

Sasha Ratliff

Samantha Schnitta

Aubrey Sultemeier

The University of Mississippi Athletics