The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
LMU
Volleyball Hits Road For Husker Invitational
9/1/2022 | Volleyball
Rebels Tough Non Conference Slate Continues
 |
HUSKER INVITATIONAL September 2-3 Lincoln Nebraska Devaney Center |
|
||||||
| Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • Nebraska Notes (PDF) • SEC Notes (PDF) | ||||||||
| Friday, September 2 Ole Miss vs. LMU 6 p.m. |
Saturday, September 3 Ole Miss at #2 Nebraska 7 p.m. |
| Watch • Live Stats | Watch • Live Stats |
RALLY POINTS
• Ole Miss volleyball hits the road for the first time in 2022, traveling to Lincoln, Nebraska, for the Husker Invitational.
• Head coach Kayla Banwarth return's to her alma mater this weekend. She helped lead the Huskers to the 2008 NCAA Final Four in 2008 and three Big 12 titles.
• Ole Miss took then #9 Georgia Tech and #17 Illinois both to four sets last weekend at the Ole Miss Invitational. The Rebels put up 24 points or more in each set against the Yellow Jackets.
• Anna Bair and Sasha Ratliff picked up All-Tournament honors last weekend.
• The Rebels are coming off one of their best seasons in school history, notching its first 20-win regular season since 2013 and finishing tied for fifth in the SEC with 10 conference victories.
• Middle blocker Sasha Ratliff was one of 15 student-athletes named to the Preseason All-SEC Team. She earned all-conference honors last year after a breakout sophomore campaign.
• The Rebels return 12 members from last season's NCAA Tournament team, including leading attacker and AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention outside hitter Anna Bair.
• In year two, Kayla Banwarth and the Rebels saw a 65 percent increase in winning percentage, the best turnaround in Division I Volleyball.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
Coached by Aaron Mansfield leads the LMU Lions in his sixth season as head coach of the program. During his tenure, LMU boasts a 77-60 mark, including a 1-2 start to the 2022 season after a tough opening weekend at the Utah Classic. LMU fell in straight sets to #22 Utah and #23 Kansas but took care of business and swept Utah Valley for its first victory of the season. Middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye and outside hitter Rose Booth lead the team with 2.67 kills per set and are averaging over 3.3 points per set.
Reigning National Runner-Up Nebraska comes into 2022 with high expectations. The Huskers opened their season with three clean sweeps last weekend and checked in at No. 2 in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll. The Nebraska defense leads the nation, holding opponents to a mere .010 hitting percentage while blocking 3.44 attacks per set. Senior Madi Kubik leads the offense, averaging a team-high 4.00 kills per set, while senior Kaitlyn Hord leads the Huskers with a .375 hitting clip.
SERIES HISTORY
Friday's matchup with LMU marks the second meeting between the two programs. LMU won the first and only meeting in three sets back in 1992 at the Colorado State Invitational. Ole Miss will close out the weekend on Saturday when the Rebels and Huskers meet on the court for the first time.
HUSKER HOMECOMING
Head coach Kayla Banwarth makes her return to Lincoln this weekend, where she played (2007 to 2010) and served as an assistant coach (2017-2019). As a player and coach, she helped guide Nebraska to four conference championships, three Final Four appearances, and a National Championship in 2017. She began her decorated career by walking on and taking the starting libero job as a freshman. During her four-year playing career with the Huskers, she amassed over 1,700 career digs, the most in program history until 2016. This weekend marks Banwarth's first return to the Devaney Center since 2019.
BATTLE TESTED
The Rebels had one of the tougher opening weekends across the country, hosting #9 Georgia Tech and #17 Illinois for the Ole Miss Invitational. They came up just short of the Yellow Jackets, scoring 24 points or more in all four sets, and fell to Illinois in four sets. It's all part of Banwarth's plan to have the Rebels battle tested. In 2022, Ole Miss' schedule features 10 matches against NCAA Tournament teams from last year. The non-conference gauntlet continues with #2 Nebraska on Saturday and a pair of 2021 NCAA Tournament teams the following two weekends in Texas State and Florida A&M.
PUTTING THE LEAGUE ON NOTICE
Ole Miss junior middle blocker Sasha Ratliff was one of fifteen student-athletes selected to the 2022 Preseason Volleyball All-SEC Team. Ratliff established herself as one of the top middle-blockers in the SEC last season, earning an all-conference nod as well as AVCA All-Region honors. The Atlanta, Georgia, native paced the team with a school record 113 assisted blocks and was one shy of the single-season total block record with 129. Ratliff was also a top offensive contributor, ranking third in the conference and 28th nationally at a .385 hitting clip.
FROM 1-19 TO THE BIG DANCE
Last season, Kayla Banwarth and the Rebels did something no one thought they could. Following a 1-19 showing during the 2020-21 season, Ole Miss flipped the script and recorded its first 20-win season since 2017 and made the NCAA Tournament for just the fourth time in school history. The turnaround by the Rebels was the best in Division I Volleyball in terms of winning percentage (a 65 percent increase). Ole Miss was also one of two Power Five teams and five programs nationally to see a 20-plus win improvement from the previous year. Heading into year three, Banwarth and the Rebels have made it clear that they want to repeat and build on last season's success and take the program to new heights.
HOT HANDS
Coming off a program record .255 hitting percentage last season, the Ole Miss offense is primed for another big season on the attack. The .255 mark ranked fourth in the SEC and was 33rd in the NCAA. The Rebels return 71.7 percent of their kills from 2021, led by AVCA All-Region honorable mention outside hitter Anna Bair. Returners Samantha Schnitta, Julia Dyess and Katie Corelli are also back and looking to continue last season's attacking success. Middle blockers Sasha Ratliff and Payton Brgoch are also major offensive contributors, with both racking up over 150 kills and hitting above .320 last season.
MEET YOU AT THE NET
A year ago, Ole Miss was a dominant force at the net, breaking the single-season program records for block assists (427) and total blocks (265.5). The Rebels were one of the SEC and nation's best when it came to stuffing opposing attackers. As a team, they ranked fourth in the conference and 54th nationally with 265.5 total blocks. Leading the charge for Ole Miss was the middle duo of Sasha Ratliff and Payton Brgoch. The two have big plans for their junior season after averaging 1.17 and 1.12 blocks per set, respectively, last season.
ROOKIES IN THE RANKINGS
Head coach Kayla Banwarth added top talent to the Rebels' 2022 class with the addition of six signees, including multiple Prep Volleyball Top-150 honorees. Five of the six new Rebels received AVCA High School All-America honors their senior year, tied with Florida for the most in the nation.
Aly Borellis makes her way to Oxford as a four-year letterwinner at Notre Dame Preparatory and a member of the Prep Volleyball Top-150 list. A decorated setter out of Rochester, Michigan, Borellis has racked up multiple All-American honors in her high school career, including a pair of PrepVolleyball First Team honors, AAU All-American laurels and 2021 AVCA First Team All-American honors.
Middle blocker Tessa Jones joins the Rebels as a Prep Volleyball Top-150 recruit and 2021 AVCA Honorable Mention High School All-American. In her four-year career at Seton High School in Cleves, Ohio, Jones tallied 606 kills and racked up 144 total blocks.
Outside hitter Shayla Meyer closed out her high school career with over 1,700 kills. The Superior, Nebraska, native was named first team All-Conference three years in a row, found a spot on the C-2 Volleyball All-State first team in 2020 and 2021 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American honors.
Ready for her first season in a Rebel uniform, Vivian Miller comes to campus as a highly touted recruit out of Jupiter, Florida, being named to the Prep Volleyball Top-100, AVCA Phenom List, AVCA Best and Brightest First Team and 2021 AVCA Second Team All-American honors. At Jupiter High School, the outside hitter totaled 500 kills in 154 sets played.
Cammy Niesen, listed as a defensive specialist, hopes to make an impact for the Rebels at the libero position. The 2021 AVCA Second Team High School All-American graduated as the all-time dig leader at Roger Bacon High School, where she led the Miami Valley Conference in digs as a senior. Niesen was also named first team All-District, District Player of the Year and first team All-State in 2020.
Outside hitter Emma Schwieger caps off the freshmen talent. The Bishop Moore Catholic High School grad was tabbed as the No. 5 player and the No. 1 right side in Florida for the class of 2022 and was listed as one of Prep Volleyball's 2022 players to watch.
RATLIFF, WHITE AND BLUE
After establishing herself as one of the top middle-blockers in the SEC last season, Sasha Ratliff received an invitation to the Women's National Team Open Program in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this past February. The junior spent three days training with some of the top athletes in the nation as part of the selection process for the U.S. Women's National Team and the 2022 U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team.
NEW FACES TO THE BENCH
Back on the bench for year two with the Rebels is Brad Creamer; however, when Ole Miss takes the court this season, he'll have a new role with the program: assistant coach. This offseason, Creamer was elevated to assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Rebels after assisting them in one of the best seasons in program history. Also added to the staff this offseason was assistant coach Bre Henry, who makes her way to Oxford from Santa Clara University. During her time with the Broncos, Santa Clara produced three AVCA All-Region selections, 12 All-WCC accolades and 10 WCC all-academic nods. Prior to Santa Clara, Henry was a graduate assistant with one of the nation's elite programs at Nebraska alongside Banwarth. Rounding out the new faces is volunteer assistant Douglas Florencio, who just wrapped up his playing career at King University and University of Charleston.
FOLLOW THE REBS
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.
