Volleyball Closes Out Non-Conference Play At Jaguar Invitational

			JAGUAR INVITATIONAL September 15-16 Mobile, Ala. Jaguar Gym
Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • SEC Notes (PDF)

Thursday, Sept. 15 vs. Florida A&M 12 p.m.	Thursday, Sept. 15 at South Alabama 7 p.m.	Friday, Sept. 16 vs. EKU 3 p.m.
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RALLY POINTS
• Ole Miss Volleyball looks to round out its challenging non-conference slate, hitting the road for the Jaguar Invitational in Mobile, Alabama, with Florida A&M, South Alabama and EKU.
• Thursday and Friday's match will mark the third consecutive week competing on the road for Kayla Banwarth's squad.
• The Rebels picked up their first two victories of the season, winning matches against Sam Houston and Texas State.
• Freshman setter Aly Borellis and junior Sasha Ratliff were named to the Bobcat Invitational All-Tournament team last weekend. Borellis led the offense to a .307 hitting clip with 106 assists, while Ratliff totaled 25 kills and 10 blocks.
• Senior Anna Bair nearly doubled her season totals in kills over the weekend, tallying 50 in the three-match span. She currently ranks fourth in the SEC with 4.08 kills per set.
• The Rebel offense stacks up as one of the nation's best, ranking 22nd in assists per set, 37th in kills per set and 60th in hitting percentage.
• This week marks the final portion of Ole Miss' non-conference slate that features five matches against 2021 NCAA Tournament teams.
• 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 2022 roster features 12 members from last season's NCAA Tournament team, six freshmen and a pair of transfers.

SCOUTING THE FIELD
Coming off an NCAA Tournament berth a season ago, Florida A&M is off to a 3-7 start to its 2022 campaign. The Rattlers are coming off a 3-0 weekend in North Carolina in which they captured victories over UNCG, Elon and NCAT. Florida A&M is led by Dominique Washington, the SWAC's reigning Player and Newcomer of the Year, who ranks third in the conference in kills with 127 and has finished with 10 or more in six straight matches.

The Jaguar Invitational hosts South Alabama boasts a 3-6 record through nine matches this season. The Jaguars are looking to shake off the rust after a winless weekend at the Maroon and White Invite in Starkville last weekend. The South Alabama offense is averaging 12.8 kills per set and hitting at a .186 clip. On the other side of things, they rank 10th nationally with 17.2 digs per set.

Heading into the weekend, Eastern Kentucky sits at 7-3 after a 2-1 outing last weekend. The Colonels have one of the tougher defenses in the field, holding opponents to a mere .150 hitting percentage while blocking 1.7 shots per set. Offensively, they average 12.2 kills per set and hit at a .191 clip.

SERIES HISTORY
Ole Miss leads the series with all three teams participating in the Jaguar Invitational. The Rebels are 2-1 all-time against Florida A&M, including taking the last meeting in straight sets in 2017. They also lead South Alabama 6-3, winning the previous meeting 3-1, also in 2017. Ole Miss and Eastern Kentucky have only met once on the court, with the Rebels sweeping the lone meeting 3-0.

CHASING 1K
Senior Anna Bair has been a staple of the Ole Miss attack each of the past four seasons she's donned a Rebel uniform. The strong-armed St. Louis native has racked up 923 kills in her career and is less than 100 away from the 1,000 milestone mark. On her quest for 1K, Bair is hitting at a .301 clip this season and averaging 4.1 kills per set. A leader on the court, Bair has led the Rebels in kills in every match this season and has finished in double-figures in all but one match.

TEXAS TWO-STEP
The Rebels found their groove last weekend at the Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos, Texas. Ole Miss got back to winning ways, sweeping Sam Houston behind an efficient attack led by Anna Bair and Payton Brgoch. In the nightcap, the Rebs battled the host, Texas State, eating the Cats up in four sets. Bair and Sasha Ratliff each laid down 17 kills, while freshman setter Aly Borellis powered the offense to a .329 hitting percentage with a career-high 51 assists.

BATTLE TESTED
Despite an 2-5 start to the 2022 season, the Rebels are gaining valuable experience on the court that will prepare them for conference play and a run in the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss 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. The uphill climb continued the following weekend at the Husker Invitational, where they battled with #2 Nebraska. The Rebels picked up their first two victories of 2022 this past weekend at the Bobcat Invitational and are looking for more this weekend as they travel to Mobile to take on a pair of 2021 NCAA Tournament teams in South Alabama 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.

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 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

Aly Borellis

Payton Brgoch

Tessa Jones

Shayla Meyer

Vivian Miller

Cammy Niesen

Sasha Ratliff

Emma Schwieger

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