Volleyball Travels To Lone Star State For Bobcat Invitational

			BOBCAT INVITATIONAL September 9-10 San Marcos, Texas Strahan Arena
Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • SEC Notes (PDF)

Friday, Sept. 9 vs. Sam Houston 10 a.m.	Friday, Sept. 9 at Texas State 7 p.m.	Saturday, Sept. 10 vs. Wake Forest 2 p.m.
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RALLY POINTS
• Ole Miss Volleyball looks to turn the tide this weekend at the Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos, Texas, when they take on Sam Houston, Texas State and Wake Forest.
• The Rebels enter the weekend battle-tested, having faced three ranked teams, including a pair of top-10 opponents, in their first four matches.
• Junior Payton Brgoch continues to establish herself as one of the best middle blockers in the SEC. Through the first four matches, she ranks third in the conference and 21st nationally with 1.50 blocks per set.
• Katie Corelli picked up All-Tournament honors last weekend at the Husker Invitational, finishing with 11 kills and a .450 clip.
• 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
Heading into the weekend, Sam Houston sits at 3-5 overall. The Bearkats are coming off a close 0-3 loss to Texas A&M on Tuesday, pushing the Aggies past 25 in two sets. Freshman middle blocker Madison Dyer leads the team with 76 kills and a .299 attacking percentage while averaging 0.81 blocks per set.

The tournament host Texas State is off to a 4-2 start to the 2022 season. The Bobcats swept through opening weekend at the Cardinal Classic before dropping contests to Hawaii and UCLA last weekend. Through six matches, Texas State is hitting at a .279 clip, the 34th best mark in the country, and ranks inside the top 100 with 13.25 kills per set. Sixth-year senior Jada Gardner paces the offense with 68 kills on 151 total attacks.

Rounding out the field is Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons boast a 3-2 record on the year, including a four set victory over South Carolina last weekend. As a team, Wake Forest ranks 19th nationally with 16.95 digs per set, led by freshman DS Emma Farrell. On the offensive side, Paige Crawford paces the team, averaging 4.44 points per set while hitting at a team-high .300 clip, and Peyton Seuss leads the team with 63 kills.

SERIES HISTORY
The Rebels lead the all-time series 6-2 with Sam Houston State, having won each of the last four meetings. The last two times the two squared off on the court, Ole Miss has swept the Kats. The second matchup of Friday's doubleheader features the third ever meeting between Ole Miss and Texas State, with the series tied at one match apiece. The Rebels close out the weekend against Wake Forest. Ole Miss leads the series 2-1; however, the Demon Deacons took the last meeting 3-1 in 1999.

BATTLE TESTED
Despite an 0-4 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 non-conference gauntlet continues this weekend with Texas State, a team that has punched a ticket to the Big Dance in three of the past four seasons, and a pair of 2021 NCAA Tournament teams the following weekend 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

Katie Corelli

Tessa Jones

Shayla Meyer

Vivian Miller

Cammy Niesen

Sasha Ratliff

Emma Schwieger

The University of Mississippi Athletics