Volleyball Rounds Out Road Swing With Magnolia State Showdown

			OLE MISS (8-12, 2-7 SEC) at MISSISSIPPI STATE (9-9, 2-6 SEC) Sunday, Oct. 22 • 2 p.m. CT • Starkville, Miss. Newell-Grissom Building
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RALLY POINTS
• Ole Miss Volleyball rounds out a five-match road swing on October 22 with an in-state showdown against Mississippi State at 2 p.m.
• The last time these two teams met, Ole Miss won the rivalry contest 3-1 in Starkville.
• Redshirt freshman Shayla Meyer is coming off back-to-back double-doubles, including a career-high 12 kills against Georgia.
• Payton Brgoch (.383) and Sasha Ratliff (.375) rank second and third in the conference in hitting percentage, respectively.
• The middle blocker duo, known as the Rebel Roofing Company, has also combined for eight blocks in four of their last five matches.
• Libero Cammy Niesen ranks second in the SEC with 337 digs on the season (4.38 per set). She has registered double-digit digs in all but one match this season.
• Brgoch recorded her 300th career block on Wednesday, becoming the 11th middle blocker in program history to surpass the milestone.

ELITE COMPANY
Ole Miss' Sasha Ratliff tallied her 800th career kill on Sunday against Missouri. The senior middle blocker is writing her name all over the record book, boasting the best career hitting percentage (minimum 1500 attempts) with a blistering .351 clip and ranking fourth in the rally scoring era with 356 total blocks. One of the best to see the court in a Rebel uniform, Ratliff is one of six athletes in program history, including just the third in the rally scoring era, with at least 800 kills and 350 blocks.

LANDSHARK DEFENSE
One of the most improved areas for the Rebels this season has been the defense. Last season, Ole Miss ranked last in the SEC and 302nd nationally in opponent hitting percentage. That's all changed this season thanks to the addition of associate head coach Taylor Gregory, who leads the defensive efforts along with head coach Bre Henry. So far in 2023, the Ole Miss defense is averaging 14.68 digs per set, the second best mark in the SEC. Libero Cammy Niesen plays a large role in the effort, ranking third with her 4.42 digs per set. This, combined with the presence of Sasha Ratliff and Payton Brgoch, who help the Rebels average 2.16 blocks per set, have helped create one of the stingiest defenses in the SEC. Ole Miss is holding its opponents to a .194 hitting percentage in 2023, the sixth-best mark in the league.

SHOWTIME
Battling back to force a fifth set, Ole Miss volleyball came from behind to top South Carolina 3-2 in a five-set thriller to close out September. Julia Dyess and Sasha Ratliff willed the Rebels to victory, finishing with 19 kills each. The 19 kills on a .308 hitting clip also marked a career-high for the Brandon, Mississippi, native Dyess. Two other Rebels also tallied double-digit kills to aid the offense. Nia Washington recorded 13, and Bair registered 11, including her 1,300th career kill. Setter Aly Borellis was pivotal in keeping the offense on track to hit at a .284 mark. The sophomore dished out 62 assists, a career-high and the second most by a Rebel in a single match in the rally scoring era.

TAMING THE TIDE
Ole Miss volleyball opened SEC play against Alabama, sweeping the Tide in front of a packed Gillom Center last Friday night. Playing without All-SEC middle blocker Sasha Ratliff, Ole Miss turned to its underclassmen. Vivian Miller, Shayla Meyer and Tessa Jones answered the call, combining for 24 of the Rebels' 41 kills. Jones, who split the workload with Payton Brgoch in the middle, helped Ole Miss hold the Crimson Tide to a mere .084 hitting clip.

DIGGIN' IT
As the Rebels rounded out non-conference play, the Ole Miss backcourt, led by libero Cammy Niesen, helped Ole Miss tally 113 digs against Tulsa, breaking another single match program record this season. Five Rebels finished with double-digit digs as the team topped the century mark. Niesen led the effort with a career-high 34 digs, the third most in a single match in the rally scoring era and the most by a Rebel since 2010.

HOT HITTING
Playing in front of its home crowd for the first time this season, the Rebels put on an offensive clinic, dominating Alcorn State to open the Ole Miss Invitational. The Rebels tied the program record for attacking percentage set two seasons ago against Alabama A&M, hitting at a blistering .488 mark with nearly 50 kills on 80 attempts. Payton Brgoch led the way with 11 kills on 16 swings, and Sasha Ratliff was also a perfect 6-of-6 in the match.

DIME TIME
Sophomore setter Aly Borellis picked up her 1,000th career assist on August 27, needing only 28 matches to accomplish the feat. Last season, the Rochester, Michigan, native earned SEC All-Freshman team honors after leading the Rebel offense. Now, she is looking to not only establish herself as one of the conference's best setters but the nation's. Borellis is averaging 9.56 assists per set, seventh in the SEC and 84th in the country.

REBEL ROOFING CO.
Over the past three seasons, the Rebels have been fortunate enough to watch two of the program's best middle blockers share the court. Payton Brgoch and Sasha Ratliff are leaving their legacy on Ole Miss volleyball. The duo both actively rank inside the top 10 in program history for total blocks in the rally scoring era, boast the second and third-best single seasons in program history when it comes to blocking and led the Rebels to a new program record for blocks in a season in 2021. Brgoch ranks sixth, boasting 305 total blocks in her career, including 123 last season and 77 this year. Ratliff ranks fourth with 356 total blocks in her career. She has eclipsed 100 blocks in each of the past two seasons, including 129 in 2021. With both middles playing their senior season, they look to cement themselves as two of the best to ever wear an Ole Miss uniform.

SUPER SENIORS
Four years in a Rebel uniform just wasn't enough for Anna Bair and Maggie Miller. After graduating last May with undergraduate degrees from Ole Miss, the two seniors made the decision to come back and utilize their fifth year of eligibility. Now in their "super senior" season, they're back for one more year with their teammates and coaches.

Bair returns for a fifth season after earning back-to-back AVCA South All-Region honors the past two years. She is one of 15 student-athletes in Ole Miss history to tally 1,000 career kills, ranking third in the rally scoring era and sixth all-time with 1,330 total kills. A key piece of the attack since stepping on campus, Bair has appeared in 120 matches in a Rebel uniform and recorded double-digit kills in 74, including 10 this season.

Miller returns for a fifth season in an Ole Miss uniform after appearing in over 300 sets across 88 matches in her career. The Houston, Texas, native is a steady passer in the back row, averaging 1.51 digs per set in her career, and gives the Rebels another weapon at the service line with 38 career aces.

AMONG THE LEAGUE'S BEST
Ahead of her senior season, Ole Miss middle blocker and two-time All-SEC team member Sasha Ratliff was one of fifteen student-athletes selected to the 2023 Volleyball Preseason All-SEC Team. It marks the second straight season that Ratliff has earned preseason praise from the conference. Ratliff is looking to become the second Rebel to ever earn All-Conference honors three times in their career this year.

SUPPORT THE REBS
The Ole Miss Volleyball ACE Club provides a great opportunity to help head coach Bre Henry support the Rebels year-round. Funds from the Ace Club are a major component in helping address needs within the Ole Miss volleyball program, including updates to facility spaces, specialized training equipment, travel and other unique student-athlete or team building experiences that are critical for recruiting and enhancing the overall Ole Miss student-athlete experience. ACE Club memberships start as low as $100, and members have the opportunity to receive unique benefits and experiences, all while helping the Rebels compete at the highest level throughout the SEC and country.

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Players Mentioned

Anna Bair

Aly Borellis

Payton Brgoch

Julia Dyess

Tessa Jones

Shayla Meyer

Maggie Miller

Vivian Miller

Cammy Niesen

Sasha Ratliff

Nia Washington

The University of Mississippi Athletics