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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
4-3,0-0SEC
South Dakota State
2-6,0-0Summit League
Volleyball Sweeps South Dakota State
9/8/2023 | Volleyball
Rebels Dominate Jackrabbits on Offense
OXFORD, Miss. – The offense shined once again as Ole Miss volleyball picked up its second sweep of the weekend. The Rebels dominated South Dakota State in straight sets at the Gillom Center to remain perfect at the Ole Miss Invitational.
For the fourth straight match, the Rebels (4-3, 0-0 SEC) hit above .300. Setter Aly Borellis guided the offense to a .386 mark, including a monster .800 clip in the third set. Anna Bair led the way with 14 kills, one shy of her season high. Payton Brgoch followed with nine kills on a career-best .727 clip. Brandon Mississippi, native Julia Dyess also tallied nine kills, helping Ole Miss dominate the Jackrabbits.
In control of a close match early, Sasha Ratliff and Borellis stuffed SDSU at the net and forced the Jackrabbits to burn both of their timeouts, trailing 9-14. South Dakota State, however, regrouped with a 7-0 run to take the lead back at 16-14. Nia Washington snapped the run and got Ole Miss back on track, helping the Rebels tie things back up at 18 all. It went back and forth down the stretch, but Ole Miss was able to score in bursts to grab a tight first set, 25-23.
Brgoch asserted herself early on in the second net, establishing herself as a presence at the net. The Parker, Colorado, product slammed down a kill and a block on back-to-back plays to help the Rebels jump out to an 8-2 lead. Ole Miss continued to take care of business as Bair came alive with nine kills in the set alone, including the final point of a 25-17 set victory.
With all the momentum on the Rebels' side, Ole Miss dominated the third set. The Rebels couldn't miss, terminating on 13 of their 15 swings and adding six aces at the service line. Dyess and Bair had the hot hands, recording four and three kills, respectively. Libero Cammy Niesen even joined in on the scoring party with back-to-back aces and a dig kill as Ole Miss left the Jackrabbits in the dust, capping off the sweep with a 25-9 exclamation point.
The Rebels close out action at the Ole Miss Invitational on Saturday, hosting Tennessee Tech at 4 p.m. CT.
Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissVB, Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball, and on Instagram at @olemissvb.
