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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Sunday, October 13
Athens, Ga.
12 PM
Ole Miss
at
Georgia
Photo by: Ole Miss Athletics
Volleyball Looks for Bounce Back at Georgia
10/12/2024 | Volleyball
ATHENS, Ga. – The Ole Miss volleyball program heads east for another big SEC matchup, as they face Georgia at 12 p.m. CT, on Sunday on the SEC Network.
The Rebels (12-4, 2-2 SEC) return to action after a tight loss to Texas A&M, while the Bulldogs (7-7, 1-3 SEC) picked up their first win in conference play on Friday in five sets against South Carolina.
RALLY POINTS
SERIES HISTORY
LAST TIME OUT
The Rebels saw their six-match home winning streak come to an end on Wednesday, as they fell, 3-1 to Texas A&M.
Nia Washington led the way with a double-double of 14 kills and 11 digs, while Cammy Niesen added another 15 digs, but the Rebels couldn't complete the comeback, after tying the match at 1-1.
MOKI MAGIC
After tallying 104 assists over two, four-set SEC wins last week, Mokihana Tufono enters the week as the SEC's reigning Setter of the Week, after winning the award on October 7.
Tufono opened the week with a career-high 54 assists in the win over Tennessee, while adding eight digs and two blocks. From there, Tufono added another 50 assists and 11 digs in the win over LSU on Sunday, while also matching a career-best with five total blocks. Her efforts were particularly critical in helping Nia Washington rise to new heights, as Washington also set career-highs in back-to-back matches with 20 and 28 kills.
NIE-FENSE
Following a standout defensive performance in Houston, Cammy Niesen earned SEC weekly honors for the first time since 2022, as the junior libero was named the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week on September 23.
Niesen tallied 58 digs and 13 assists, while recording the 1,000th dig of her career during her award-winning weekend. Niesen was particularly impactful in the five-set win over Houston, with 19 digs and six assists, as well as notching 21 digs in the win over Texas A&M Commerce. With performances of 20 digs (Arkansas), 17 digs (Tennessee), 17 (LSU) and 15 (Texas A&M), Niesen has now tallied seven consecutive matches of 15 or more digs for the first time in her career.
FAMILY AFFAIR
Blocking runs in the Ratliff family. In four years, Ole Miss middle blocker Sasha Ratliff has established herself as one of the top blockers in the rally scoring era, ranking first all-time in with 441 total blocks, first in block assists with 342 and second in solo blocks with 89. A dominant force at the net, Ratliff has tallied 100-plus blocks in each of her last three seasons and is looking to do it a fourth straight time as she enters her fifth year as a Rebel. Her knack for blocking comes from her father, Theo, who was a shot blocker too. One of basketball's best, he ranks 20th in NBA history with nearly 2,000 blocks in his 16-year career.
CLIMBING THE LADDER
Several Rebels are poised to etch their names in the all-time record books in 2024 across multiple different metrics.
Sasha Ratliff and Payton Brgoch are seeking to end their careers at No. 1 and No. 2 on the all-time blocks list (post rally scoring). Ratliff (441) has taken the No. 1 spot, while Brgoch sits at No. 3 (404) and just 32 blocks away from passing Nakeyta Clair (435) for No. 2.
Additionally, Ratliff and Brgoch also rank 3rd and 5th respectively on the combined blocks list. Ratliff sits behind Genevieve Shy (1993-96 - 502 blocks) and Julie Link (1983-86 - 484 blocks), who both competed during the sideout scoring era.
CAN YOU DIG IT
After another tremendous week, junior libero Cammy Niesen continues to rewrite the record books by rising up the top-10 all-time in the rally scoring era.
Niesen stands at 1,128 career digs, which ranks seventh all-time in the rally scoring era and 10th all-time between both eras. Niesen is just 37 digs away from passing Elena Garcia and moving into sixth in the rally scoring era and ninth on the combined ledger.
In addition, Niesen became the 16th in program history to reach the 1,000-dig milestone in the win over Houston, with an additional year of eligibility still to come.
Get rewarded for attending events by joining Rebel Rewards powered by Coca-Cola, the official fan loyalty program of the Ole Miss Rebels. Download the Ole Miss Sports mobile app, sign up for a Rebel Rewards account, and start earning points immediately that can be redeemed for exclusive prizes and experiences.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss Volleyball on X at @OleMissVB, on Instagram at @olemissvb and on Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball. See exclusive photo and video content from behind the scenes and connect in real time with everything Ole Miss.
The Rebels (12-4, 2-2 SEC) return to action after a tight loss to Texas A&M, while the Bulldogs (7-7, 1-3 SEC) picked up their first win in conference play on Friday in five sets against South Carolina.
RALLY POINTS
- At 2-2 in the SEC, the Rebels are right in the thick of the highly competitive conference slate, but have a chance to lock down their first SEC road win of the season.
- Sasha Ratliff made history on Sunday, taking sole possession of first on the Rebels all-time total blocks leaderboard in the rally scoring era. She now stands 14 solo blocks away from completing the trio (solo, assists and total blocks).
- Ratliff is also on the chase for 1,000 kills in her career, standing at 981 in her career. Ratliff ranks 10th all-time at Ole Miss in kills in the rally scoring era.
- Libero Cammy Niesen now stands at 1,128 career digs, which ranks seventh all-time in the rally scoring era and 10th all-time between both eras.
- Junior Nia Washington is in tremendous form, going for back-to-back career-highs in kills last weekend, headlined by an outrageous 28 kills on a .404 hitting percentage in the Rebels victory over LSU on Sunday. She added a 14 kill, 11 dig double-double on Wednesday.
SERIES HISTORY
- Ole Miss trails 23-51 in the lengthy all-time series against Georgia and is looking to break through for the first time since 2021.
- Despite the all-time ledger, the Rebels and Bulldogs have had an extremely tight series of battles in recent years, with no shutouts for either side since 2019. In addition, five of the last seven matches have gone to five sets. However, the Rebels have not won in Athens since 2016.
LAST TIME OUT
The Rebels saw their six-match home winning streak come to an end on Wednesday, as they fell, 3-1 to Texas A&M.
Nia Washington led the way with a double-double of 14 kills and 11 digs, while Cammy Niesen added another 15 digs, but the Rebels couldn't complete the comeback, after tying the match at 1-1.
MOKI MAGIC
After tallying 104 assists over two, four-set SEC wins last week, Mokihana Tufono enters the week as the SEC's reigning Setter of the Week, after winning the award on October 7.
Tufono opened the week with a career-high 54 assists in the win over Tennessee, while adding eight digs and two blocks. From there, Tufono added another 50 assists and 11 digs in the win over LSU on Sunday, while also matching a career-best with five total blocks. Her efforts were particularly critical in helping Nia Washington rise to new heights, as Washington also set career-highs in back-to-back matches with 20 and 28 kills.
NIE-FENSE
Following a standout defensive performance in Houston, Cammy Niesen earned SEC weekly honors for the first time since 2022, as the junior libero was named the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week on September 23.
Niesen tallied 58 digs and 13 assists, while recording the 1,000th dig of her career during her award-winning weekend. Niesen was particularly impactful in the five-set win over Houston, with 19 digs and six assists, as well as notching 21 digs in the win over Texas A&M Commerce. With performances of 20 digs (Arkansas), 17 digs (Tennessee), 17 (LSU) and 15 (Texas A&M), Niesen has now tallied seven consecutive matches of 15 or more digs for the first time in her career.
FAMILY AFFAIR
Blocking runs in the Ratliff family. In four years, Ole Miss middle blocker Sasha Ratliff has established herself as one of the top blockers in the rally scoring era, ranking first all-time in with 441 total blocks, first in block assists with 342 and second in solo blocks with 89. A dominant force at the net, Ratliff has tallied 100-plus blocks in each of her last three seasons and is looking to do it a fourth straight time as she enters her fifth year as a Rebel. Her knack for blocking comes from her father, Theo, who was a shot blocker too. One of basketball's best, he ranks 20th in NBA history with nearly 2,000 blocks in his 16-year career.
CLIMBING THE LADDER
Several Rebels are poised to etch their names in the all-time record books in 2024 across multiple different metrics.
Sasha Ratliff and Payton Brgoch are seeking to end their careers at No. 1 and No. 2 on the all-time blocks list (post rally scoring). Ratliff (441) has taken the No. 1 spot, while Brgoch sits at No. 3 (404) and just 32 blocks away from passing Nakeyta Clair (435) for No. 2.
Additionally, Ratliff and Brgoch also rank 3rd and 5th respectively on the combined blocks list. Ratliff sits behind Genevieve Shy (1993-96 - 502 blocks) and Julie Link (1983-86 - 484 blocks), who both competed during the sideout scoring era.
CAN YOU DIG IT
After another tremendous week, junior libero Cammy Niesen continues to rewrite the record books by rising up the top-10 all-time in the rally scoring era.
Niesen stands at 1,128 career digs, which ranks seventh all-time in the rally scoring era and 10th all-time between both eras. Niesen is just 37 digs away from passing Elena Garcia and moving into sixth in the rally scoring era and ninth on the combined ledger.
In addition, Niesen became the 16th in program history to reach the 1,000-dig milestone in the win over Houston, with an additional year of eligibility still to come.
Get rewarded for attending events by joining Rebel Rewards powered by Coca-Cola, the official fan loyalty program of the Ole Miss Rebels. Download the Ole Miss Sports mobile app, sign up for a Rebel Rewards account, and start earning points immediately that can be redeemed for exclusive prizes and experiences.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss Volleyball on X at @OleMissVB, on Instagram at @olemissvb and on Facebook at Ole Miss Volleyball. See exclusive photo and video content from behind the scenes and connect in real time with everything Ole Miss.
Players Mentioned
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