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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, September 20
Houston, Texas
7 PM
Ole Miss
at
Houston
Photo by: Ole Miss Athletics
Non-Conference Slate Concludes for Ole Miss Volleyball at Houston
9/19/2024 | Volleyball
OXFORD, Miss. – Following a weekend home sweep, the Ole Miss volleyball program returns to action to wrap up the non-conference campaign this weekend, as they travel to Houston for the Cougar Challenge.
The Rebels will open the event with a matchup against the hosts, facing the Cougars on Friday, September 20 at 7 p.m. CT, before facing Tennessee State and Texas A&M Commerce on Saturday, September 21 at 11 a.m., and 2 p.m. CT, respectively.
RALLY POINTS
SERIES HISTORY
LAST TIME OUT
Ole Miss extended their win streak to five consecutive matches, earning wins over Drake, FGCU and Little Rock at the Ole Miss Invitational.
Countless Rebels shined from the start, including Shayla Meyer, who tallied two double-doubles and a career-high 21 kills against FGCU. Mokihana Tufono continued her torrid start with another career-high, eclipsing the 50-assist mark for the first time in the five-set win over the Eagles.
Payton Brgoch recorded the first Rebel double-double with blocks since 2017, by tallying 10 kills and 10 blocks against FGCU. In addition, Cammy Niesen tallied her largest dig tally of the season with 28 against the Eagles.
FAMILY AFFAIR
Blocking runs in the Ratliff family. Over her career, Ole Miss middle blocker Sasha Ratliff has quickly climbed into the top-10 in the record books, ranking second all-time in the rally scoring era with 429 total blocks, second in block assists with 343 and second in solo blocks with 86. 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), with Ratliff currently standing at No. 2 (429) and Brgoch at No. 5 (377).
Ratliff needs seven more blocks to set the all-time record held by Nakeyta Clair (2012-15), while Brgoch is just seven away from moving into fourth all-time.
CAN YOU DIG IT
After another tremendous week, junior libero Cammy Niesen etched her name in the record books by entering the top-10 all-time in the rally scoring era.
Niesen stands at 998 career digs, which ranks ninth all-time in the rally scoring era and 16th all-time between both eras. Niesen is just 43 digs away from passing Allison Weber moving into eighth in the rally scoring era and just six away from passing Julie Link for 15th on the combined ledger.
In addition, Niesen stands just two digs away from 1,000 in her career as she seeks to become the 16th in program history to reach the milestone, with an additional year of eligibility still to come.
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 will open the event with a matchup against the hosts, facing the Cougars on Friday, September 20 at 7 p.m. CT, before facing Tennessee State and Texas A&M Commerce on Saturday, September 21 at 11 a.m., and 2 p.m. CT, respectively.
RALLY POINTS
- Ole Miss volleyball enters the weekend on a five-match winning streak as they conclude the non-conference slate.
- Sasha Ratliff has a chance at making history this weekend, standing just seven blocks away from taking sole possession of first on the Rebels all-time blocks leaderboard in the rally scoring era.
- Libero Cammy Niesen is closing in on 1,000 career digs, standing at 998 in her career. She now ranks in the top-10 all-time at Ole Miss (rally scoring era).
- The Rebels rank second in the SEC and 15th nationally in opponent hitting percentage, holding their opponents to a .141 hitting percentage.
- Ratliff, a two-time All-SEC Team member, was one of 18 student-athletes named to the conference's preseason team. She looks to become the second-ever Rebel to earn three All-Conference nods in her career.
- Four years playing collegiate volleyball just wasn't enough for Payton Brgoch, Sommer Daniel and Sasha Ratliff, who chose to utilize their extra year of eligibility and return for a fifth season.
SERIES HISTORY
- Ole Miss has not faced Houston since 2007, but make the return to the Lone Star State to face the Cougars, trailing 4-2 in the all-time series. The Rebels won the last meeting between the two sides in a 3-0 victory.
- Ole Miss holds a 3-1 lead in the all-time series against the Tigers and will meet for the second consecutive season. The Rebels got 11 kills from Anna Bair and a .533 hitting percentage from Sasha Ratliff to earn a 3-0 victory in Nashville, Tennessee.
- Ole Miss will face Texas A&M Commerce for the first time on Saturday. The Lions are a new entrant in Division I and will continue to reclassify until the 2026-27 season.
LAST TIME OUT
Ole Miss extended their win streak to five consecutive matches, earning wins over Drake, FGCU and Little Rock at the Ole Miss Invitational.
Countless Rebels shined from the start, including Shayla Meyer, who tallied two double-doubles and a career-high 21 kills against FGCU. Mokihana Tufono continued her torrid start with another career-high, eclipsing the 50-assist mark for the first time in the five-set win over the Eagles.
Payton Brgoch recorded the first Rebel double-double with blocks since 2017, by tallying 10 kills and 10 blocks against FGCU. In addition, Cammy Niesen tallied her largest dig tally of the season with 28 against the Eagles.
FAMILY AFFAIR
Blocking runs in the Ratliff family. Over her career, Ole Miss middle blocker Sasha Ratliff has quickly climbed into the top-10 in the record books, ranking second all-time in the rally scoring era with 429 total blocks, second in block assists with 343 and second in solo blocks with 86. 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), with Ratliff currently standing at No. 2 (429) and Brgoch at No. 5 (377).
Ratliff needs seven more blocks to set the all-time record held by Nakeyta Clair (2012-15), while Brgoch is just seven away from moving into fourth all-time.
CAN YOU DIG IT
After another tremendous week, junior libero Cammy Niesen etched her name in the record books by entering the top-10 all-time in the rally scoring era.
Niesen stands at 998 career digs, which ranks ninth all-time in the rally scoring era and 16th all-time between both eras. Niesen is just 43 digs away from passing Allison Weber moving into eighth in the rally scoring era and just six away from passing Julie Link for 15th on the combined ledger.
In addition, Niesen stands just two digs away from 1,000 in her career as she seeks to become the 16th in program history to reach the milestone, with an additional year of eligibility still to come.
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
MB
/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
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