Volleyball Opens SEC Play at Arkansas

OXFORD, Miss. – Entering the weekend on an eight-match win streak, the Ole Miss volleyball program will open Southeastern Conference play on Sunday, facing Arkansas at the Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.

The Rebels (10-2, 0-0 SEC) are set for the first SEC match of the season, while Arkansas (11-2, 1-0 SEC), picked up a win over Georgia on Wednesday to open conference play.

RALLY POINTS

Ole Miss volleyball enters SEC play on an eight-match winning streak, which is good for the longest streak under head coach Bre Henry.
Sasha Ratliff has a chance at making history this weekend, standing just five blocks away from taking sole possession of first on the Rebels all-time blocks leaderboard in the rally scoring era.
Ratliff is also on the chase for 1,000 kills in her career, standing at 959 in her career. Ratliff ranks 10th all-time at Ole Miss in kills in the rally scoring era.
Libero Cammy Niesen enters the week as the reigning SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week. Niesen now stands at 1,056 career digs, which ranks seventh all-time in the rally scoring era and 12th all-time between both eras.
Niesen will match up in a battle of the SEC's top liberos, as Arkansas' Courtney Jackson and Niesen rank first and second in the SEC in total digs, respectively.
The Rebels rank second in the SEC and 26th nationally in opponent hitting percentage, holding their opponents to a .156 hitting percentage.

SERIES HISTORY

Ole Miss is seeking to snap a seven-match skid to Arkansas and looking for their first win in the series since 2019. Additionally, the Rebels are looking for their first win in Fayetteville since 2015.
Despite the record, the Rebels are looking to build on a narrow, 3-2, loss to the then No. 10 Razorbacks in the last meeting back on November 15, 2023. Julia Dyess shined with 19 kills and nine digs in that matchup.

LAST TIME OUT
Ole Miss tacked on three more wins to extend their winning streak to eight consecutive contests, headlined by a 3-2 win over Houston at the Cougar Challenge in Houston, Texas.

The Rebels followed up the win over the hosts with a pair of victories over Tennessee State and Texas A&M Commerce to extend their record to 10-2, which is just one win shy of matching last season's total victories.

Payton Brgoch led the way on offense for the Rebels, tallying 41 kills and 14 blocks over three matches. Cammy Niesen added 58 digs, while Mokihana Tufono and Sommer Daniel combined for 151 assists.

NIE-FENSE
Following a standout defensive performance, 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. 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. Niesen has now tallied three consecutive matches of 15 or more digs for the first time since Oct. 2023.

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 431 total blocks, first in block assists with 345 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 (431) and Brgoch at No. 3 (391).

Ratliff needs five more blocks to set the all-time record held by Nakeyta Clair (2012-15), while Brgoch is right behind the duo in third all-time. Ratliff and Brgoch also rank 4th and 5th respectively on the combined blocks list.

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 1,056 career digs, which ranks seventh all-time in the rally scoring era and 12th all-time between both eras. Niesen is just 109 digs away from passing Elena Garcia and moving into sixth in the rally scoring era and just 35 away from passing Kristi Wilkinson for 12th 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.

RebelsCalendar

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Payton Brgoch

Sommer Daniel

Julia Dyess

Cammy Niesen

Sasha Ratliff

Mokihana Tufono

The University of Mississippi Athletics