Volleyball Drops Valiant Fight to Florida

OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss volleyball program battled until the end, but fell 3-1 to Florida on Friday afternoon at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center.

Melia Johnson led the offense of the Rebels (12-14, 4-11 SEC) tallying 16 kills and five digs on .367 hitting. Seniors Mokihana Tufono and Cammy Niesen delivered huge performances in their final home match at Gillom, with Tufono notching 42 assists and 15 digs, while Cammy Niesen added 20 digs and six assists. Jordyn Byrd and Aniya Madkin each tallied 11 kills to lead Florida's (14-10, 9-6 SEC) attack.

In the final home match of the season, it was the Gators who emerged with an early lead. Florida surged to an early 12-6 advantage and hit .357 in the set. Despite falling into the early hole, the Rebels built positive momentum towards the end of the set, as Shayla Meyer and Gabi Placide got going to help the Rebels cut the lead to four late in the frame, but Florida emerged with a 25-20 win.

That improved form from the first set carried immediate dividends in the second set, as Tessa Jones added a kill and a block and Tufono notched an ace and a block as the Rebels took a 10-7 lead. Johnson found momentum in the second set from there, tallying six kills in the set to expand the lead to 22-17. An emphatic kill by Meyer helped seal the deal for the Rebels, who rolled to a 25-19 victory.

The Rebels weathered an early storm from the Gators, who built a 7-4 lead, seeing that lead erased immediately. However, the Gators delivered a back-breaking 4-0 run to put them up 15-10 at the media timeout and would not relinquish the lead. Johnson continued to have the hot hand, but the Rebels could get no closer than two points away, before the visitors tallied a 4-1 run to end the set, 25-19.

Three early kills from Johnson and another two from Placide gave Ole Miss an 8-5 lead in front of an energized crowd. The Rebels kept Florida at arm's length, as Carly Paugh jumped into the action with multiple blocks and helped the Rebels take a 17-15 lead. Meyer tried to will her side to victory from there, tallying two kills and a block to make it 20-19. However, the visitors came together late, rattling off five straight points and taking the final set, 25-21.

The Rebels now await placement in the SEC Tournament, hosted in Savannah, Ga. The Rebels will compete against a to-be-determined opponent on Friday, Nov. 21 and the opening round will be televised on the SEC Network.

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Team Stats

Melia Johnson

Shayla Meyer

Gabi Placide

Tessa Jones

Players Mentioned

Melia Johnson

Tessa Jones

Shayla Meyer

Cammy Niesen

Carly Paugh

Gabi Placide

Mokihana Tufono

The University of Mississippi Athletics