1,000-1,000 Club Highlight: Julie Link Clark Makes Ole Miss Volleyball History

OXFORD, Miss. – In celebration of Ole Miss volleyball's 50 seasons of competition, OleMissSports.com is proud to highlight eight student-athletes part of an elite club, who accomplished one of the rarest athletic feats in program history.

Comprised of athletes from the 1980s to as recently as 2017, Ole Miss’ 1,000-1,000 club honors players who record at least 1,000 tallies in two statistical categories throughout their careers, generally kills and digs, showcasing excellence in both offense and defense.

On Nov. 20, 1986, Julie Link Clark became the first athlete in Ole Miss volleyball history to join the 1,000-1,000 club.

Link Clark had already established herself as one of the best volleyball players in Ole Miss program history, having recorded well over 1,400 kills by the time the team faced Kentucky in the first round of the SEC Tournament. The middle blocker sat at 999 career digs entering the match and was the all-time leader in the category at that.

Link Clark would pick up four digs to become the first Ole Miss volleyball player to record 1,000 career digs while becoming the founding member of the 1,000-1,000 club in the process. In her last collegiate match, Kentucky pulled off a 3-0 win, but Link Clark’s legacy would remain over the course of Ole Miss history.

Destination: Oxford

A native of Kettering, Ohio, Link Clark was a talented recruit who was sought after by several schools, including Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Ole Miss, however, stood out to Link Clark for several reasons.

When contemplating where she wanted to attend, Link Clark had determined she wanted to be a program builder. Rather than hopping on an already established and successful team, she wanted to create an impact on a program to help it grow.

“I loved that it was a program that was in development,” Link Clark said. “Ole Miss was a consistent No. 5 or No. 6 team in the SEC. What appealed to me about coming to Ole Miss was to be a part of building a program.”

With her decision clear, Link Clark joined Ole Miss ahead of the 1983 season. From the jump, Link Clark established herself as a force on the court. As a freshman, she led Ole Miss in kills with 408, service aces with 66 and total blocks with 114 (45 of which were solo), all while picking up 165 digs. She helped lead the Rebels to a 28-15 overall record that season.

Having effectively introduced herself, Link Clark continued to shine for the Rebels in her sophomore campaign, continuing to serve as a well-rounded cog in the Ole Miss machine. She upped her number of digs from the previous year by nearly 100, while improving her attack percentage to .204. She once again led the Rebels in service aces with 72, which set a then Ole Miss single-season record.

Link Clark’s most productive season came in 1985 as a junior, after adjusting to a change in head coaches. Al Givens’ second season as head coach brought Link Clark to new heights, where she recorded a staggering 441 kills, 73 service aces (which still stands as the all-time single season Ole Miss record, regardless of scoring era), 279 digs and 153 total blocks. She demonstrated her service prowess against Louisiana that year, tallying nine aces, a single-match record that still stands for Ole Miss. That season, she became the second player in Ole Miss history to reach 1,000 career kills.

Link Clark wasn’t one to keep track of her statistics, spending most of her time prioritizing her performance on the court. She entered her senior season unaware that she was on the cusp of something special. With another new head coach, John Blair, who would go on to become Ole Miss volleyball’s winningest head coach, Link Clark looked forward to her final season in the blue and red.

Ole Miss and Link Clark had another successful season, earning a winning record for the 11th consecutive year, the last four of which behind Link Clark’s leadership. Link Clark had once again dominated offensively with 306 kills, as well as on the defensive front with a career-high 308 digs. She became an All-SEC team member for the first time that season.

It came to that fateful postseason match against Kentucky when Link Clark broke through for her 1,000th dig, her first of the day. Following the match, she would walk off the court for the final time as one of the all-time greats, with many of her seismic numbers still standing tall on Ole Miss’ record book.

“I’m amazed that my name remains in some of those places,” Link Clark said. “It’s super special, I love that I’m a part of Ole Miss volleyball history, that’s cool.”

Entering the 2025 season, Link Clark has the second-most kills all-time with 1,458 (a sideout scoring program record), the seventh-most digs in the sideout scoring era with 1,003 and still sits atop the all-time program leaderboard in service aces with 251 in her career. She’s the only Rebel to eclipse the 200-ace mark. She also has the third most total blocks in all eras of Ole Miss volleyball with 484.

Life After Volleyball

Though her playing days are behind her, Link Clark still looks back on her time at Ole Miss fondly.

“I made some of my very best lifetime friends at Ole Miss, and largely they were my teammates,” Link Clark said.

After her final match, Link Clark went on to graduate from Ole Miss and stayed to earn her master’s degree in education. From there, she spent three years working in the kinesiology field before finding the company she would spend most of her career.

The two-time SEC Honor Roll selection spent 30 years with a company based in Chicago called Abbott Laboratories. In her position, she sold large capital equipment to hospital laboratories that allowed them to perform standard medical procedures such as CBC tests or chemistry profiles.

She credits Ole Miss and her time playing volleyball to her successful professional ventures as a commercial healthcare sales and marketing leader.

“Being part of a team is a critical skill,” Link Clark said. “Then there’s the competitive nature of playing college sports. There’s the discipline, the accountability of being a Division I athlete … I think that my collegiate volleyball experience completely intertwined with my success in business.”

She thrived in the competitive nature of the job field thanks to her experience in collegiate sports. She was unfazed by lofty expectations after experiencing the highest of standards in college as a student-athlete.

Link Clark and her husband, Chip, have since retired and moved on to a more recreational lifestyle. The couple enjoys boating and playing tennis in their free time, while also spending time with their children.

In 2014, Link Clark became Ole Miss volleyball’s first induction into the M-Club Hall of Fame. She was part of an all-time Hall of Fame class, which featured herself alongside football’s Chucky Mullins and women’s basketball’s Armintie Price. At the time of her induction, she was ranked fifth all-time in the SEC in service aces and sixth in block solos.

“Both of my boys came,” Link Clark said. “It was the first time either one of them had experienced Ole Miss at all. So, that was super cool. They were both very proud to be there, sporting their navy-blue sport coats, that’s a good memory.”

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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