Volleyball Closes Out Non-Conference Play At Jaguar Invitational

RALLY POINTS

• Ole Miss Volleyball looks to round out its challenging non-conference slate, hitting the road for the Jaguar Invitational in Mobile, Alabama, with Florida A&M, South Alabama and EKU.
• Thursday and Friday’s match will mark the third consecutive week competing on the road for Kayla Banwarth‘s squad.
• The Rebels picked up their first two victories of the season, winning matches against Sam Houston and Texas State.
• Freshman setter Aly Borellis and junior Sasha Ratliff were named to the Bobcat Invitational All-Tournament team last weekend. Borellis led the offense to a .307 hitting clip with 106 assists, while Ratliff totaled 25 kills and 10 blocks.
• Senior Anna Bair nearly doubled her season totals in kills over the weekend, tallying 50 in the three-match span. She currently ranks fourth in the SEC with 4.08 kills per set.
• The Rebel offense stacks up as one of the nation’s best, ranking 22nd in assists per set, 37th in kills per set and 60th in hitting percentage.
• This week marks the final portion of Ole Miss’ non-conference slate that features five matches against 2021 NCAA Tournament teams.
• Middle blocker Sasha Ratliff was one of 15 student-athletes named to the Preseason All-SEC Team. She earned all-conference honors last year after a breakout sophomore campaign.
• The 2022 roster features 12 members from last season’s NCAA Tournament team, six freshmen and a pair of transfers.

SCOUTING THE FIELD

Coming off an NCAA Tournament berth a season ago, Florida A&M is off to a 3-7 start to its 2022 campaign. The Rattlers are coming off a 3-0 weekend in North Carolina in which they captured victories over UNCG, Elon and NCAT. Florida A&M is led by Dominique Washington, the SWAC’s reigning Player and Newcomer of the Year, who ranks third in the conference in kills with 127 and has finished with 10 or more in six straight matches.

The Jaguar Invitational hosts South Alabama boasts a 3-6 record through nine matches this season. The Jaguars are looking to shake off the rust after a winless weekend at the Maroon and White Invite in Starkville last weekend. The South Alabama offense is averaging 12.8 kills per set and hitting at a .186 clip. On the other side of things, they rank 10th nationally with 17.2 digs per set.

Heading into the weekend, Eastern Kentucky sits at 7-3 after a…