Volleyball Eyes Road Test With No. 20 Arkansas

RALLY POINTS
• Ole Miss volleyball travels to Fayetteville to take on 20th-ranked Arkansas Saturday at 3 p.m. CT.

• The Rebels dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Texas A&M on Wednesday to open SEC play.
• Ole Miss is looking for its first victory in Barnhill Arena since 2015, when it won in five sets.
• Senior Anna Bair has 979 kills in her Ole Miss career, just 21 shy of the 1,000 kill milestone. She ranks 16th all-time in program history.
• Bair has been one of the conference’s top attackers so far in 2022, ranking third in the SEC and 38th nationally with 4.05 kills per set.
• The Rebels closed out a tough non-conference slate that featured five matches against 2021 NCAA Tournament Teams.
• Ole Miss’ offense stacks up as one of the conference’s best, ranking fourth in assists per set, fourth in kills per set and eighth in hitting percentage.
• 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 RAZORBACKS

At 9-2, Arkansas is off to one of its best starts in 10 years. Head coach Jason Watson has the Razorbacks making waves as they’ve knocked off a pair of top-10 teams in Washington and Georgia Tech and checked in at No. 20 in the latest AVCA Poll, their highest ranking since 1999. Arkansas is also coming off a tough five-set loss after it fell to LSU on the road earlier this week.

The Razorbacks are led by the attacking trio of Taylor Head, Jillian Gillen and Maggie Cartwright. As a team, the Arkansas offense ranks fourth nationally, averaging 14.46 kills per set while hitting at a .280 clip. Setters Hannah Hogue and Gracie Ryan direct the offense. On the defensive side, Arkansas has been tough on opposing teams, registering 2.58 blocks per set, 16.18 digs per set and holding their opponent to a .166 attacking percentage.

SERIES HISTORY

Arkansas leads the series 37-15 with Ole Miss, including each of the last four meetings. The Rebels are looking to snap the skid and pick up their first win in Barnhill Arena since 2015.

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OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss struggled to contain Arkansas on the outsides, falling in straight sets at…