OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss volleyball wrapped up its second weekend of conference play, hosting No. 12 Tennessee on Sunday afternoon. The Rebels battled but ultimately fell to the Lady Vols in three sets.
The Ole Miss defense had its hands full with one of the SEC’s best offensive teams. The Lady Vols out-hit the Rebels .326 to .233. Julia Dyess led the Ole Miss attack for the second straight match, finishing one kill shy of double-digits. Middle blockers Payton Brgoch and Sasha Ratliff followed with eight and seven kills, respectively.
A slow start in the first set proved costly as the Lady Vols quickly opened up an 8-1 lead on the Rebels. Ole Miss clawed its way back within four after an ace from Bailee Middleton made it a 19-15 contest but couldn’t slow down the hot-hitting Tennessee attack.
After settling into the match in the first set, Ole Miss went toe-to-toe with the number 12 team in the nation. Both teams traded points back and forth until Brgoch sparked a 5-0 run to take the lead and force a Tennessee timeout. The Lady Vols responded out of the break, tying the match at 16. Dyess kept the Rebels in the set, giving Ole Miss a 20-19 lead, but the Rebels couldn’t close it out as Tennessee went on a 6-0 run to go up two sets.
Tennessee opened the third set with a 6-2 advantage and never looked back. The Lady Vols quickly saw their lead grow to double-digits, their largest of the match, taking all the momentum out of Gillom. Ratliff and the Rebs tried to chip away, but No. 12 Tennessee closed out the match in straight sets.
Ole Miss wraps up its three-match homestand on Friday, taking on Texas…
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