Dyess Powers Ole Miss Volleyball Past LSU, 3-2

OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) A career-high 22 kills from Julia Dyess helped Ole Miss volleyball pick up its second straight SEC win as the Rebels defeated LSU 3-2 on Wednesday night inside the Gillom Athletics Performance Center.

The Brandon, Mississippi, native, Dyess, put on a show in front of a packed crowd, tallying 22 kills on a .310 hitting percentage. She was one of four Rebels to finish with double-digit kills in the match. Fifth-year senior Anna Bair followed with 15, leading the offense with a .407 clip. Setter Aly Borellis guided the offense to their best attacking percentage in SEC play this season with 50 assists. The Rebel Roofing Company in Payton Brgoch and Sasha Ratliff came alive, combining for nine blocks on the night. Ole Miss also dominated the service line, led by Brgoch with a career-best four aces.

The Rebels started the match blazing against the Tigers, leading 4-1 after two kills from Dyess and a kill each from Bair and Brgoch. The Tigers bit back, tying the match at eight, and both teams battled back and forth. LSU briefly took the lead into the media timeout, but Ole Miss came out swinging. A pair of kills from Washington and Ratliff quickly tied the match at 16. The Rebs used the momentum to run and built up a 24-17 lead. The Tigers fought off three set points, but the arm of Ratliff put the hammer down, and the Rebels took the first set 25-20.

Ole Miss carried the momentum from the first set and ran away with the second. Leading 8-3, the Rebels forced LSU to take its first timeout as they were hitting -.167 in the set. The red-hot Rebels continued to pile it on as Bair extended the lead to six. With the swing, she solidified herself in the top five in program history with her 1,357th career kill. An 8-2 run late in the set helped Ole Miss put things away, and back-to-back service errors from the Tigers handed the Rebels the set, 25-14.

The Tigers looked to stay in the match, scoring first and taking a 5-1 lead to start the third set. Ole Miss quickly found itself trailing 9-3; however, the Rebels stayed the course and began to slowly chip away at the lead. A huge hustle play from Cammy Niesen and Dyess followed by another Bair kill to cut the lead to two, and after a 7-1 Rebel run, Ole Miss took a 14-13 lead. From there, the set saw 10 ties and two lead changes. The Rebels fought off one LSU set point, tying the match at 24, but the Tigers hung on and stayed alive, winning 26-24.

Once again, LSU took the early lead, forcing the Rebels to battle from behind. The Tigers would lead by as many as eight points at 16-8. Not giving in, Ole Miss strung together a late 6-2 run, pulling within four, but the Tigers took the set to send the match to five.

Tied at two sets apiece after dropping the third and fourth, the Rebels locked in to defend their home court. A kill from Dyess, followed by a Brgoch ace gave the Rebels the start they were looking for. The kill from the junior marked her 20th of the match, the most by a Rebel this season. Back-and-forth action tied the match at six until a kill from Bair gave the Rebels an 8-7 lead as the teams switched sides.

After the Tigers fought back to tie the set at nine, a kill from Bair and back-to-back blocks from Brgoch proved to be the dagger. Out of an LSU timeout, Brgoch and Washington combined for another block, and a massive kill by the sophomore right side gave the Rebels set point. A net violation on the Tigers capped off the thriller.

Ole Miss looks to continue its hot streak on Sunday, November 5, at South Carolina. Fans can tune in to the action on SEC Network beginning at 11 a.m. CT.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

(Featured Image Courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics)