OXFORD, Miss. - Exactly 14 days since falling in a five-set heartbreaker on the road to Missouri, Ole Miss volleyball got revenge on its home court, taming the Tigers 3-1 on Sunday afternoon in the Gillom Center.

A career day from Bailee Middleton at the service line helped the Rebels (9-14, 3-9 SEC) set the tone and snap an eight-match skid. The junior defensive specialist finished with seven aces, the second most ever in a single match in program history, and a career-best 12 digs.

Three Rebels recorded double-figure kills, led by Nia Washington with 12 on a .333 hitting clip. Julia Dyess followed with 11 kills, and Anna Bair collected 10, marking her 75th career match with double-digit kills.

Defensively, Sasha Ratliff registered a season-high eight blocks in the match, including a pair of solo stuffs. Libero Cammy Niesen paced the team with 14 digs to help hold Missouri (13-9, 5-6 SEC) to a .167 mark offensively.

Back-to-back aces from Middleton tied the first set at 12 and sparked a 5-0 run at the service line for Ole Miss. Missouri managed to side out after the media timeout, but three straight points gave the Rebels their largest lead of the set at 18-3. A quick kill and ace from Payton Brgoch, followed by a kill from Ratliff, inched Ole Miss within one of taking the first. The Tigers fought off three consecutive set points and tied the match at 24 before the Rebels finished it off, 26-24.

Trailing 5-1 to start the second set, Ole Miss regrouped and responded to tie things back up at nine. Both teams traded points until Ratliff took over and began to make her presence felt at the net. She helped hold Missouri to a .000 hitting percentage while tallying two kills and three blocks in the set as the Rebels took a 2-0 advantage in the match with a 25-21 set victory.

Looking to close out the match, Ole Miss jumped out to an early lead, using a 5-0 run to open the third set, but Missouri had other plans. The Tigers rallied back to tie the match at 10 all and went on to use a late 5-0 run of their own to avoid the sweep.

After dropping the third set, the Rebels locked in to dominate the fourth. They took all the momentum back from Missouri after Niesen went on an 8-0 run out of the gate to help Ole Miss take a 9-2 lead. From there, the Rebs kept their foot on the gas, increasing their lead to as many as 12 before Ratliff and Washington slammed the door to pick up the win.

Up Next

Ole Miss looks to build on the victory and finish the season strong. The Rebels host LSU on Wednesday, November 1, at 7 p.m. CT before hitting the road again.