Griffin Ray
Ole Miss Women’s Volleyball has just kicked off its 2023 season, starting with a 2-3 record after their first few contests.
The season started at the Florida Gulf Coast University Homewood Suites Invitational in Fort Myers, Fla., after a week-long training camp. The team scored a disappointing 0-3 in the invitational, averaging a hitting percentage of only .153. Ole Miss started strong in set one against St. John’s University but dropped the next three to lose the match.
In the following days, the Rebels lost to FGCU 2-3 and got swept in the final match of the invitational by Arizona State 0-3. The main struggle for the team during these three matches was their hitting percentage, which is calculated by taking the kills, or points, minus the amount of hitting errors and then dividing it by the total attempts and errors committed.
At no point did the Rebels get blown out in the sets that they played. It was mostly mistakes that cost them in the long run. Although the team’s offense is promising, the defense needs some figuring out.
Four days after the FGCU Homewood Suites Invitational concluded, the Rebels traveled to Nashville for the Lipscomb University Volleyball Invitational.
Ole Miss went 2-0 on the weekend, improving vastly on their earlier mistakes in Florida.
Sophomore outside hitter Vivian Miller hit an astounding 19 kills in the Rebels’ win against Lipscomb on Thursday, Aug. 31. The overall hitting percentage was much better for the women as they hit .317 in Thursday’s match. In comparison, the Rebels hit for a measly .106 in their prior match against Arizona State.
Errors were still a bit of an issue, as the Rebels have amassed 18 through five matches. However, nearly every player has improved her marks since the start of the season.
The next day, Ole Miss got a sweep of their own against Tennessee State, winning 3-0. Yet again, the hitting percentages were above par at an impressive .360. The star of this match was sophomore setter Aly Borellis, who racked up a whopping 37 assists in Friday’s win.
Overall, there is much to look forward to with this offense, which has some kill machines, but there is a lot to improve on the defensive side — namely the lack of blocks and abundance of errors.
Ole Miss has a full slate of matches again this week in their own invitational as they face off against Alcorn State, South Dakota State and Tennessee Tech. This Ole Miss Invitational starts on Sept. 7 and ends on Sept. 9.
