The Preview: Ole Miss Rebels Volleyball Travels to Face Mississippi State Bulldogs

SERIES HISTORY
Ole Miss has dominated against its in-state rival historically, holding a 64-27 lead overall. The Rebels and Bulldogs split last season's series at one game apiece. Mississippi State is Ole Miss' most played rival, as well as the team it has the most wins against. The next closest SEC contender is Auburn (with 39 wins).

Mississippi State has claimed the last two matches in Starkville, while the Rebels have been perfect at home in the same span. In last season's 3-2 win in Oxford, Cammy Niesen paced the Rebels with 20 digs, as she led a quartet of Rebels with double-digit digs. Mokihana Tufono set a then-career high 56 assists and 11 digs for a double-double.

LAST TIME OUT
Despite tallying more kills than Auburn, the Rebels were unable to recover late in sets, falling 3-0 to the Tigers on Sunday afternoon.

Gabi Placide led all competitors with 13 kills, but the star of the day was Cammy Niesen, who recorded 10 digs to become the program's all-time leader in digs, passing Morgan Springer.

Niesen broke a 14-year-old program record with the majority of the conference slate to come. Cameron Bradley also shined with 11 digs on the day.

CAN YOU DIG IT?
Senior libero Cammy Niesen made history on Sunday, smashing the program's all-eras dig record that stood for 14 years (by Morgan Springer).

The 2024 SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year has been a model of consistency her entire career and is now poised to add to her all-time lead as SEC play continues.

Niesen has quietly emerged as one of the best liberos in the SEC over her dynamic career as she closes in on the all-time SEC top-10. Niesen is 122 away from entering the top-10 in conference history.

Last season, Niesen led the SEC in total digs with 537, which also ranked 33rd in the nation. This season, Niesen continues to impact the game, ranking second in the SEC in digs per set (4.18).

In fact, Niesen ranks seventh in the NCAA on the active digs leaderboard with 1,623.

Active Leaders
1. Emma Hickey, Valparaiso - 2,442
2. Maya Sands, Missouri - 1,749
3. Lauren Lindseth, Montana State - 1,748
4. Emma Farrell, Wake Forest - 1,677
5. Campbell Jensen, UC Irvine - 1,655
6. LonDynn Betts, West Virginia - 1,642
7. Cammy Niesen, Ole Miss - 1,633
8. Ella Voegele, St. Thomas - 1,575
9. Breanna Mitchell, Boise State - 1,562
10. Kamryn Farris, South Dakota - 1,534

AT EASE WITH PLACIDE
Gabi Placide has become the SEC's breakout star since arriving in Oxford this season and will be a critical part of the Rebels lineup as SEC play begins.

Placide has surged to the forefront of the national rankings, ranking second in the SEC with 293.0 points and 255 kills, ranking 16th and 20th nationally, respectively. The Centennial, Colo., native also ranks 19th nationally in points per set and 21st nationally in kills per set.

Her efforts earned her a mid-season addition to the AVCA's Player of the Year Watch List. Placide also recently took home SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors following back-to-back career-highs in wins over Texas Tech and UAlbany and hit over .300 for the weekend.

Placide also showed off her athleticism with 22 digs and 11.0 blocks to go alongside 71 kills.

FILLING THE VOID
While the Rebels have had to replace much of their offensive attack from 2024, several newcomers have immediately stepped up.

They are led by transfer Gabi Placide, who surged to 255 kills and a .229 hitting percentage through her first 15 matches and already leads the SEC and ranks 20th nationally in total kills.

Redshirt freshman Melia Johnson has also shined, opening her college career with 10 or more kills in four of her first eight matches.

HONORED BY THE SEC
Setter Mokihana Tufono, who turned heads in her debut season in Oxford, was named to the All-SEC Preseason Team earlier this offseason.

Tufono, who started her collegiate career at UCLA, developed into one of the top setters in the conference under head coach Bre Henry, earning AVCA All-South Region honors and recording 1,173 assists in 2024. Tufono also notched 286 digs, 60.0 total blocks, 43 kills and 21 service aces.

This season, Tufono continues to excel, ranking 23rd in the nation in assists per set at 10.26 and has tallied two 50-assist matches. Her recent play earned a spot in the NCAA's 'Rotation of the Week' a few weeks ago.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS
Throughout the entirety of the 2025 season, Ole Miss athletics and the volleyball program will honor and recognize many who have contributed to the success and legacy of the program over 50 years of volleyball.

The program has tallied over 800 wins, reached five NCAA Tournaments and won the 2017 NIVC championship. Nineteen student-athletes have earned All-SEC honors, 16 have earned AVCA All-Region and three have been named All-Americans as the program has blossomed over generations of standout student-athletes.

The success of the program has built on the foundation of countless student-athletes who have gone on to earn a degree from the University of Mississippi and take their talents throughout the world.

CLIMBING THE LADDER
Several Rebels are poised to etch their names in the all-time record books in 2025 across multiple different metrics.

In addition to her pursuit of the all-eras digs record at Ole Miss, Cammy Niesen is also poised to enter the top-10 all-time in service aces, with 66 in her career.

That stands just three outside the rally scoring era's top-10. Shayla Meyer also has her sights on the same list, standing at 64 service aces and is just five away from the top-10 across two and a half seasons of action.

Mokihana Tufono continues her rapid ascent of the assists charts in her short time at Ole Miss. Tufono currently sits sixth all-time in the rally scoring era with 1,758 and 11th across all eras, despite only playing just 43 matches as a Rebel.