Ole Miss Volleyball had one of its most successful seasons in program history in 2024, while the Ole Miss Soccer team struggled and did not win an SEC matchup. Still, both programs had positive offseasons with plenty of roster turnover, suggesting postseason appearances may be soon to come.
Soccer
The 2024 season was a down year for head coach Molly Rouse’s team. The Lady Rebels finished with a disappointing record of 5-13-1, including a conference record of 0-9-1. Of course, the SEC is one of the toughest conferences in just about every sport, and soccer is no exception. However, finishing winless in SEC games is still unwanted.
The Lady Rebels started the year off strong with two home wins, both of which were shutouts. From there, however, the offense stagnated: Ole Miss scored only 19 goals on the season, six of which came in those first two games. The Lady Rebels recorded 213 total shots and only 85 were on goal, which ranked No. 270 in the nation.
The defense was not much better. The Lady Rebels allowed 38 goals on the season, an average of two per game.
Perhaps worst of all, the Lady Rebels received 25 yellow cards in 2024, making Ole Miss the second-most penalized team in the SEC behind Florida.
Despite all these negatives, Rouse did not view last season as a total disaster.
“The good that came out of it was the people who stayed here, and the people who continue to grind with us,” Rouse said. “They’re completely bought in. They’re helping us grow the culture in the way that we want to grow it.”
Last season was only Rouse’s second season at Ole Miss. Struggles are understandable; newer coaches need time to acclimate. But if improvements are not made in the 2025 season, trouble may arise for the coaching staff.
This offseason was a step in the right direction. Rouse named former Rebel soccer star Madisyn Pezzino as a new assistant coach. Pezzino served as the director of analytics and operations for the past two seasons. She is already familiar with the program on multiple levels. Only a few years removed from her playing days, she is closer in age to the players and has been in their shoes before.
“She was a really great player, she understands the game, and she’s got great rapport with the players,” Rouse said. “She’s very organized on the field, learning and growing all of her skill sets as a young coach, but the starting point that she has is already quite high.”
Another off-the-field change is Dane Obermeyer’s transition into the director of analytics role. Obermeyer worked with Rouse in her three seasons as head coach of Utah Tech and has served as a member of Rouse’s Ole Miss staff for the past two seasons. In this position, he will identify the strong and weak points of the team’s play and suggest means of improvement.
To replace the many outgoing graduates and transfers, Rouse brought in a staggering nine transfers. She believes this is an opportunity to start fresh.
“We knew we had some really key roles that we had to fill, and so we targeted players that we felt like matched that and players that were really hungry to have a ton of impact,” Rouse said. “Because that’s what you need at this level — people who want to come in and make a splash right from the get-go.”
Some notable transfers include Pittsburgh’s Briana Rodriguez and Kansas State’s Ryann Reynolds. Both veterans should serve as leaders for the team, which Rouse highlighted as one of her top priorities while recruiting.
“Regardless of if you win every game or you lose every game, it’s going to be hard, and what hard looks like is going to look different in different moments of the season,” Rouse said. “You need to be able to rely on the leaders within the team to be able to help you continue to push through those moments.”
With these new lineups of coaches and players, Rouse’s squad will try to right the ship and rewrite the gloomy narrative of last season. Hopefully, 2025 will see an Ole Miss Soccer team with an improved record and at least a few SEC wins under its belt.
The team dropped their first exhibition match 1-0 against South Alabama. Their first regular season matchup was scheduled for Aug. 14; however, it was cancelled. The Rebels will now begin their season on Sunday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. on the road against Memphis.
Volleyball
For Ole Miss Volleyball, the 2024 campaign was the most successful season both in recent memory and in program history. Head coach Bre Henry’s team finished 18-12 overall and 7-9 in SEC play.
While this record may not stand out, it was good enough for the Lady Rebels to qualify for the NCAA tournament. There, they made history, recording their first-ever postseason win against a ranked Florida State.
The Lady Rebels had a blazing-hot start to the season, going 12-3 in the first few conference matches.
Nia Washington and Shayla Meyer were critical in the Rebels’ success early in the 2024 season. Washington, who transferred to LSU, was named an AVCA All-American honorable mention. Meyer led the team in service aces with 34 on the year.
Setter Mokihana Tufono was also a big part of the success. She led the Lady Rebels in every match of the season with 10.38 assists per set.
Libero Cammy Niesen held down the fort for the team from the backline. She had an exceptional year of her own — her 537 digs kept rallies going, lengthening sets and wearing out opposing teams.
Still, the 2024 season had its downsides. Errors slowed down the offense and hurt the team in the longer matches. They had 612 total errors on the season, 312 of which were service errors. Henry acknowledged that the team will need to tighten up these mistakes next season, especially against another slate of tough opponents.
“I think that wide-eyed, getting slapped in the face with this high level of competition and being able to manage it is going to be one of the biggest hurdles,” Henry said.
Now that the Lady Rebels have tasted postseason success, they want more. The team’s top priority this year will be to make a deeper run in the NCAA tournament and become a real threat to opponents in the SEC. First and foremost, though, is simply making the tournament.
“Our biggest goal is to get back to the tournament,” Henry said. “That is a big one. Obviously, you always want to make history. But my big goal when it comes to Ole Miss Volleyball is that everyone knows that Ole Miss is in the tournament.”
To aid this goal, the trio of Niesen, Meyer and Tufono are returning to Oxford. Henry expects them to lead and mentor newcomers and younger players.
“Those are going to be our upperclassmen that are going to be a really great group,” Henry said. “I hope that they continue to go the direction that we want to go.”
The Lady Rebels lost Washington and middle blocker Sasha Ratliff, whose 507 career blocks are the most in Ole Miss history. Both veterans will be difficult to replace.
To fill roster holes, Henry picked up four notable transfers: JUCO transfer and outside hitter Aniya Lewis, who tallied 353 kills in her career with Kankakee Community College; Jordyn Towns, 6-foot-6-inch middle blocker from Alabama; Vivianna Samaniego, a sophomore setter who will be able to learn under the experienced Tufono; and outside hitter Gabi Placide, a junior outside hitter who earned 2024 Big Sky All-Conference First Team honors.
The new, and hopefully improved, Rebel volleyball team will open the 2025 season against Arkansas State in Atlanta in the Georgia Tech Invitational. Their first SEC match of the year will be against Arkansas on Sept. 26. The Razorbacks swept the Lady Rebels in their first SEC match in 2024, and Henry already has her calendar marked.
“I am a very big planner,” Henry said. “When I’m looking ahead to the schedule, I think we have a big weekend when we go to Arkansas and drive to Oklahoma on the road. We’re wanting to compete hard and prove that we’re an established program compared to them.”
