A Sunday afternoon in November probably wasn’t going to change the direction of Ole Miss’ volleyball season. But for stretches against Arkansas, the Rebels showed the kind of fight that has been hard to come by during a difficult SEC schedule.
The problem was that fight only carried Ole Miss so far.
After bouncing back to take the second set and pushing Arkansas deep into the third, the Rebels couldn’t sustain the momentum, falling 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 25-14) at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center.
For a team that has spent much of conference play searching for answers, Sunday’s match felt familiar. Ole Miss competed, responded when challenged and even looked like it might seize control midway through the afternoon. Then a handful of mistakes at the wrong time allowed Arkansas to regain the upper hand.
The Rebels’ best stretch came in the second set.
VIV DUMP#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/5fwMtJubvj
— Ole Miss Volleyball (@OleMissVB) November 8, 2026
After Arkansas grabbed the opening frame, Ole Miss answered behind the play of Jorda Crook, who recorded five early kills to help keep the Rebels even with the Razorbacks. Once Ole Miss found its rhythm at the net, the match started to turn. Keirstyn Carlton, Crook and Jaidyn Hartsfield sparked a blocking effort that frustrated Arkansas throughout the set, holding the Razorbacks to a .057 hitting percentage.
Ole Miss took advantage, closing out a 25-22 win to even the match at a set apiece.
That looked like the opening the Rebels needed.
Instead, the third set became the turning point.
Arkansas jumped ahead early, but Ole Miss clawed back behind six more kills from Crook and key points from Hartsfield. When the Rebels erased the deficit and pulled even at 20-20, the building had a little life. But that’s where Arkansas showed the difference between a team trying to climb the SEC standings and one trying to stop a slide.
The Razorbacks handled the closing moments better, capitalizing on Ole Miss errors and claiming the set 25-22.
From there, the fourth set never quite got off the ground for the Rebels. Crook added another ace and Shayla Meyer contributed three kills early, but Arkansas steadily built separation and cruised to a 25-14 finish.
Crook led Ole Miss with 13 kills, three blocks and two aces. Meyer added a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs while hitting .310. Vivianna Samaniego finished with 37 assists and 10 digs, and Rileigh Butler recorded a career-high 15 digs.
At this point in the season, moral victories don’t mean much. Ole Miss is now 8-16 overall and 2-11 in SEC play.
Still, Sunday’s match offered another reminder of what has made this season so frustrating. The Rebels were competitive with Arkansas for much of the afternoon. They just couldn’t string together enough winning moments when the match was hanging in the balance.
Next up is perhaps the toughest challenge left on the schedule: a road trip to face No. 13 Texas in the Rebels’ regular season finale Friday night.
Closing out our regular season next weekend ⏩
Listen to the full press conference here: https://t.co/XdiijHgIJQ#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/Spv96vmViP
— Ole Miss Volleyball (@OleMissVB) November 9, 2026
