OXFORD, Miss. – The Southeastern Louisiana University Volleyball team began the 2026 season by taking part in the Ole Miss Invitational. SLU played a hard-fought five sets, but fell to the Rebels, 28-26, 25-17, 19-25, 19-25, 12-15, at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center, Friday night.
SLU (0-1) claimed the first two sets of Friday's match, but the Rebels (1-0) found their footing in the following sets. The Lions battled until the final set, when they earned a three-point lead against the Southeastern Conference opponent. Ole Miss found a way to hold on in the final points to stave off SLU's best efforts.
Reigning Southland Conference Player of the Year
Kyra McKelvey picked up right where she left off, posting her first career double-double with 17 kills and 12 digs.
Ashley Richardson's 30 assists were a match-high, also notching 10 digs to secure a double-double. Richardson also led the Lions with four blocks.
Ole Miss had three student-athletes with double-digit kills, with Shayla Meyer (20), Jorda Crook (19), and Jaidyn Hartsfield (10) leading the offense. Cameron Bradley led the match with 29 digs, while Vivianna Samaniego (29) and Tenesyn Frye (20) each tallied double-digit assists.
The teams were evenly matched in the first set, with the score remaining within three for the entire opening frame. After Ole Miss found the floor to reach set point, a Rebel attack error, followed by back-to-back kills from McKelvey and
Gracie Mann, put SLU in front.
The Lions dominated the second set, leading by as many as eight at the end of the frame.
Kaelyn Sharp's first career ace gave Southeastern its second set of the match. From there, Ole Miss took control, but held on in the final points to take the match.
The Ole Miss Invitational will continue for the Lions Saturday, when Southeastern faces LMU at 2 p.m. in Oxford, Miss. Live stats for SLU's matches on Saturday and Sunday will be available on the volleyball schedule page on
www.LionSports.net.
DIGGIN' IT CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the Southeastern volleyball program are encouraged to join the Diggin' It Club. Lion volleyball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
All membership fees and donations to both the Diggin' It Club and S Club (volleyball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern volleyball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at
laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting
www.LionUp.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lions Volleyball, follow @LionUpVB on X and Instagram or like /SLUathletics on Facebook.
