The Ole Miss Volleyball Position Preview: Rebels Outside Hitters Ahead of Season

OXFORD, Miss. – With just days before the first exhibition of the season, OleMissSports.com will take a glance at Ole Miss volleyball’s group of outside hitters.

Ole Miss’ largest position group has a plethora of new talent, including two transfer portal additions and three freshmen.

Shayla Meyer commands the group as a two-year letterwinner for Ole Miss. She’s backed by Northern Colorado transfer Gabi Placide, who joins the Rebels after two successful seasons in Greeley.

Meyer is one of three starters from last season to return to the Rebels, making 26 starts over 113 sets played.

She’s coming off the most productive season of her career, tallying a career-high 303 kills and leading the team with 34 service aces.

Defensively, she added 285 digs and 44.0 total blocks. She picked up 12 double-doubles, which tied for second-most on the team last season.

Against FGCU, Meyer set a new career-high with 21 kills to help lead the Rebels to a key non-conference victory.

She recorded at least 20 kills on three occasions, and at least 15 in five matches. She also picked up a career-high 21 digs paired with 13 kills to help the Rebels roll past Auburn.

Placide joins the Rebels following a highly decorated career at Northern Colorado.

She’s received numerous honors throughout her career, including a 2024 AVCA All-West Region Honorable Mention and a spot on the 2024 Big Sky All-Conference First Team.

She won the 2023 Big Sky Freshman of the Year after dropping 243 kills and 59 blocks.

She scored 585.5 points as a sophomore with 496 kills, both good enough for top 30 national rankings.

In three matches against SEC opponents, including two against Ole Miss, Placide hit .237 in 2024 and .247 against power four opponents.

A transfer from Kankakee Community College, Aniya Lewis spent one season with the Cavaliers. She emerged as one of the top hitters in the NJCAA Division II ranks, finishing second in the NJCAA in kills per set with 5.12.

Lewis totaled 353 kills, hitting .295 with 45 total blocks, while tallying 397.5 points over 29 matches and 69 sets played.

The Kankakee, Illinois, native recorded a career-high 19 kills against Rock Valley College, and recorded at least 10 kills in 21 matches.

In high school, Lewis was an All-Conference and regional champion in volleyball. She led Kankakee High School to a 27-9 overall record and a 13-0 mark in the Southland Athletic Conference as a senior.

Annabelle De Jager, Caroline Ellis and Melia Johnson make up Ole Miss’ freshmen hitters. The three freshmen bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the Rebels, with each looking to make an impact early in their careers.

De Jager arrives in Oxford after spending two years as the team captain at Eaton High School in Colorado.

There, she was a two-time All-State and All-Conference First Team member in 2023 and 2024. She helped her team win four regional titles in four years, while reaching Colorado’s state final four round on three occasions.

Additionally, she competed for the NORCO Volleyball Club, helping them finish 22nd in the country in the 17 Open division at the USAV Nationals.

Ellis surfaced as a highly sought-after hitter from the latest circuit after earning the 2024 Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year.

She’s the only athlete from her high school to ever win that title. Ellis held a career hitting percentage of .303 while tallying 1,002 kills.

As a senior, she displayed highly well-rounded skills, recording 279 kills, 137 digs, 40 assists and 29 service aces to lead the King School to a 21-0 record.

A proven winner, Ellis is a three-time NEPSAC and FAA champion, while taking home two NEPSAC Player of the Year awards, three FAA All-League honors and two King Volleyball MVP nods.

PrepVolleyball listed her as a top 150 player after she was tabbed to the AVCA’s Phenom Watch List for all four of her high school seasons.

After redshirting in 2024 due to an injury, Johnson is back with the Rebels and looking to make an impact.

A four-year letterwinner at Slinger High School in West Bend, Wisconsin, she picked up 686 kills and 746 digs in 227 sets played.

She competed for the Milwaukee Sting club, where she also served as team captain.

Johnson helped guide her club to a third-place finish in the 17U National Division at the USA Volleyball 2023 Girls Junior National Championship.

The Rebels will hit the court on Saturday, Aug. 23, for an exhibition matchup against Southern Miss at 2 p.m. CT at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center prior to its official season opening weekend at the Georgia Tech Classic in Atlanta, Georgia.

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