Mississippi rundown: Northwest volleyball reaches 30-0 as Ole Miss TV slate takes shape

2026-10-08

Northwest Mississippi Community College’s volleyball team extended its unbeaten season to 30 matches, while Ole Miss learned the television plan for much of its coming men’s basketball schedule. Weather concerns prompted Millsaps to change weekend plans. In the day’s standalone news reports, Cleveland firefighters brought battery safety lessons to schools and the state listed places for hunters to check their firearms. This rundown uses reports originally published during the 24 hours ending at 4:45 p.m. Central on Thursday, October 8.

Mississippi News

Cleveland students get battery and smoke-alarm lessons

The Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department is taking Fire Prevention Week into local schools, according to Mississippi News Group’s report. Working with the National Fire Protection Association, firefighters are teaching children about safe charging and the fire risk posed by damaged or improperly charged lithium-ion batteries. Those batteries can power phones, laptops, tools, toys, e-bikes and scooters. The report also says Junior Fire Marshals practiced recognizing a smoke alarm and responding by getting low and heading to the nearest exit. It is a practical school safety campaign, rather than a report of a local fire.

State points hunters to three shooting facilities

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is encouraging hunters to sight in firearms before November 21. Its facility notice carried by Mississippi News Group names McIvor Shooting Facility in Sardis, Turcotte Shooting Facility in Canton and McHenry Shooting Facility in Perkinston. The report gives hunters locations across northern, central and southern Mississippi for advance preparation; it does not announce a new facility or a change in hunting rules.

Mississippi Sports

Northwest Mississippi volleyball improves to 30-0

No. 20 Northwest Mississippi Community College rallied past Itawamba 3-1 Tuesday night after losing the first set 22-25. The Rangers won the next three 25-21, 25-22 and 25-19, reaching a program-record 30-0 overall and 7-0 in Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges play. Itawamba entered at 12-11 overall and 3-3 in conference competition. The milestone is Northwest’s uninterrupted start to the season, not simply its result in one match.

Jones College runs its volleyball streak to nine

Another Mississippi junior-college team kept winning Wednesday. No. 22 Jones College beat Northeast 3-1 in Booneville, extending its streak to nine matches. Sports Mississippi’s report identifies Bonner Arnold Coliseum as the venue. Northwest’s 30-0 mark and Jones’s nine-match streak are separate accomplishments by different teams; the available Jones report gives the match result but no set scores.

Millsaps changes weekend schedules over storm concerns

Millsaps College announced changes to football and men’s and women’s soccer plans for October 9-11, citing expected heavy rain and severe weather associated with Hurricane Isaias. The Sports Mississippi report establishes that the weekend schedules changed but does not list individual replacement times or venues. Anyone traveling to a game should check the college’s latest schedule before departing. These are advance adjustments, not game cancellations or storm damage reports.

Ole Miss gets 23 ESPN network basketball dates

The Ole Miss men’s basketball team is slated for 23 regular-season appearances across ESPN networks in 2026-27, according to the schedule reported by Mississippi News Group. Its listed opening game is against Clemson in Maui on November 23 at 1:30 p.m. Central on ESPN2; opponents for the next two Maui dates remain to be determined. A December 19 game against NC State is scheduled for Jackson on ESPNU. SEC play begins January 2 against Georgia, and the published lineup includes home meetings with Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Auburn. The Rebels are due at Mississippi State on March 6. The announcement supplies a viewing plan, with some network assignments still listed as alternatives or to be determined.

Delta State women win; men earn road draw

Delta State’s women’s soccer team beat Christian Brothers 3-0 Wednesday after scoring all three goals in the second half. The school said the result put the Lady Statesmen in a tie for second in the Gulf South Conference standings. In a separate men’s match at Christian Brothers, Delta State came back for a 1-1 draw and kept its opponent scoreless over the final 74 minutes, according to the school account. The two outcomes belong to different teams and matches.

Ole Miss alumnus joins SEC football legends class

Former Ole Miss linebacker Tony ‘Gator’ Bennett was selected for the SEC’s 2026 Football Legends class, Sports Mississippi reported Thursday. The selection recognizes a former Rebel in the conference’s annual group. The short source report provides the honor and Bennett’s Ole Miss connection, but does not supply career statistics or ceremony details, so neither is asserted here.

Featured image: Ole Miss men's basketball in a file photo. Credit: Ole Miss Athletics.