Fiery Springer Readies Rebels For Fifth-Ranked Florida

By Alex Cox
Ole Miss Media Relations Student Assistant

OXFORD, Miss. -- Not many people understand the concept of the libero position, a player that replaces anyone on the back row and plays only on the back row. For those who do not understand, simply watch Morgan Springer, the Rebels' sophomore libero and defensive specialist, in action. She knows what she's doing when she comes onto the court, and she's working even harder to perfect her game behind the hitters.

"Mentally, I train to know that every ball is mine," Springer, a 5-foot 7-inch psychology major from Louisville, Ky., said. "As libero, the coaches put the pressure on you - if there's not a good pass from the back row, it's your fault, regardless if it's you or not. You're directing traffic; if anything drops it's your ball. You have to have the mentality as a libero that nothing hits your floor because you're the back row leader."

One of the coaches that puts the pressure on her, strangely, is her sister, associate head coach Molly Alvey, who is 11 years older than her. However, the coach-player relationship seems to work out well for the siblings.

"She's always been a role model," Springer said. "She really knows how to talk to me and it's easy for her to connect with me. She is 11 years older and traveled with volleyball and basketball, so she definitely paved the way for me. I know what she wants from me and we actually get along really, really well."

Springer said the tournament at Georgia Tech last weekend was mentally tough for the team, which had to adjust to the absence of starter Whitney Craven due to a shoulder injury. The team finished with one win and two losses at the tournament.

Springer tallied at least 25 digs versus Southeastern Missouri and Clemson, but had only 13 digs against host Georgia Tech.

''Our biggest challenge was staying mentally tough throughout the entire match, rather than just those first two games," she said. "We really pushed and fought those first two, but it's really the third and fourth games that we have to finish."

Attacking and blocking errors were a problem for the Rebels as well at Georgia Tech, something the libero has little control over. Springer said she tries to help the team in any way possible when that situation arises.

"As defensive specialist, what you do is you step in and you try to get them fired up," she said. "Staying consistent is the number one thing you do when your hitters aren't performing, so it's really important that you stay consistent for them, know that you've got their back, stay behind them and tell them to swing as hard as they can."

According to head coach Joe Getzin, Springer has been improving at the position since the home tournament at the beginning of September, when she was named the tournament's most valuable player.

"She's really embraced taking the libero position to a new level," he said. "That means demanding the ball passing wise - that's our first contact so it's an important part of the game - and being disciplined in defense. Since she has done that, her digs per game and her first contacts have gotten much better. "

Her teammates notice how hard Springer is working to improve on the court as well.

"I think she's awesome... she's one of the hardest workers on the team," sophomore defensive specialist Catherine Heck said. "She's constantly in here doing extra work and doing extra stuff just to try to make herself better and to better the team."

Springer said she is working hard to prepare herself both mentally and physically for the home match on Friday, when they play the No. 5 ranked Florida Gators to open SEC play.

"With Florida, you have to know what's coming at you," she said. "They're just like any other team, except they are bigger, stronger, faster girls. You have to go into it mentally knowing that this team is going to work hard.

"Going into it, you know it's going to be a competitive match. You know they're going to fight. They're obviously a top ten team and you've got to work the whole time, you have to prepare yourself to fight the whole time. You can't just go in there and adjust to the game because then it's going to be over fast. You have to go into practice competing and working hard, knowing that you're going to be playing a top ten team."

Getzin said he expects the libero to play well against the Gators.

"Morgan's a big time gamer," he said. "The better the competition, the more fired up she gets. She really embraces the stiff competition."

Springer and the Rebels get the opportunity to display that competitive nature Friday when Ole Miss hosts No. 5 Florida at 7 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center. Admission is free to the public. The Rebels will close out the opening weekend of Southeastern Conference play at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday against South Carolina.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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