Coach McRoberts Press Conference: 09.15

Sept. 15, 2014

Ole Miss head coach Steven McRoberts met with members of the media Monday to discuss last weekend's Magnolia Invitational win and the upcoming Rebel Classic this weekend. The Rebels will face Louisiana Tech in the first match Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Opening statement ...
"It was another successful weekend for our team. It was a lot of fun to finally be at home and to play in front of our fans and in front of great crowds. Thursday night against UAB, we played as well as I've seen us play all year. It was just one of those matches where as soon as the first serve happened, we never gave them an opportunity to even be in the match. As the coach, I lasted one more day without losing hair or getting grey hair so that was nice. We came back the next morning and played at noon against Mercer. It was our kids' day so we had close to 1,000 people in the Gillom Center. If you've been in the Gillom Center, you know that it barely seats that number. It was really nice. It didn't look like there was an empty seat in the place. Those kids, once they could get out of the confines of their school building, want to make as much noise as they possibly can and they did. We really fed off that energy and had another really good match. We came back that night and played Jacksonville State. After having two really good matches, I felt like we looked somewhat discombobulated on the court. I felt like our energy level and focus wasn't quite what it was in the first two matches.

On learning to handle success...
"A big part of that is learning how to win and learning how to handle winning and understanding that the reason we're winning is because we're showing up focused against every opponent. You're going to see our schedule, and some of the names are going to be familiar to you and some of them not so much. A big part of our schedule early on is about getting confidence and learning how to win. One thing we've talked quite a bit about - because I've been on the other side of this at a smaller school - is anytime that you're playing an SEC school, you're playing someone that puts the `Ole Miss' shirt on. That's going to be a great match for mid-majors. I know Coach (Matt) Mott goes through the same thing and all of our coaches when we're playing someone out of our conference. They couldn't care less that we were preseason picked 10th in the conference. They want to be able to go tell their ADs and players want to be able to put it in your face that they beat you.

On dropping first set against Jacksonville State...
Jacksonville State came out and played a really good match and they were really well coached. We lost a close first set, 28-26. We bounced back and won the next three.

On buy-in from the team...
"One thing that I really love about our team right now is how relentless they are. I know you hear me talk every week about how this team is buying in to the process. It's just so important for us. It is the reason why we're winning because of everybody being on the same page. Last week we kind of talked about hoping this was a rebirth of our volleyball program. This week, I'm hoping that, as we're getting closer to SEC play, we're seeing a revival of our program. Hopefully it's a revival of our NCAA Tournament days. I'm hoping that our team can really start believing they can win and win not only out of conference but in conference. Everything is different when conference play starts. It's looking like we can be really competitive in the conference this year."

On Lexi Thompson, Ty Laporte, Aubrey Edie...
"We have quite a few players playing well. Lexi Thompson, who is a freshman for our team, was the tournament MVP over the weekend. When our outside hitters play like she played, it just takes us to a different level because we've been playing so well in the middle. One of those middles, Ty Laporte, made the all-tournament team for the second week in a row. I talked to you last week about how well she's been coming mentally to practice. It's showing up in games. She's playing at the speed of light, like a tachyon on the court. She's getting to the spot fast; she's hitting it hard; she's just been this energy bolt on the court for us. From spring till now, she's become a leader. I'm just really proud of the way she's playing. Aubrey Edie currently leads the SEC in assists per set. She's made the all-tournament teams all three weeks in our pre-conference play. We have a really balanced team. We have a lot of players playing well for us. A lot of players have stepped up in clutch moments."

RebelsCalendar

Players Mentioned

Aubrey Edie

Ty Laporte

Lexi Thompson

The University of Mississippi Athletics