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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Steven McRoberts Weekly Press Conference
10/5/2015 | Volleyball
Ole Miss head coach Steven McRoberts met with members of the media Monday to discuss the team's first SEC win of the season and preview Friday's matchup against Georgia.
On getting the first SEC win รขโฌยฆ
"Friday night it was very important for us to get a win. With South Carolina coming in, I thought this was a pretty good matchup for us. Both of us at that time were winless in the league. I told the team before South Carolina got here, 'we have a talented team that is coming in that we should be really excited to play them because one of us gets to leave here tonight with a win in the conference.' I am very proud of Lexi Thompson, she had a great match. We needed some production from our outside hitters and she had a double-double. Nakeyta Clair broke the career solo blocking record that night. We were able to hang on and get the win."
On the loss at Texas A&Mรขโฌยฆ
"I talked about it earlier in the season where even though we had a pretty good non-conference record it was kind of a roller coaster. One of the tough things is if you're still trying to find an identity while you're squeaking out wins, there is not really a sense of urgency within your team to continue to grow because you're winning anyway. I think since SEC play has started we have kind of been hit in the face with that. It kind of reared its ugly head again yesterday against Texas A&M. They are a really good team and they are just about to start getting healthy. Their setter who was basically an All-Conference setter was out, and she is back now. They are playing much better. Kate Gibson, our other outside hitter, had 11 kills between two sets. For some reason we couldn't get our middles going even though our middles have been one of our biggest assets this season for us. Texas A&M controlled the game."
On Georgia coming upรขโฌยฆ
"We have Georgia coming up on Friday. They are another team that is at the bottom of the SEC. They haven't won yet but they are coming off of a five set loss to LSU. LSU took Arkansas to five and beat Florida yesterday. Arkansas will probably be in the top 20 or 25 this weekend. There is a lot of talent right now. Really I believe our conference is very strong all the way through this year. From top to bottom the conference is even better this year. The SEC is more competitive. We better be prepared when Georgia gets in here Friday night. I think it will be an opportunity for both teams. We need to be excited about playing everybody and trying to get another win in the league. Hopefully we can get a pretty good crowd. We had a pretty good crowd last Friday night, even though football was out of town."
