McRoberts Reviews Spring

April 24, 2015

OXFORD, Miss. -- Coming off a successful first campaign in the Steven McRoberts Era, the Ole Miss volleyball team used the offseason and spring to get stronger in the weight room as well as on the court.

The Rebels posted their best record (22-10) in seven years in 2014 and the best start (14-0) in program history. The Rebels began the year winning four tournament titles and ended the year battling for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss finished 12-4 at home, equaling the most home wins in school history. The Rebels also posted a school-record team hitting percentage in a season (.254).

Several individual accomplishments also highlighted McRoberts first year in Oxford. Nakeyta Clair became the first All-American since Regina Thomas earned back-to-back honors in 2010-11. Clair set the school record for kills in a season with 366 and also earned All-SEC and AVCA All-Region honors. Aubrey Edie set the single season record for assists with 1,322, and Melanie Crow set the single season record for aces with 42. Lexi Thompson had the most kills (323) in a season by a freshman.

We caught up with McRoberts to get his thoughts on the spring season and preparing to take that next step in the process.

What are your thoughts overall on the spring season?

McRoberts: We got a lot of individual work done. We only had eight players in the gym so we weren't able to do a lot of team things where we were able to play six on six. We were able to give attention to some small details that after analyzing the season that we needed to take care of with some players. We definitely brought that to their attention and worked on some things.

Was it easier going into this spring after experiencing some success last year and having that familiarity as opposed to everything being new for everybody last year?

McRoberts: Yes, we were definitely able to get into things a lot faster because they already knew the system and they already knew what our expectations were and our techniques; it was just refining things instead of introducing multiple things in every practice. Being able to have a full calendar year with every one of these players, except for Lexi (Thompson) was big for us. We wanted to use this spring to build on their strength and conditioning also. We've had Chas (Ossenheimer) for almost a full year cycle and that's helped.

We've seen some of his tweets; it's obvious that they have been doing a good job in the weight room?

McRoberts: Seeing him tweet this week that Taylor (Alexander) touched 10'6, it's just great. As a freshman coming in and her making a huge jump just shows that what we are doing in the weight room is working.

So was that one of the big things you wanted to work on, getting stronger in the weight room?

McRoberts: We wanted to work on not only getting stronger in the weight room, but on the court as well. We've got to be a more physical team this year. We're not going to sneak up on anybody, especially out of conference, having a good season and wearing the SEC logo. In the SEC, especially the way that we finished, competing with the top half of the conference, we know that we can't stay the same; we are going to have to be better. Part of that is going to be hitting the ball a little harder, being more physical with the net and controlling that aspect of the game better.

What are one or two things that the team improved most on this spring?

McRoberts: We aren't in the same class at this point as the top teams in the conference, so we do know that we've got some big jumps to make, but it's just mainly a lot of the small details that make our players better. One of the things I was really proud of them for is the work they did with Josie (Nicholson -- sports psychologist). They wanted to read a book together and work on some of the psychological and mental parts of the game and mental parts of the team as far as how they work together and what will make us better. I do think from a work ethic standpoint and from a mental standpoint we've improved.

You talked a lot last year about culture and the little things you have to do if you want to be a champion. Have you seen that get close to where you want it to be?

McRoberts: Being here for a full year, they are starting to understand what the expectations are on a daily basis. It will take two or three seasons for them to see a little more each year what that difference is; what's the difference in us being the top three or four in the conference and then they will understand the things that we have to continually work on to be in the NCAA Tournament, to compete for the SEC Championship. I do think we've continued to make steps in that direction; it's nice to hear players step up in practice and out of practice and say things that we are continually trying to get them to do and we're starting to hear players coach themselves. The more eyes you have in the gym going in the right direction the better.

Who made the most improvement from the season through spring?

McRoberts: Taylor has had a really good spring. Especially, like we've already talked about, in the weight room she's done such a good job and she did over Christmas break. She was one of the ones that we could tell did what was asked of her over that break period as far as just staying in shape and proving herself physically. She came in ready to go and now she's reaping the benefits of that, she's touching 10'6 and hitting the ball harder. A second one would be Melanie. Really that last two to three weeks of the season, really embracing being at the outside hitter position instead of on the right side. Bringing that confidence into the spring, she also took care of business over the break and she's jumping as high as she's ever jumped and hitting the ball hard. She's reaping the benefits by being picked to be on the USA Collegiate Team. What these players are going to see is at this level they are all talented but it's going to be about who is putting in the work. Those two did and they are starting to see, and I hope teammates across the board can see and incoming recruits can see that if you put the work in then you will improve.

What do you want to see from the team between now and when they come back late in the summer for fall camp?

McRoberts: One of the big things we've talked about is coming back ready to go. A lot of that is going to be from a physical standpoint, making sure they are continuing with the process and doing what's asked of them from a lifting and conditioning standpoint. One thing we've been preparing them to do as they go into the summer and when they come back from summer is being able to coach themselves. Being able to come in for open gym and being able to practice by themselves and get things done that they know we've been asking them to do this spring. It's also going to be big for them to really embrace the incoming freshmen and get them involved, teach them the culture and the work ethic, what the expectations are going to be when all the coaches are on the floor in August.

With six new players coming in, what do you think we will see from them, do you expect some of them to contribute in the fall?

McRoberts: I think we're going to have to have them contribute in the fall in order for us to be successful. We won't know until we get them in, who's going to contribute the most and in what ways and where we are going to need some other players to come in and help with this core group that we've had this spring.

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