The University of Mississippi Athletics
Steven McRoberts Weekly Press Conference #13
11/18/2019 | Volleyball
Ole Miss Volleyball Head Coach Steven McRoberts met with members of the media on Monday as part of his weekly press conference. Coach McRoberts discussed the Rebels' schedule as it continues to be filled with top teams as the regular season winds down...
Congratulatory opener:
"Congratulations again to both of our cross country teams. I think it's pretty incredible for both of them how they've done not only in the SEC, but also qualifying for nationals last weekend in the South Regional. It's always fun to see programs on our campus do well, and especially do well nationally. Also, our track and field programs since Connie Price-Smith has taken over have done just incredible. Kudos to Ryan Vanhoy to what he's done with cross country as well."
On Friday's match against Georgia and solid senior seasons:
"We played one time last weekend against a good Georgia team. They're going to represent the SEC at the NCAA Tournament in a couple weeks. We just had another tough evening, especially on the offensive side of things. We do have some players that are having All-SEC caliber seasons, even with the skid that we're on right now. Nicole Purcell continues to lead the league in digs and our team continues to lead the conference in that category. Nayo Warnell is top five in hitting percentage and top 10 in blocking. Both of them are just having incredible senior years. We're just going to continue to keep coaching and practicing hard. We have four seniors, the two that I just mentioned, along with Emily Stroup and Leah Mulkey, [and they] have all had great careers. They've all represented this university well and we're going to do our best to send them out with some victories in this next week and a half."
On the remaining schedule:
"It's a tough stretch starting Friday at Arkansas. They've played really well at home and they're coming off a win against Alabama on Sunday. We then go to Texas A&M on Sunday, who will be in the NCAA Tournament. We come back to play another NCAA Tournament team in Missouri on Nov. 27 for Senior Day. That'll be our last home match of the regular season. Then we finish at Kentucky on Nov. 30, who will not only be in the NCAA Tournament, but also has the inside track to winning the SEC. Not an easy stretch to end on. It hasn't been an easy stretch in general for our team as we've lost eight in a row now."
On the team's resilience:
"We're excited to get out and compete again. That's one thing with this team is they keep coming out and playing hard. Sometimes, these 18-22-year-old players are more resilient than us as coaches. They keep coming back every day, and when you think that they're going to come in mopey and maybe down, well, they keep coming in with energy. That's the culture that we've tried to create and our seniors are leading the way right now with that."
On the 2020 recruiting class:
"I also want to mention that we just signed five young ladies to our 2020 recruiting class last week. We're really excited about them. Starting today you'll be introduced to each one individually throughout the week. So really excited about that class and the future, but we're going to stay locked into this year because we want to finish strong for our four seniors."
On what traits the new recruits bring to the program:
"We have a little bit of size and speed. You're always wanting- from a physicality standpoint- to be the best you can be in both of those categories. From a front row standpoint, we're bringing in a 6-4 outside hitter, 6-3 middle, and a 6-1 right side hitter. We're bringing in the first lefty we've had on the roster since I've been here. She can be a really important aspect for the right side because it just creates a different angle from a hitting standpoint and a more comfortable angle. She's a great six-rotation player. Then we have a couple of defensive specialists that we're really excited about. I think from top to bottom it's our most solid recruiting class since I've been here."
Congratulatory opener:
"Congratulations again to both of our cross country teams. I think it's pretty incredible for both of them how they've done not only in the SEC, but also qualifying for nationals last weekend in the South Regional. It's always fun to see programs on our campus do well, and especially do well nationally. Also, our track and field programs since Connie Price-Smith has taken over have done just incredible. Kudos to Ryan Vanhoy to what he's done with cross country as well."
On Friday's match against Georgia and solid senior seasons:
"We played one time last weekend against a good Georgia team. They're going to represent the SEC at the NCAA Tournament in a couple weeks. We just had another tough evening, especially on the offensive side of things. We do have some players that are having All-SEC caliber seasons, even with the skid that we're on right now. Nicole Purcell continues to lead the league in digs and our team continues to lead the conference in that category. Nayo Warnell is top five in hitting percentage and top 10 in blocking. Both of them are just having incredible senior years. We're just going to continue to keep coaching and practicing hard. We have four seniors, the two that I just mentioned, along with Emily Stroup and Leah Mulkey, [and they] have all had great careers. They've all represented this university well and we're going to do our best to send them out with some victories in this next week and a half."
On the remaining schedule:
"It's a tough stretch starting Friday at Arkansas. They've played really well at home and they're coming off a win against Alabama on Sunday. We then go to Texas A&M on Sunday, who will be in the NCAA Tournament. We come back to play another NCAA Tournament team in Missouri on Nov. 27 for Senior Day. That'll be our last home match of the regular season. Then we finish at Kentucky on Nov. 30, who will not only be in the NCAA Tournament, but also has the inside track to winning the SEC. Not an easy stretch to end on. It hasn't been an easy stretch in general for our team as we've lost eight in a row now."
On the team's resilience:
"We're excited to get out and compete again. That's one thing with this team is they keep coming out and playing hard. Sometimes, these 18-22-year-old players are more resilient than us as coaches. They keep coming back every day, and when you think that they're going to come in mopey and maybe down, well, they keep coming in with energy. That's the culture that we've tried to create and our seniors are leading the way right now with that."
On the 2020 recruiting class:
"I also want to mention that we just signed five young ladies to our 2020 recruiting class last week. We're really excited about them. Starting today you'll be introduced to each one individually throughout the week. So really excited about that class and the future, but we're going to stay locked into this year because we want to finish strong for our four seniors."
On what traits the new recruits bring to the program:
"We have a little bit of size and speed. You're always wanting- from a physicality standpoint- to be the best you can be in both of those categories. From a front row standpoint, we're bringing in a 6-4 outside hitter, 6-3 middle, and a 6-1 right side hitter. We're bringing in the first lefty we've had on the roster since I've been here. She can be a really important aspect for the right side because it just creates a different angle from a hitting standpoint and a more comfortable angle. She's a great six-rotation player. Then we have a couple of defensive specialists that we're really excited about. I think from top to bottom it's our most solid recruiting class since I've been here."
Players Mentioned
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DS
/ Volleyball
OH
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MB
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