Talk to any of our players and they will let you know what our goal is this season and this weekend at home, we are going to be put to the test with LSU and Arkansas coming to OUR HOUSE!
LSU will be seeking revenge after last year being swept on our court while they were ranked #12th in the nation. A whole new team with young players, but they are always well-coached and will come in ready to play. The key is to stop their MB's. In order to do this, we have to have great serving and efficient attacking on our side of the court.
Arkansas is vastly improved with tons of depth. They have great pin attackers who will put our team to the test defensively! Always a high-spirited match-up between the teams! Kris Grunwald, assistant coach at Arkansas, used to be the assistant at Ole Miss under Coach Getzin, so some history during this match!
Come out and join us! Should be a great start to the SEC season!
Finally some home matches!!! Three tough ones ahead with Big Ten undefeated Northwestern, always scrappy and disciplined team Central Arkansas, and Arkansas-Little Rock a team filled with great foreign players. Our team came out ready to compete and took care of business quickly against all 3 teams! As the weekend went on we continued to get better and better and it showed on the court!
Very proud of the team and we finished with a MVP honor of Amanda Philpot, and two All-Tournament selections: Allegra Wells and Morgan Springer!
The team headed up to Louisville last weekend for another tough preseason tournament. Starting with Louisville in their home opener. Our team needed over 80 tickets for their own fans, but unfortunately, with the home opener for Louisville the match was sold out! What a great crowd to play in front of. We were very tough at the beginning of the match, but Louisville had a strong OH that seemed to make play after player and we could never get the momentum, we lost in 3.
Still looking for our first win of the season, we were in a tough match against Eastern Illinois. A small, scrappy team that plays with a bunch of passion for the game. Getting the start on the OH was Ashley Anderson and in the middle was Kellie Goss, both getting valuable playing time throughout the match. Also, getting significant playing time was Kiley Sherman. We scrapped and fought and beat EIU in 5.
Last match of the weekend was against a very scrappy and well-skilled Wichita State team. Unfortunately, for the first time all season, Ole Miss was outworked and Wichita State came out on top in 4.
The locker room after the weekend was pretty quiet, missed opportunities and the team needing a gut check and a new outlook for the rest of the season. We will never be outworked again! We will get better and it starts Tuesday at practice!
After a great preseason, the team headed to Austin, TX for 3 matches, 3 very tough matches! The team had to start off though with a great snack, provided by Becky Smith, Rachael McLamore's mom. She met the team in the lobby of the hotel, despite the team arriving late, she stuck around and provided sandwiches, fruit, yogurt, chocolate milk (a team favorite), water, and the best banana pudding ever! Homemade of course!
The snack paid off because the first team up, Israeli National Team. We came out firing on all cylinders: attacking, defense, blocking, and our serving was very aggressive. We took the Israeli National team down in 3. A great feat considering this team is made of professionals! Their captain is 38 years old! They are getting ready to train for the Olympics! What a great step for this program.
The next 2 matches would be even tougher with #4 Texas and Pepperdine! The team fought hard against Texas, but couldn't sustain the energy and execution it takes to beat the 4th ranked team in the nation and we lost in 4. Coming back that night with a heavy heart of a missed opportunity, the team could not rally and lost to a very good Pepperdine team!
Overall, a great weekend for the team, we had over 50 Ole Miss fans at the match! Plenty of Ole Miss love in Texas!
Segment II consisted of implementing the rest of our offensive and defensive systems. Coming off of Camp Hopewell we knew we would be a good place both physically and mentally. We also knew this would be a big push for our team, not getting a day off from each other in a week and a half and having to push through 6 more practices before their next day off!
The first practice was a little rough and we could tell we took 48 hours away from contacting the volleyball, but we got better each practice! We continue to do competition points throughout each segment and it was announced today that Rachael McLamore won the most competitions. Competitions consisted of 6 on 6 play, serving games, defensive competitions and more! Even though she is just a freshman, she is playing a huge role on our team playing as the back-up setter. She continues to find ways to contribute and make her team better! Great job!
Our team did a great job at Camp Hopewell, but all good things must come to an end. We left Camp Hopewell very satisfied and hungry to take our new demeanor onto the volleyball court. But before we leave, we need to take time to think about our trip and what we learned.
First of all, Camp Hopewell has amazing food! It was so good. Have you ever had Chess Pie Squares, it is a southern thing, but YUM!!!!
Our second obstacle of the day was our own version of Titanic. How do you get 15 players on board that was teetering and keep it level? I'm not sure because we didn't get it, but we did better than we ever had. We also took time to learn how to engage every member of our team at all moments, even if they are hurt. Also, how we talk to one another and how it can come across. For example, if you tell someone "I think you should do this", how does that come across compared to, "It would be best for the team if you did this.". The challenge was, can we take that experience and learn from it on the next adventure, The Spideweb!
Our team got to come up with their own scenario, ours was, they broke into Florida's locker room and stole the scouting report and now they have to get out through the holes. Everytime they go through a hole, the hole closes. They must get every team member out before they get caught. If any body part goes into any hole, it automatically closes. It also closes if you touch any part of the rope. The communication of the team was great. Everyone provided insight into how they were going to accomplish it. People took charge and made sure everyone was heard. They also did a great job of voting to make sure everyone was on the same page. If someone had a thought that was different than the team, you usually heard the words, "it would be best for the team if..." Did we learn our lessons throughout the day, I think so!!! Here are some videos of the team putting some people through the higher holes! Great job! Look at those muscles!
The last day of Camp Hopewell was definitely the best. Not only the activities were awesome, but the growth in our team was amazing. We started off with a game that included blindfolds and noodles. How the game works is you have to blindfold one member of your team and without touching her, lead her to a noodle, have her pick it up and hit the other blindfolded person. If you hit them first, you get a point. May the best team win!
In the first round, we have Allegra v. Kellie.
And yes, Kellie attacked her own team. So Allegra's team has 1 and Kellie's team has 0. Now the next group was Amanda and Whitney.
So now it is Allegra's team 2, Kellie's team 0. Next match-up is Lara and Kiley.
This now makes it Allegra's team 3 and Kellie's team 0. Next up, our captains, Regina and Morgan.
Yeah, Regina gets a point for her team!!! Do you see the defensive posture she moves with, very nice for a middle blocker! Did she swing the momentum to her team? Next up Kara and Rachael with Kara's team in a 2 point hole to Rachael's team.
Go Kara! Another point for her team. We had to use some subs because of injuries so Kara's team felt comfortable to throw her back in! This time with the championship on the line. If Kara wins, they are tied and go to a tie-breaker, if Ruby wins, her team wins the championship. Check it out...
Kara's team comes through with another victory so we are tied up. The rules for the tie-breaker are pick your best competitor to win you the championship. It is Ashley Anderson against Kara!
With the huge comeback victory, Kara's team takes the win!
The team had 48 hours off from the court and what better to do than get to learn more about each other. The team head to Camp Hopewell, about 15 minutes from campus, for a Team Building session on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, the team arrived at about 3:30 and the activities immediately began. The constant distractions were the bugs. Lara Ontko describes herself as being deathly afraid of bugs and that's exactly what we saw. At some point a bug flew past her and she screamed at ran. Another part of the day, Kara Morgan threw a caterpillar at her and she almost busted into tears. City girl in the country:) The other "bug" to worry about was The Tick. The Tick was a clothespin that could be put on you at any time without you knowing. If one of the instructors yelled "Tick Check" and it was found on you, you had to do something. For example, Kiley found it and had to break out into song with Regina and Allegra helping her out, you can see the video above. Kiley also had it the 2nd time and she had to eat a bag of skittles in 10 secs and the third tick was found on Coach Sean Burdette who had to ride around the dining hall on a broom while the girls beat the rhythm to "We Will Rock You."
The team in their cabin
We did a couple more things and then it was time to hit the beds. The girls stayed in a cabin that had 12 beds on each side, but they decided to move all the mattresses in one room so they could hang out.
Ruby and Morgan at the fire
To finish the night we had a campfire where we did some Role Playing about rules and communication and had smores! Whitney Craven had never had a smore before and watching figure out the perfect way to roast a marshmallow was very entertaining. She decided that the all-black burnt marshmallow was indeed the best.
The team went to bed early because the next day started at 7:30AM.
Segment I was August 9-August 12th of our preseason and consisted of a total of 8 practices, one weight session, one swimming activity, and one meeting time. Practice was focused on individual skill breakdown and implementation of our Red and Purple defense. We did alot of eye sequencing from the defensive side of the ball as well. We really feel defense can be a big strength of our program this year with blockers such as Regina Thomas and Allegra Wells and our libero Morgan Springer. These three will be counted on heavily to be our defensive leaders and we are pretty excited about their progress over the summer.
As a program, the level of play is much higher than in the spring. Whitney, Courtney (a.k.a Ruby), and Regina are all coming off knee surgeries and to see them all back on the court with the rest of the team who got tons of playing time in the spring is very exciting!
We leave for Camp Hopewell to work on our team togetherness and breaking through the uncomfortables. It is a pretty exciting time to be a REBEL!
The first practice of the day is in the books!!! The team was rewarded for all their hard work this summer by getting a first practice day of play! After about an hour of ball control, serving and passing, and attacking warm-ups, the team took part in 6 on 6 play for the next hour and a half! The coaching staff is VERY, VERY excited about the work the team put in this summer. We feel we are already better than where we left off in April! Next practice is from 3-6PM where the focus is getting back to technique in passing, serving, and attacking.
The preseason is broke into 4 segments for the team, the first one taking place today until Friday morning with a focus on technique. The staff wants the team to have tons of reps and make sure everyone is on the same page with technique and key words.
Very excited to get back in the gym with our team!
Another first is happening in Ole Miss history, this time it involves sophomore RS Allegra Wells. Allegra was named to the USA A2 National Program and took part in the National Open Championships in her hometown, Dallas, TX on May 23-June 1st. Her team took 2nd place after a grueling week of practices and matches! A very humbling experience that showcased the best players in the nation! It was a great learning experience for Allegra. She biggest thing she learned was the intensity and focus it takes to train day in and day out to play at a high level. We can't wait to get Allegra back in our gym and show us everything she learned!
For the first time in school history, the Ole Miss Volleyball program has its first AVCA All-American!!! Regina was named an AVCA Division I Third-Team All-American, pretty impressive considering she missed the last 7 matches of the season with a torn ACL!!! She was honored at the Final Four at the 2010 AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet and was announced in between sets during the match. The coaching staff was present at the banquet and was able to watch Regina crutch up to stage to take the honor! What a great accomplishment for our program and for our team! An honor very well deserved and a showcase for our program! Congrats Regina!!!
