Ole Miss formally introduced Steven McRoberts as the seventh head coach of the Rebel volleyball program Thursday at the Gillom Sports Center. McRoberts was officially hired Jan. 16.
McRoberts comes to Oxford with 17 years of volleyball head coach experience at the collegiate level that has seen him successful at every stop. He inherits a team that went just 14-17 and 4-14 in Southeastern Conference play, but he is setting the bar high for his program from the start.
“We are looking forward to having success in year one,” McRoberts said. “We’re looking to be successful in the Southeastern Conference right away. The Southeastern Conference had eight teams make the NCAA tournament last year, so it’s our goal to be in that group next year.”
McRoberts was most recently the head coach at Tulsa, where he accumulated a 78-24 record in three years. He also spent six years at Central Arkansas and eight years at Lubbock Christian in Texas.
Throughout his career, McRoberts has tallied a 475-161 record and recorded many achievements, including two NCAA tournament appearances, six 30-plus-win seasons, 11 conference championships, 10-time conference coach of the year and five All-American selections.
McRoberts is looking to get the Rebels in the top half of the SEC and into the NCAA tournament on a consistent basis and find ways to expand the volleyball fan base at Ole Miss.
“You have to win,” McRoberts said. “People like to go see winners. We are going to play an exciting style. We are going to play an up-tempo offense. Our job as coaches and players is that we give the fans a product that they want to come back and keep watching.”
