A combined 2,238 digs, 1846 kills, 294 blocks and 22 wins make up one of Ole Miss women’s volleyball’s best seasons in school history.
Behind this success is head coach Steven McRoberts, who was awarded with a contract extension announced by Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Ross Bjork on Thursday night. McRoberts received a four-year extension, which is the longest allowed by the state of Mississippi.
“Coach McRoberts has done a great job of steadily building our program since he arrived at Ole Miss,” Bjork said. “His intentional approach to recruiting, coaching and developing our student-athletes has paid off with record-setting individual performances, team records and the 2017 NIVC Championship.”
Since he started coaching the Rebels back in 2014, McRoberts has turned the program around. Inheriting a team that in the two years prior posted a 26-34 overall record and finished at the bottom of the SEC standings, he has achieved an 83-49 record in four seasons at Ole Miss.
Volleyball head coach Steven McRoberts talks to the players on the court during the NIVC championship game, where Ole Miss defeated Texas Tech this past season. File photo by Marlee Crawford
Not only has McRoberts’ coaching led to success over the past four years, but the 2017 season in particular was one to remember. The Rebels tied the most wins in program history with a season record of 22-14 and earned their first postseason victory on their way to capturing the NIVC Championship. En route to its postseason tournament title, the team set single-season records for kills, assists, digs and blocks.
In addition to its success on the court, the team also excelled in the classroom, for which Bjork took note.
“His teams have also competed in the classroom by having a perfect graduation success rate since he arrived,” he said.
Coming off a historic 2017 season, Bjork emphasised the importance of looking toward the future and how the program can improve under McRoberts’ guidance in the next four years.
“The foundation for long-term success has been put in place, and the next step is competing for SEC and NCAA championships,” Bjork said. “Combined with the investment in the brand-new Gillom Athletics Performance Center, coach McRoberts has performances in the years to come.”
Some highlights from this past season lie in two girls who played their last set as Rebels when senior outside hitters Lexi Thompson and Kate Gibson became the first members of the 1,000/1,000 club at Ole Miss in the rally era. Notably, Thompson set a career record for kills and aces, as well as Gibson finishing as one of just eight players in the nation to post at least 400 kills and 400 digs in 2017.
The team has some recurring talent returning with sophomore outside hitter Emily Stroup, who earned AVCA All-Region and NIVC Championship MVP honors, as well as setting the single-season kills record of 474. Defensively, junior libero Caroline Adams set the single-season record with 552 digs and ranked among the top 10 in the SEC in digs per set at 3.90 and was named to the NIVC All-Tournament Team.
Although 2017 was a great season for the Rebels, McRoberts is already looking forward to next season and making the program even better.
“I am so blessed to be the head coach at Ole Miss,” McRoberts said. “Getting a contract extension is a direct reflection on how well our staff and players have done to get this program moving in the right direction. We had an exciting 2017, and this is just the beginning.”
