During his first season as head coach at Ole Miss, Steven McRoberts helped lead the Rebels to their best season in seven years with a record of 22-10.
Friday night’s match against Oral Roberts marks the start of the 2015 season, and the beginning of this year’s quest to the NCAA tournament.
Ole Miss returns eight players and all six starters. They also added seven newcomers that will help with the team’s depth.
Three of the key returning players are the two lethal hitters senior Nakeyta Clair and junior Melanie Crow, along with the junior record-breaking setter Aubrey Edie.
Clair and Crow spent part of the summer in New Orleans representing Ole Miss and competing against some of the best collegiate volleyball players in the country as part of the USA Volleyball Collegiate National Team.
Clair set the single season record for kills in 2014 with 366. She was also the AVCA All-American honorable mention and received SEC and AVCA Regional Honors. Entering her senior year, her leadership and experience will be vital to the success of the team.
Crow had 352 kills in the season and led the team in aces (42), which ranked her 3rd in the SEC with .36 aces per set. In a close 3-2 loss to Texas A&M, she tallied a career-high 23 kills. Last year, she helped the Rebels win their first tournament title away from Oxford since the 2007 season at the Buffalo Classic, where she was named to the All-Tournament team.
As the setter, Aubrey Edie is considered to be the “quarterback” of the offense. Last season, she set the single season record with 1,322 assists which ranked third in the SEC. She set a single-match and career-high record of 62 assists against rival Mississippi State. After last season, she’s now third all-time in Ole Miss volleyball history with 2,271 assists.
The Rebels goal for the season is to succeed in conference play.
This season, they will face off against some of the greatest teams in the country, including Florida, who finished last season undefeated in conference play (18-0).
Ole Miss went 8-10 in conference matches last season, yet maintained an overall winning record during the season. If they can achieve a winning record in conference play and make it into the top four ranking in the SEC, they will have a shot at making it to the NCAA tournament.
Oral Roberts should prove to be a great first contest for the Rebels first match. Oral Roberts was was picked to finish fourth in the Summit League this season after scoring a 15-15 record in 2014. They also return all six of their starters. The player to watch for the opposing side is sophomore outside hitter Laura Milos, who averaged 4.37 kills per set in 2014.
After the night’s competition, the Rebels will take on Tennessee State at noon on Saturday, followed by Northwestern State at 7:30 p.m.
