Julie Darty and Gabby Zgunda address reporters at media day on Tuesday.
MSU Volleyball Holds 2018 Media Day
August 14, 2018 | Volleyball
STARKVILLE, Miss. –With only 10 days away from hosting its season opener, the Mississippi State volleyball team held its annual media day in the Babe McCarthy Media Room at Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday.
First year coach Julie Darty and players Paige Shaw, Alleah Stamatis and Gabby Zgunda were in attendance.
Mississippi State is set to start its 43rdseason. There are seven returners and 11 new faces on the team. Of the 11 new faces, four are transfers while the remaining seven are freshmen.
The team is set to debut Volleyball 101 on Thursday, Aug. 16, from 5-7 p.m. in Newell-Grissom. The event, which is free to the public, will educate fans on the game of volleyball. On Sunday, Aug. 19, the annual Maroon and White scrimmage will take place. First serve is set for 4 p.m. in The Griss, and it is open to the public.
For more information on Mississippi State volleyball, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateVB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
Julie Darty Quotes
Opening Statement …
"We are super excited to be in the middle of preseason right now. Things are going really well and there are a lot of unknowns because we haven't had that first competition yet. We have a lot of fresh faces, and we're excited about this first year."
On preseason mentality …
"There's been big strides. In my mind, the first practice after a day off is terrible. We had our first day off a few days ago, and that next practice was through the roof. The energy is something they've brought every time. I don't have to be excited for every play because they're excited for each other. We just get to coach now. The standard is pretty high, and we came in and set the standard high. We made sure they understood what the standards were. They're policing each other and holding each other to those standards. We're at the halfway point of preseason. We are at practice 10, and we only have 20 practices before the first match. They're doing their part, pulling their weight and we're not having to do everything for them, which is making our jobs a lot easier."
Alleah Stamatis Quotes
On what it has been like under Coach Darty's system …
"I think we are all really excited to be here, ready to go, and take a huge step forward for the program. We are all on one page, and ready to take giant leaps both individually and as a team. We are ready to get better every day.
On getting past the "young team" mentality …
"I don't think that excuses are a part of our standard. We don't want to be like, 'oh it's a first-year coach or that they are young.' That does not matter. We are here to win games, and that's what we plan to do."
Gabby Zgunda Quotes
On what it has been like under Coach Darty's system …
"I think its trusting the process for sure. Already we have a thing called 'sideline' and it sets the standard in our gym for if we make a mistake. [It says] that's not our standard. [When] we think that's below our standard, we will call a sideline. At any point, anyone in the gym can call a sideline, we run the sideline, then get back into the drill again. It's so we can push our standard more and get better."
On getting past the "young team" mentality …
"Ithink trust is a big thing and consistency. I do not think youth has anything to do with it. I think if we together work as a team, we are consistent, and we trust each other, that's what we are working toward."
Paige Shaw Quotes
On what it has been like under Coach Darty's system …
"I think we do a good job at holding ourselves at a higher standard. We are all on the same page, and I think that is going to work very well for us."
On getting past the "young team" mentality …
"We are all on the same page, and we know that we are capable of getting the job done. We are very confident in what we can do, and we trust each other."
First year coach Julie Darty and players Paige Shaw, Alleah Stamatis and Gabby Zgunda were in attendance.
Mississippi State is set to start its 43rdseason. There are seven returners and 11 new faces on the team. Of the 11 new faces, four are transfers while the remaining seven are freshmen.
The team is set to debut Volleyball 101 on Thursday, Aug. 16, from 5-7 p.m. in Newell-Grissom. The event, which is free to the public, will educate fans on the game of volleyball. On Sunday, Aug. 19, the annual Maroon and White scrimmage will take place. First serve is set for 4 p.m. in The Griss, and it is open to the public.
For more information on Mississippi State volleyball, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateVB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
Julie Darty Quotes
Opening Statement …
"We are super excited to be in the middle of preseason right now. Things are going really well and there are a lot of unknowns because we haven't had that first competition yet. We have a lot of fresh faces, and we're excited about this first year."
On preseason mentality …
"There's been big strides. In my mind, the first practice after a day off is terrible. We had our first day off a few days ago, and that next practice was through the roof. The energy is something they've brought every time. I don't have to be excited for every play because they're excited for each other. We just get to coach now. The standard is pretty high, and we came in and set the standard high. We made sure they understood what the standards were. They're policing each other and holding each other to those standards. We're at the halfway point of preseason. We are at practice 10, and we only have 20 practices before the first match. They're doing their part, pulling their weight and we're not having to do everything for them, which is making our jobs a lot easier."
Alleah Stamatis Quotes
On what it has been like under Coach Darty's system …
"I think we are all really excited to be here, ready to go, and take a huge step forward for the program. We are all on one page, and ready to take giant leaps both individually and as a team. We are ready to get better every day.
On getting past the "young team" mentality …
"I don't think that excuses are a part of our standard. We don't want to be like, 'oh it's a first-year coach or that they are young.' That does not matter. We are here to win games, and that's what we plan to do."
Gabby Zgunda Quotes
On what it has been like under Coach Darty's system …
"I think its trusting the process for sure. Already we have a thing called 'sideline' and it sets the standard in our gym for if we make a mistake. [It says] that's not our standard. [When] we think that's below our standard, we will call a sideline. At any point, anyone in the gym can call a sideline, we run the sideline, then get back into the drill again. It's so we can push our standard more and get better."
On getting past the "young team" mentality …
"Ithink trust is a big thing and consistency. I do not think youth has anything to do with it. I think if we together work as a team, we are consistent, and we trust each other, that's what we are working toward."
Paige Shaw Quotes
On what it has been like under Coach Darty's system …
"I think we do a good job at holding ourselves at a higher standard. We are all on the same page, and I think that is going to work very well for us."
On getting past the "young team" mentality …
"We are all on the same page, and we know that we are capable of getting the job done. We are very confident in what we can do, and we trust each other."
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