For the average freshman student-athlete, the thought of breaking records does not cross his or her mind during the season.
But over halfway through the 2012 volleyball season, Mississippi State freshman libero Roxanne McVey was leading the SEC in digs and on pace to break multiple MSU records.
However, when junior setter and co-captain Paris Perret left the team for personal reasons, State was left with only inexperienced setters to fill the position and just two upperclassmen on the team.
Having lost seven straight conference games, McVey said she knew a change needed to be made if MSU was to see any success this season.
“I told her (head coach Jenny Hazelwood), ‘If you need me to fill water bottles all practice, if that’s what it will take to win, I’ll do that. If you need me to play libero, if you need me to set, whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it if it’s going to make us win,'” McVey said.
So Hazelwood moved McVey, who had never played setter in her life, to the setter position in hopes of seeing different outcomes for the Dogs.
For someone who had already broken the MSU record with 42 digs in the match against Kennesaw State and the SEC record with 50 digs against LSU, McVey’s willingness to move positions for the betterment of her team displayed her true character.
Hazelwood said she hesitated to take McVey out of her position because she was doing so well, but having her initiate the conversation with the coaches about being willing to change positions was neat.
“That was one of the biggest things we said as a coaching staff that she could have just said, ‘I want to make sure I’m still getting good numbers,’ and that kind of stuff, but she doesn’t care about that stuff,” Hazelwood said. “She wants to help the team win.”
In high school, McVey played either outside hitter or setter, and on her club team, she played libero alongside one of the best setters in the nation.
In her first match in her career at setter, McVey tallied 18 assists, and in her second match against Missouri, she nearly doubled that number with 34 assists (both matches went only three sets).
Although State failed to pull out a win in her first few matches at setter, McVey said her teammates have helped her out in this difficult situation.
“The first match was pretty interesting because I was putting everything together, and I was completely out of my comfort zone,” she said. “But my teammates have made it super easy for me to feel relaxed and confident in what I’m doing because they’re always giving me positive feedback.”
McVey’s maturity and leadership ability were evident early in her career as she graduated high school a semester early to join the team last spring in preparation for the season. Instead of enjoying her last semester as a high school senior, McVey chose to join the Dogs for off-season training.
Often called the “quarterback of a volleyball team,” the setter is responsible for every second ball every time the ball comes on her team’s side of the net.
Senior captain Chanelle Baker said McVey has stepped into the “quarterback” role, even though she was not a setter by nature.
“I think everyone’s really excited Roxanne wanted to step up into that position, and everyone’s been real positive. I feel like it shows what this team has to come in the future with her being a freshman and stepping up like that,” Baker said. “She’s done a great job with leadership, and I think it’s definitely made her stand out being that extra leader we need out there.”
Although the Dogs are still struggling to scratch the win column in SEC play, McVey’s desire to put the team before herself as only a freshman may be just what MSU needs to steer the program in the right direction.