Jamie Morrison & Co. hit the road to face No. 21 Utah, Utah State

Key notes from Jamie Morrison interview

• Our team is fun to be around right now. When I go back to the first set against Rice, there is room to build on. I hope Central Arkansas pushed us, and they did, but there was no panic. I was really happy with our response when our backs were against the wall.
   
• Both sides hit -2 percent efficiency. It is really hard to hold a good team. Rice was our pick to win their conference. The fact that we were able to play like that, win the first set and be willing and able to withstand five sets, I was fired up.
   
• Kyndal Stowers led both matchups in kills. One of the things I noticed in the Central Arkansas game is that she has moxy about her. There is just a level of competitiveness that, regardless of the situation, she is going to be herself. She’s just a really well-rounded volleyball player. She’s going to be elite in every skill. Maddie Waak is one of the most underrated players in the country. I am super fired up for her.
   
• I was trying to give Taryn Morris some experience in that, because you are going to hear her name a lot next year and a little this year. That is why I started her against Rice, I wanted her to have a start under her belt. Ava Underwood had a good weekend. They all had some adversity, and I think they bounced back, which is huge to being a good team and a good player.
   
• I think the most teachable moments are losses. The pain of that is going to fuel change. Especially when you are good, it is important to pick apart what to improve on. It is a little about refining, but also preparing for the next matchup. We were talking about what we need to do better and finding those things. Today, we will begin to discuss how we are going to play against Utah.
   
• We have a sports scientist, Scott Battley, who’s really good and works on the time piece. There is a science and art to this. How dense our practices are, what parts of practice are high intensity and then the art piece is knowing when to push and when to hold off. It is a tough stretch. We are on the road a lot right now. That takes energy out of the system. We got back from Sioux Falls at 3 a.m., then the girls had their first day of school. People forget that these athletes are students, as well.
   
• I’d take grit over skill any day. You want to have the combination of both. We are getting to that right now with this really good volleyball team. But this next stretch is really hard. We have three ranked opponents, and I think two of them are very underrated in terms of their ranking. In this stretch, we are playing all in our opponents' arena. We put up two really good wins last weekend.
   
• I am really proud of Morgan Perkins. We talked at the end of last season and into the summer, and she came to me wanting to improve in her blocking game. The work put in by her has been pretty amazing.
   
• Utah and Utah State are well-coached teams. I have a lot of respect for them. Utah has a player I coached with U19, a freshman, Devyn Wiest, who came into their program. She’s mixing in with a lot of veterans. The outside hitter combo from them is going to be really good.
   
• Utah State runs fast. They pass, serve and defend really well. We look at them kind of differently. Utah at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 on Thursday. The viewership numbers are going up. I do really love this sport. The way it is growing is huge to me. I came here for that reason, the growth of this sport, thanks to the 12th Man. Some schools don’t care about women’s athletics, but here they do. I am glad I have a role in that here and nationally. I don’t know if SMU is sold out yet, but it’s getting there. Then we come home. Please come out and buy those season tickets.