Jamie Morrison & Co. continue away stretch with pair of top-15 foes

Key notes from Jamie Morrison interview

• The one on national television against Utah, they got after us. But in the Utah State game, the student section is right on top of you. It was tough. This is probably one of the toughest stretches a coach has put his team through. I just love the way our team is responding.
   
• Kentucky vs. Nebraska had 1.2 million viewers. It is huge for our sport. People are starting to pay attention. Our Missouri match got upgraded to ESPN2 because of it. This sport has grown.
   
• I think we got into problem-solving mode. Their speed on offense got us in trouble, but we solved that. The stats may make it seem like it's not close, but in that environment? I felt stressed at the end, and we made a big push. It has been about responses. We have been pushed in many ways, but we have responded.
   
• Maddie Waak is coming up. Every single day, she is getting better. We haven’t even seen the best from her, and she is still really good. The list of best setters in the country, she is never put on it. She deserves to be. She can play the entire game. Her serves have upgraded this year quite a bit. She works hard, has become a better blocker and can dish the rock. She is one of the best at it. We have a lot of weapons on this team, and she is finding ways to be able to use them each and every night. She is doing a great job.
   
• Somebody on the TV interview asked me how Logan Lednicky has been since returning from the USA National team. She understands why now. It shows in the way she leads, she speaks and the way she commands the huddle. That has probably been the No. 1 change going into this year.
   
• I am happy we are doing the SEC-ACC matchups, but we have four true away games in a row. We have two really good opponents: No. 15 TCU and No. 10 SMU. We are going to see a lot of physicality from SMU. We played one of the girls on that team when she was at Colorado State, and now she is at TCU. When we played them, we expected a battle of two physical teams, and we got that. You will see that.
   
• For TCU, it is a lot of speed. The lineup is different in the way they run it. It is a flying circus on the other side of the net, but can we stay composed on our side? They are good. They lost one of their better players against Kent State. I have a lot of respect for both head coaches. Both were assistants at Baylor, took head coaching jobs and are developing top 25 programs. There will be lots of challenges, but different ones on different nights.
   
• Four away games in seven days is a gauntlet, but it will toughen us up going forward. The SEC is the best in the country. You got three teams in the top 10. We have more that are knocking on the doorstep. LSU had a couple of tough losses, but they are knocking on the door. Georgia is, too. So, this will prepare us for that.
   
• I would love to have a day in between games, but that is not what it is. This is also preparing us for the NCAA Tournament, where we play back-to-back. So, it is one of the few reps we get to prepare for that. It is always nice to get a day to rest your bodies and minds.
   
• The game is at 6:00 p.m. tonight at SMU and 6:30 p.m. at TCU tomorrow. If you are in the area, we would love to see more Maroon out there.