NCAA Regional Semifinal Quotes
December 11, 2010 | Volleyball
Dec. 11, 2010
NCAA Regional Semifinals
December 10, 2010
Hec Edmundson Pavilion
Washington def. (2) Nebraska, 3-1
Washington Coach Jim McLaughlin
Opening Statement
I thought, start to finish, it was a good match. (Nebraska) is a great program, a great team. We had to play very well to beat them. The difference, I thought, I'll review the film, my thoughts right now are the serves, serves received, and who hit in transition. Just creating opportunities and finishing those opportunities. We did a really good job of that at the end of all the games.
On Bianca Rowland
She really opened up the pins for us; she was a good presence in the middle. Even when they started dedicating on her, she was successful. Jenna had confidence in her, and it was important that we kept moving her from gap-to-gap all night.
On whether this was a surprise victory
I never think about that stuff. We just prepare, we play. Some years you get seeded high, and some you don't. It doesn't change your preparation in any way, shape or form. The important thing is to get over (this match) and get onto the next one. We got to get to bed and get ready to go.
On facing Cal
We know them fairly well. They can mix it up. They have a good setter. But we didn't play ... we played a little better the second time. We're playing better right now. I always tell these guys, It's not what the opponent did it's what we didn't do in the case of a loss. We just have to do the things we're supposed to do.
On the crowd
It was huge. It was loud. Sometimes that can work against you, but it sure worked to our advantage tonight, and put a lot of pressure on them. I thought we held our composure at the end of game. It was just fun to have a crowd like that.
Setter Jenna Hagglund
On serving to Hanna Werth
I think if you have a hitter who's hot, if we give her more things to do like pass, and then hit, it makes it a little tougher on them. So we tried to give her all she could handle. And she was good for part of it, broke down for part of it ... trying to work them down as best we could.
On Nebraska's digs
They're a great team. They did dig a ton of balls. When teams do that, we just say, `Let's just keep hitting our shots.' We'll wear them down eventually. And that's the key, holding our composure and attacking them as best we can. We can't control what they're doing on that side of the net. They can dig, dig, dig all night. We're just going to keep coming back at `em as best we can."
On Lauren Barfield
Lauren's big. She got up on time. We worked a lot this week with really getting her up early, and she did great. She poses a threat. She put a lot of pressure on their block to stay with her, and not let them load up on Becky or Kindra. That was awesome.
Outside Hitter Becky Perry
On handling the pressure of being served at
I hope teams serve me, because I'm pretty confident in myself. There was a little period there where I had a hard time passing it (from the) back right, but I came out of it in Game 3. That's what it's about, having the composure to stay with the little bumps and be that steady and consistent passer. I have no problem doing that. Come at me.
On reacting to official's calls
In the end, it all evens out. Sometimes you get a call against you that you don't like, and sometimes you get a call in your favor that you like. In the end, it all evens out. Whether or not Kindra's last ball was in, I got a touch on that last hit ... at the end of the day, we're going to get calls that we don't like, and we're going to play through that.
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Nebraska Coach John Cook
Opening Statement
Washington played great by the way. They did a super job. (Kindra) Carlson and (Becky) Perry really stepped up. And (Jenna) Hagglund, I thought that was the best I've seen her play. Those kids really stepped up as seniors. Probably overcoming some demons from two years ago when they played us, and they really willed themselves to a great win.
On whether Washington caused them problems
No. I thought we had our chances. And when we had our shots we didn't make them, made some errors.
On serving Becky Perry
They make it hard to get Becky the ball, but for a while we were serving the libero. She was struggling. But we more go by the rotation and what we're trying to take away and create an advantage for us.
On a difference maker for Washington
I think it was a great match. Both teams really competed hard, and we didn't take advantage of the opportunities that we had. And when you're on the road, you've got to take advantage when you have opportunities, and we let them get away.
On the Huskies' first set
They're at home, they had a huge crowd, they should be hot. We knew that. I thought we weathered the storm and came back and did a nice job in Game 2.
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(7) California def. (10) Minnesota, 3-0
California Coach Rich Feller
Opening Statement
Definitely pleased and relieved and feeling fortunate we're sitting here. You want to play a perfect match first time out and I think we've all acknowledged that we didn't play a perfect match. I think there was an interesting vibe out there but I can't say enough about the way our team just got very, very stiff and resilient when push came to shove. It's something we've talked about and it's something we made reference to yesterday in the press conference about how this team is and how they focus and how they can set their sights on something and they don't let somebody get in their way. I thought we fought through some tough times and made some great plays when we needed to and probably put Minnesota in a few positions they weren't used to and it worked out for us. So, I'm very happy to be back in this situation of playing for a chance to go to the Final Four.
On why he used the term "relieved"
"This match is a pressure match. The expectation of our team is Final Four, National Championship. But, to do that, you have to be playing for that tomorrow night. We played for that the last three seasons so, getting to here, now, is a very big expectation. We almost don't even think about this is what we have to do. We're thinking beyond. So, relieved that that first match is done with and we're now in the position to fight for a chance to go to the Final Four."
Outside Hitter Adrienne Gehan
On how they came back
"I just think that we went into the timeout and I just remember Carli [Lloyd] and Tarah [Murrey] being like `We are not losing this set, there's no way we're losing it' and that was our mentality on the court. We went and we played all out and we had nothing to lose and we came back and we won.
Setter Carli Lloyd
On whether she, like her coach, also feels `relieved'
I don't know if my word choice would be `relieved'. I definitely expected us to come out and play better tonight and I'm not so happy with the way that we played but, I believed we could win and I was confident we would get to the next round so I'm happy to be here and I'm confident in our group. I'd say my word is like really excited and I'm just ready to go tomorrow.
On why they struggled some
Coach talked about our right side block tonight. We were struggling with their outsides. They're both big guns and they've got some wicked arms and we were struggling with their cross-court ball. We've played big outsides but I don't think any that have that hard cross-court shot over and over and over again and we didn't make the right adjustments. We tried and I think we got them a couple times but that was the thing we struggled with most. The other thing that I was kind of upset with is, we have a lot of heart and a lot of energy when we play and I don't think that was there consistently tonight. We had to fight in the last two sets because they were pushing and controlling the match tempo and I'm not really happy when that happens. I like to control it. Not just me, but our group of girls. We like to be in control of how the match is going and we like to be the first to five points. Those are little goals that we set for ourselves and we didn't really do that tonight. I'm hoping that tomorrow is a little different.
Middle Blocker Correy Johnson
On how they came back and won
Last time we were here playing Washington, it was kind of the same thing that happened. The second set, we were behind 6 or 7 points and all our leaders on the team, we just come together and say `We're not losing this' and go from there and point-by-point, we come back and win.
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Minnesota Coach Mike Hebert
Opening Statement
It was a peculiar match. It felt, all match long, like we were winning and then we look up at the end and we'd made a couple mistakes and we lose. It was unfortunate that we didn't give our best effort tonight, but I've got to hand it to Cal. They scored the right points at the right time to take the victory. I'm extremely proud of this team for coming through what they've come through this year and playing as well as they have. It's been a terrific ride. Sitting here next to senior Lauren Gibbemeyer, in my opinion, one of the best players in the country. What a season she had. And you saw how defensively Jessica Granquist over here can play. She's fearless and she gets in the way of a lot of shots. Again, it was peculiar in the sense that we felt like we were winning and we weren't; an unusual match. But, still, very proud of the team."
On whether this is where they thought their season would end or if there's disappointment
"Every loss is disappointing, no matter when it comes or if it's in the playoffs. We wanted to win a National Championship. As far as we're concerned, for our program, there's no other reason to practice and suit up and play. I don't mean that in a negative way, but that's just why you do it. We want to win everything and we work hard. We create an environment where that idea is established in the minds of everyone from players to coaches to support personnel but that has to be at the center of it and that's how we do it."
Middle Blocker Lauren Gibbemeyer
On whether they were shocked to lose, after keeping the margin so close
"Yeah, definitely. We had expectations to go all the way and definitely make it back to the Final Four. It's really upsetting when you don't reach that goal. Like Coach Hebert said, it was the crucial points or the end of the set points that really made the difference and it just didn't work out for us.
On what changed after they were leading
I think it was that usually we're really good at just staying calm and, if a point doesn't go our way, when it's that close, we just let it roll off our backs. I think we have a lot of new players and, regardless of how young they are, there's still the jitters and I think there was a little shake in our confidence towards the end and I think we kind of let up a little on our aggressiveness and our defense. So I think we let them shake us up a little bit.
Libero Jessica Granquist
On whether they were shocked to lose, after keeping the margin so close
I agree, also. It felt like we were winning the whole time. It really did. I thought our execution was better than theirs was. They just kept at it and kept being efficient and very stable. They didn't have many highs like we did and we they didn't have very many lows. So, I think that's why.
On what changed after they were leading and then they lost
Yeah, I think it was just unfortunate. We thought balls were out and they were in, miscommunications at the wrong point. They kept being persistent, like I said, and came at us with the same intensity, the same focus, and we kind of let it get to us for a little bit. Although, I think we still fought through it, but I think that their consistency got the best of us.
