NCAA Second Round Quotes: Washington vs. Hawaii
December 03, 2010 | Volleyball
Dec. 3, 2010
Washington Coach Jim McLaughlin
Opening Statement
It was just a good match, beating a team and a program like UH, it was a big deal. They're a good team and they're well-coached and they're Hawai'i. I like the way we prepared, I liked our mindset, just the whole day. These guys got ready to go and the closer it got to game time, I could see even a sharper focus and they played like it. They did a really good job tonight.
On whether this was one of his team's better performances this season
Yeah. They've had good practices and, like I've been saying, the last three weeks have been good. Just, the vibe was right, the thoughts were right, the emotions were then right and we just played right. So, yeah, it was a good thing to see. But they have more left in them. There's no doubt about that.
Washington's Kindra Carlson
On Hawaii's blocking attempts
They spread it out. Our middles held them really good too, so it was really hard to read them. They did a great job.
On their powerful kills tonight
That's what we can do all the time. We got to get that all the time. It's in us.
Washington's Jenna Hagglund
On how good this win felt
It felt pretty good (laughs). We got on a roll pretty quick. We were in a good rhythm all night, I think, hitters taking some really good swings. We were playing really good defense too, we were in good spots. We came in with our heads straight, we were focused, and we were pretty tight.
On their great passing game
The passing, we were on point tonight. We get our middles up, it opens up the outsides. It all starts with the pass and the better we are at that, the smoother we're going to operate. Everybody passing, they were on fire tonight so that really helps and ultimately, it helps them out too.
Washington's Becky Perry
On how the UW hitters had a fairly easy time
We hear a lot from the back row, we have everybody who's covering us telling us what's open and we can see it with our peripheral. For some reason, they chose to put one blocker on Kindra [Carlson] all night, so it was a field day for her. For me, I could hear Kelly [Holford] behind me yelling "Line" so they gave us a lot of line.
On making every play count
We've talked a lot about having composure during the little off-plays, the ones that get dinked, the ones that get dug or shanked, just having the composure to stay on our assignments no matter where the ball is and what's happening.
Hawai'i Coach Dave Shoji
Opening Statement
Well, I was real proud of my team for fighting back in game three after playing poorly in game two and getting down in game three. They fought hard, but it wasn't enough. We ran into a great team tonight. We just couldn't slow them down at all; they had too many weapons for us. I wish them well. They deserve to go on.
Overall thoughts on the game
I know in game one, we were trying to attack their setter on defense. But, we hit two balls straight down and whoever was back there just got them up. So, that was very discouraging for our hitters because we did what we wanted to do. I thought both teams played pretty good defense. It was a fun match to watch; a lot of long rallies. But, they won most of them. They terminated the ball, so, we just couldn't get enough offense.
On his two seniors Elizabeth Ka`aihue and Dani Mafua
I told them in the locker room I was very proud of the two seniors. They were really the heart and soul of our team. They've come every day of practice the last four years and worked hard. They're great examples for our young players. They're great students, great character, and they mean a lot to our program and our university. I can't say enough about the two. They just really embody the term `student-athlete' and are just terrific people. We're going to miss them, mainly their leadership ability and their work ethic.
Hawaii's Brittany Hewitt
On whether there were any surprises tonight
There weren't any surprises they did. We scouted them. Besides them switching up some things, it was basically what we expected. I'm just proud of the team and how we kept up with them the first and third game. I just think everyone played well so, I couldn't ask for more, except a win, I guess.
Elizabeth Ka'aihue
On how she had such a great digging game tonight
Credit to the block, I guess, taking their area. Everybody was disciplined so it makes it easy to move. Washington's a great team, so I'm rooting for them. They're a great team and they played well.
On what she was thinking at the end of set three
I was thinking, win. That's for sure. I don't think anybody gave up, so that's a plus. I thought we had it. But they just kept going and we couldn't finish.
