QUOTES Galore from the Penn State Regional Website:
www.gopsusports.com/pressreleases/pressrelease.cfm?anncid=915912.8.2005
NCAA Women's Volleyball Pre-Regional Quotes
Missouri Press Conference (Dec. 8, 2005)
Head Coach Wayne Kreklow
Opening Statement:
"We're really pleased to have this opportunity to be here this weekend and meet up with some great volleyball teams. As a coaching staff, we've been really pleased with what we've been able to do so far this season and I felt like we played well last weekend to get here. We've had a good week of practice and we just got done working out the road bumps, so we'll be ready to roll."
On Hawaii:
"One of the things we've tried to focus on all season long is worrying about what things are happening on our side of the net. With Hawaii, I see a lot of the same things. We are, in a lot of respects, a very similar team. We play at a similar tempo, we try to do the same things. I was looking at tape, kind of thinking that we're playing against ourselves on the other side of the net. I don't know if there are any major things at this point of the year that we can adjust. We just need to focus on what we need to do and execute on our side of the net. Hopefully we can do that well, and if we do that well, hopefully that will be good enough."
On preparing for the Tournament:
"Every team has things that they're probably better at than others. In general, we've been a pretty solid serving and passing team. Offensive system-wise, we've been pretty successful with that throughout the year. I think we're always looking to see if we can't get a little better blocking, a little bit better defending. We've spent a little extra time, just trying to improve a little bit. At this point of the year, it's hard to make any big jumps. We're not going to get a lot better in anything in three days of practice. Hopefully our thought is, if we can get a little bit better, pick up a couple of extra points here or there, that might help us."
On if his team has jitters playing in their first NCAA Regional:
"There's no way to get around the fact that this is the first time that we've been at this point in the Tournament. The only thing we can do is to make sure that we talk about it and get it out in the open and try to confront any of those jitters, that nervousness, ahead of time and prepare for that so that when we get out there and play, it doesn't really affect us. There's no way around getting past the fact that it is the first time. One of the things that will hopefully help is the advantage of playing in a very strong conference. We get to be in environments where you get to go play in front of four and five thousand people in opposing gyms and traveling and being on the road. Hopefully being able to do that throughout the course of the year will help us in the Tournament this weekend."
On how the crowd will affect his team:
"I think what we have to do is to keep focused on what is happening between those lines. Obviously anyone playing at home certainly has that fan support that always helps. But you also have to be able to do it on the road when you don't have your security blanket. I think our players know they can still do it but they've got to do it. We talk a lot about, even when we're at home, if there's going to be energy in the building, it always has to come from within those lines and go out. You can't just rely on people in the stands helping you all the time. You have to be able to do that yourself. It will be a little bit different but the advantage of playing in a tough conference and going on the road is there."
On starting a volleyball tradition at Missouri:
"I think we'd like to hope that we're staring a tradition. That's a tall order because when you're talking about the Hawaii's and Penn State's, when you mention women's volleyball, those are some of the first schools out of people's mouths. I think what's so special about programs like those is the ability over that long of a time to be functioning at that high of a level, that is really a tough thing to do. But that's what we'd like to do. I guess in 10-15 more years when I'm in a wheelchair, I might be able to look back and see that we had maybe a part in getting that started. They certainly have great traditions and it's a tough act to follow."
On the process of bringing the Chinese players to his team:
"That actually started years ago when I was at Missouri as an assistant in the early 90s and there were a couple of international students on campus that had a friend of theirs that was interested in coming over. We couldn't get her into the university at that point and my wife was over at Columbia College, which is the NAIA school in town and we got her in there. From then on, it's just a matter of connections. It was kind of a gradual process, it wasn't a concerted effort on our part to get players from China, it was just something that more developed over time than anything."
On Missouri's potential opponent on Saturday:
"To be honest with you, I haven't even thought too much about that. I guess I could look back and say 'well we played Tennessee once before and we beat them.' So maybe in the back of my mind I'm hoping that if we win, who would we rather play? But Tennessee is playing awfully well right now so I don't think that it's the same Tennessee team that we met in September. When you get to this team in the Tournament, you can kind of pick your poison. Nobody is going to be easy and everyone is going to be really, really good. You can probably flip a coin and go from there."
On the little things that it takes to win a match:
"I think for us the little things are very important. When I look back at the matches when I thought we played really well, the little things are generally what we had done well. We're not put together to be a high-ball, power-type team. We don't have those kind of people so we can't play that style of game. What we've tried to do is look at the personnel that we have and figure out how we can be as effective as possible with the people we have. One of the things we've focused on over the course of the season is controlling the ball and minimizing errors. No matter what happens, our goal is to always make sure that if we lose, it's because the other team beat us rather than us beating ourselves. We try to put ourselves in the position, where at the end of games, it can go both ways rather than digging a hole early with a lot of unforced errors by trying to do too much."
Senior setter Lindsey Hunter
On playing in her first NCAA Regional Semifinal match:
"I think in some respects it [feels different from a regular match]. We're real excited to be here and this year our hard work has paid off and we have all of the tools and the right mindset. At this point in the season, we're just going to try to go out there and play our game and have fun. You can't do anything else. Even though we are playing with teams like Hawaii and Penn State that have been [to Regionals] in the past, we're just going to play our game and focus on our side, and hopefully things will progress from there."
On her summer with the US National Team and playing with Hawaii's Kamana'o:
"The summer with the national team really gave me experience with higher level players. It was really good to get out there and play with different people and work with different styles. I think I improved a little bit on each one of my skills. [Hawaii's] Kanoe [Kamana'o] is a very good setter when I played with her. I think we're very similar in the respects that we like to keep the tempo quick, she's a very good defensive player and a very good blocker for her size."
On what Missouri has learned to overcome this season:
"One thing that I think a lot of teams have to overcome is that when things aren't going our way, we have to snap out of it. We have to keep the ball rolling on our side. It's easy with volleyball and the momentum, to kind of let one point be two points and two be four. So one of the challenges we've tried to do is if things aren't going our way, to try to come together to overcome that, to switch the focus and energy and just get through things."
On if there are communication issues with the Chinese players on their team:
"They have to learn English for a year before they come and they have to pass their tests before they can play. There are some little times where it becomes an issue but not really."
On the experience the Chinese players bring to their team:
"The Chinese players, in particular, are very skilled players and they are very practiced. That carries over onto us. Like [senior outside hitter] Shen [Danru], for instance. She is an amazing all-around player and we can count on her to get a big dig. They're just very skilled and practiced players."
Junior outside hitter Jessica Vander Kooi
On playing in her first NCAA Regional Semifinal match:
"I think the only thing we lack compared to programs like Hawaii and Penn State is the tradition. They've been here before, but we're just here to have fun and play together like we've been doing all season long. We've worked hard and I think we deserve to be here."
On their main focus for the year:
"One of the things we've been talking about all year is just focusing on the task at hand. Not looking at the big picture but focusing in on the small picture. When we're out there on the court, we just have to focus on the ball coming at us and not the score up on the board."
