Mizzou-IUPUI Postgame Quotes
12/6/2013 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Dec. 6, 2013
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HEAD COACH, Wayne Kreklow
Opening Statement....
"The last thing I said to the team in our locker room, is that at this point of the year it's all about surviving and advancing. That's kind of what we did tonight. I didn't think we were particularly sharp. About halfway through game three, we got back into a better rhythm and flow. We've been off the last 10 days, and I felt like that hurt us a little bit. We weren't quite with it a lot of times out there tonight. IUPUI did a lot of good things tonight. They serve tough, and they're well scouted. They did a good job of doubling up on our primary hitters, and they made some really good plays. I feel good, though, about getting out of here tonight with a win, and living another day in the tournament. We obviously need to clean some things up for tomorrow. We're set to compete against a very good Purdue team."
On how the team re-grouped after intermission...
"We haven't really done anything since the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, other than just normal practice. It's easy to get out of a routine. There's been a tremendous amount of distractions since that time before Thanksgiving and tonight. We've got a lot of young kids on this team who play a lot. I think it was tough for them to re-focus. The best thing that could have happened for us was to just get out and play a game tonight. About halfway through game three, we got back into a flow that we're accustomed to. Before the intermission, there were just a lot of small little things that prevented us from getting into a flow."
On how the coaching staff is preparing for Purdue tomorrow night...
"At this point, there isn't a whole lot that you can do. We've been doing things during the week, and working on certain aspects during practice. They're going to come at us with the serve. They're going to attack us on the right-hand side, and they're going to get a bunch of swings. We're really well aware of where our weak spots are, and that teams are going to attack them. There's not much we can do to change that, but we know what's coming. We're going to have to serve more consistently. At this point in time though, we just need to worry about what we're doing and execute a little better."
On what IUPUI did well tonight...
"They're a really well coached team. He (Steve Payne) does a great job with them. They keyed on Whitney (Little) tonight, and they did a really good job going after Carly (Kan) with their serve. They were just doing a lot of really good things."
On how Purdue's 6-2 formation brings challenges to tomorrow's matchup... "More and more teams are doing that, so we've seen it a fair amount of times. However, just because you see it a lot, doesn't mean you're going to deal with it well. It gives them a lot of good right-side hitters. I fully expect them tomorrow to set their right-side hitters a lot, and really go at us over there. We need to prepare for that, and see how we can counter that strategy."
SENIOR Lisa Henning
On how her previous NCAA Tournament experience helped her out tonight...
"When you get into the tournament, it's kind of a different feeling. Other than that though, it's all about doing things we do every single day. The only real difference with an event like this, is the NCAA type of environment. I feel like I went into tonight with the mindset that it's just another match, and to not put any added pressure on myself."
On how the team rebounded after a rough start in the first set...
"I think we just tried to settle down, take a deep breath and get back to what we know. I think we got a little bit rattled and thought the game was moving a little too fast. After taking a deep breath though, we just wanted to play like Mizzou can."
On Molly Kreklow's streak of points when the team was struggling, and how that helped rejuvenate the team...
"It gave us a lot of energy. Anytime your team's setter goes up there and gives you a big kill, it's really exciting for the team. I think it gave us a lot of options, and presented Molly as an offensive option for IUPUI to watch out for."
On what the team did to re-focus in the team huddle early on...
"We addressed the problems. We knew we were playing flustered and uptight. That's not how we normally play. I think we re-focused well, came together, and addressed the situation at hand. Starting in the second set, I think we really picked up on the things we needed to improve."
IUPUI HEAD COACH STEVE PAYNE
Opening Statement....
"It was a thrill and honor to be here competing in the NCAA tournament. We didn't know what team we were going to get in the draw, so when we saw Missouri, we treated them as just another volleyball team. We played some good teams throughout the year, so we had some experience against some big-sized blockers like they had out there and a pretty explosive offense. When we stepped on that court, we treated it as if it was any other team in our conference. I thought the girls played really hard, especially being down five or six, then turning it back up. I thought our team did a great job out there."
On what this appearance in the NCAA Tournament means for the future of his program... "This appearance is great for the future. We won the Summit league last year and again this year. I think its something incoming athletes except when they come into the program, to be at the top of the Summit League. We are very competitive and I think that is what prepares us to make that NCAA tournament. Now that we have done it once, I think we will want to do it again. We have a lot of good returning players and they will be expected to win the Summit League and make it to the NCAA tournament again. "
On how Missouri stacks up against the other teams they have faced this year... "Missouri is one of the top teams we have seen this year. They have a lot of different hitters they can go to on the right side and on the outside. Probably one of the best back row attacking teams we have faced all year. Blocking-wise they are very big. We have played some teams like that and that really helped us prepare. We lost those two, but we learned from that early in the season. They have great ball control and great setting, I definitely think they will keep going and they will have a great match against Purdue. "
On the system he has built at IUPUI...
"It has carried down from the senior class to the freshman class. It is brought to them, this is what is expected from them as a freshman. They are the ones putting it down, not me. It has taken a while to develop that. In the past five to six years, we started bringing some players and the turn around has been good. Lose three or four, bring in three or four. We have some good sophomores and freshmen on this team and we know they are coming back. I trust my seniors to tell the younger players how it is going to be and they know now. It's fun to see and I kind of let them go. I don't do very much anymore. It is kind of expected of them now."
SOPHOMORE KAITLYN HICKEY
On the team's fast start to the match...
"I think we got out to a great start with our passing. Alexis was able to move the ball around and we attacked and did some things right from the start. Talking in our practices earlier today, we were excited coming in. With the confidence high and wanting to play, we got to a great start."
On how much their team scouted Missouri....
"We had one week to get prepared and we knew they were a strong team. We knew they were taller and bigger. We knew our defense would have to be there and our hitting would come with it."
SENIOR ALEXIS MEEKS
On their team's level of confidence coming into the match...
"We love playing in atmospheres like this. We played Ohio State earlier in the year and it was almost the same exact thing. Coming out here, we knew this game would be packed and that just fires us up. Playing such a great team like Missouri, we know we can compete. We have a great offense and a great defense. We know that we can hang with anybody. In volleyball, its just points here and there, and we hung in there with them for a little bit."
