Stanford-CU Quotes
October 18, 2015 | Volleyball
Stanford-CU Quotes
Head Coach Liz Kritza
On Finally Beating Stanford
“I'm most happy; I can assign a bunch of words to it, but I'm happy because this group of players is the group that was able to have this extraordinary win and to change what's been happening. The last time we played Stanford here, it was a really high level match, closely contested sets. These seniors, and Cierra [Simpson] as a junior captain for us, are really understanding of how to position our program for continued sustainable success. We've been a team that can knock off anybody coming into our gym and we can play a certain number of sets with any team in the country. But this win is significant because it's actualizing what these girls put in to build this program. I could not be prouder of the effort. This is a tough weekend, to have this as the second match of the weekend. You're dealing with players going back and forth with injuries. And this was just matter of sheer will and determination. They were ready and they prepared. There were times in the past when maybe we would have let a few more points slide or Stanford would have been able to surge—but we didn't give up anything. It went four sets, we would have liked to go three, but that was some really high level volleyball and some really good plays. But we just dug our heels and said 'we will not go.' That's something about this team, it shows a lot of character. We strengthened our spine and we're very focused on what our overall goal is. I'm very happy to be coaching this group of young women. They're exceptional.”
On The Defense's Play
“On the defensive side of the game, the final box is showing that we out-dug them 60-44. There has been a concerted effort in our gym with Ryal (Jagd), who's our assistant coach for defense, to press on these kids to adjust and make sure they understand that it's a mentality and an attitude. They have to be aggressive, and it's happening. Cierra is leading the conference in digs; our team is in the top three in digs. Digs are so important because they help to keep our opponents hitting percentage down. If we can win that battle of the hitting percentages, then we're going to like where we end up in the win/loss column. Knowing that that was something that we needed to work on, and then putting in the effort every day in practice, we come away with the results that we have today.”
On Team Peaking With Their Play
“For sustained play, I can look at the last four matches. I know one of them didn't go the way we wanted, but there's some really good volleyball being played. I've gotten lots of people contacting me saying, 'Great match. We were at the football game supporting our team last night, and people were excited about seeing what's happening.' To the people who understand the game a little bit more understand that some of the things these young women are doing are truly exceptional. It's extraordinary the way they're changing, the way they're growing, how Alexis [Austin] and Gabby [Simpson] are holding our offense right now. Both players up over 20 points; both in the top-10 in the conference in points and kills. Those are really good things, not just individually, but they are the secrets of our success. For us, it's something to know that you're playing well and you expect it, but when we go back into the film room and go back into the practice court – I guarantee we're going to congratulate each other – but we're going to look for the things that we didn't do well. We're going to look for the three or four balls that we could have set a little faster, or that we could have pulled away from the middle blocker, or that we could have covered better, because that's what's going to get us where we need to be. We're going to celebrate this; they should. I'm very proud of them, but we've got to get back to work. The Pac-12 is the top conference in the country. We go in the road next weekend, and we need to make sure we continue this. We like this winning stuff; it's part of what has been instilled in the culture of our program. To sustain it, we have to keep going back to what helps, and that means hard work. Nobody will outwork us. Nobody will have more will or desire than this program.”
On Increased Play of Joslyn Hayes
“Joslyn, like every other player in our program, accepts whatever role we put her in. That's one of the strengths of this team, understanding that we have fantastic players. We've got a great recruiting coordinator and great players that bring other great players in, but accepting your role and knowing that maybe today I have to play a little bit different of a role for my team to be successful. To accept it, I think that's pretty special in young people. Josylyn – she had a pretty severe injury and it was going to take weeks – is into the process of transitioning back. There are points of frustration for her, but the support that she gives her teammates and the support that her teammates give her, is truly remarkable. That's what a good team is about. It's about having depth. Katelyn Cuff is the truest of teammates. That kid is going into every position that we need her to. When you have that going, it's something that I can't recruit. That is something that comes from having a program that's focused on the right things at the highest level. I got to point out that those kids are doing a really good job; their role is much different than these three (Cierra Simpson, Alexis Austin, and Nicole Edelman) up here right now, but their role is equally important. Everybody gets that everybody plays an important piece on this team. For us to get where we want to be in December, everybody has to do that piece all the time, 100 percent, all the way in.”
Senior Nicole Edelman
On finally defeating Stanford
“It feels great. I remember freshman year getting swept in three pretty easily. I think it shows all of the dedication and hard work that we've put in. Alexis and I have been playing against most of those starters for a long time, because most of them are seniors. They're all great players, but it definitely feels good to get that win.”
On winning last game and it carrying over to this game
“I think we were more aware of what we had to take care of, and making sure that we didn't have any lulls in our play. And just really taking advantage of, 'okay this is the next set at hand; the scores are back to zero, and we need to take care of the set and not put it off and letting it go to five.' I think we were just more focused this time, as we didn't want that to happen again.”
On the locker room atmosphere after the second set
“We were all excited, but we were all very focused, because we've been there before. We knew that we just had to take care of business still. It feels exciting, for sure, but we also were calm and collective in kind of talking about whatever changes we have to make to win the match.”
Senior Alexis Austin
On finally defeating Stanford
“It's a good feeling to be honest. We've been trying to beat them for four years now. To finally get that win, it's great. And now we have to carry it on to all the other games.
On winning last game and it carrying over to this game
“We just tried not to go to five again, especially knowing our assignments and knowing what we need to do. We just didn't want that lead to slip away."
Junior Cierra Simpson
On blockers
“It's huge. My gosh, I cannot thank my blockers enough. It makes my life and other defenders life so much easier. Especially when we're playing against hitters, like the hitters we're playing against. It seriously makes our life so much easier.”
On using the wins as motivation
“I think it's, like coach said, just be excited and celebrate it today; tomorrow get back into the gym, focus on the scouting report, really just know what we need to do—know the hitters inside and out, know the offense, know the defense, for both of the teams we have this weekend, because it's not going to be easy by any means.”
