ASU-CU Quotes
November 12, 2015 | Volleyball
ASU-CU Quotes
Head Coach Liz Kritza
On Controversial Call in the Fifth Set
“A match doesn't hinge on one particular ball; the momentum does however. That deliberation back and forth about was that a good call or was it not; we were pretty confident, because I saw the official call the ball. It was an early call, a very certain call. It wasn't something that he hesitated on, so I'm fairly certain it would go our way. Our job was just to stay focused, keep calm and go immediately to the next point. Even if it didn't go our way, it still would've been the same thing. There's nothing you can do about those calls and those plays. This group of players, particularly these captains [Nicole Edelman, Alexis Austin, Cierra Simpson], understand that. They understand the idea of you control what you can and play the next ball to the best of your ability.”
On Depth of the Team
“I think it's a testament to the will of this team and understanding what a team actually is. There will be matches when the usual suspects are out there. They're playing, they're holding their own, but for whatever reason – the matchup or someone's having an off night – that's why you have a roster of 15 players. Credit to the players that came off the bench and changed the game. That's what we want them to do. If something isn't working or we need a different look or a different matchup, we put somebody else on the floor like we did with [Stephanie] Shadley tonight and she makes an impact. That's what we're talking about with what our goals were at the beginning of the season: to have a complete team. Everybody wants depth and competition in the gym. A lot of times it's not apparent to the crowd, because they aren't in our practice gym every day. There are very few people in our practice gym that see what we see. We see that they're great players on both sides of the net and that's an important piece. It's good when we need them that they answer the call. I'm proud of them for doing that.”
Player Quotes
On teams mentality of the fifth set
We talked about winning one point at a time. Even if you are up two or down a couple, that's the only thing you can focus on. I think it's hard in the fifth set because it is only 15 points. You can get carried away if you are almost there or down a little bit. We talked about controlling our side, making sure we had no errors, and just taking it one point at a time.
On setting a career high in assists
Our passing was great tonight, which really helped me out. We got our middles going, and once I could get them going, I could set both of the pins. It's all credit to the passing honestly, without that it's harder for me to get better sets to the hitters.
On the importance of winning this match
It's great (to get this win). It shows that our team is on the upswing, not just myself but other players as well. This is important because we are finishing out our conference season. It feels great and now we are going to get ready for Saturday.
On shifting the momentum after the second and third set
It was confidence, and going into the match calm. We knew that we could do it. And for myself, you just have to believe that you can carry the team. For me to get those kills it pumps up everyone else and it keeps the momentum going. It was all about believing in the team. I feel like that was the turning point -- once I hit it, Cece hit it, Eddy hit it. After the fourth set, we wanted to carry that momentum into the fifth set. It was all about maintaining that confidence.
On the importance of this win
It's a (huge win). Obviously, you want to defend your home court. In terms of looking toward post season, Arizona State had a really good RPI, so this win helps us a lot in terms of bumping our RPI up too. We just have to come in and take care of business on Saturday. It's going to be another tough match, but I think we'll be feeling confident going into it.
