Colorado - Air Force Quotes
September 20, 2015 | Volleyball
Colorado –Air Force Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Liz Kritza
On Team Playing As Well As They Did Earlier In The Season
“It was a long weekend. Four matches in this amount of time is taxing on our players, but it's really good, because it challenges us and helps us get ready to play back to back, even though there was a day in between. Preparing for two opponents in a single day is pretty difficult, regardless of the level, and keeping track of what we need to do to improve from match to match. I'm really pleased, mostly with the performance tonight. We had some struggles throughout some of the earlier matches this weekend, but we came back. Tonight, I'm really proud about how this group came back. In that huddle at the end, we talked about being pleased with the win and being pleased with the sweep, but wanting more. We're left wanting more in a really good, positive way that we know that there's another level and we're ready to take the next step; because we open up Pac-12 play, and the idea of pressing our team and challenging ourselves physically and mentally is to make sure that we do what we want when that day comes around.”
On Play Of Gabby Simpson, Cierra Simpson, and Alexis Austin
“This team functions, because players know their roles; they understand what their job is. We have this thing where we can talk about just doing your job. I have players on this team, that I'm fortunate, when they just do their jobs, these are high level performances, these are All-American level performances. Them doing their jobs are coming away with 16 points and hitting .455. That's the beauty of having the players we have. We have fantastic athletes; we have great players that want to be a part of a high-level team; and when it's tough, they're willing to roll their sleeves up and make changes and make adjustments. I can't appreciate or recognize these kids more than that to point that out. That's not always the case. When you have high-level athletes, sometimes they're not the best teammates; sometimes they don't work the hardest, but we don't have that. We have really great kids that will work harder than players that have the same talent-level. I'm really positive, really optimistic, really excited about this Pac-12 season coming up, because of the kids we have on this team. These kids are great to coach. It's not always great; I always tease them about the gray hair they give me. It's part of building a team and part of building a championship and chasing it down. It's not always happy; it's not always positive, but it is meaningful. It's always about the team, and these three here embody that. They're always working; they're having to make changes. Sometimes they're in really tough positions individually as players, and personally, so they have to grow, and they have to accommodate, and they have to help.”
On Starting Conference Play
“The good thing for us is that we opened up the season with equally tough opponents. Some were at home, some were on the road. I don't think we could have a tougher road trip than the one that we had going to the Pac-12/Big 10 challenge this year. They've been tested. It hasn't always been perfect and happy through this non-conference portion so they're ready. They're battle tested and ready. It hasn't been a perfect non-conference slate but it was a pretty good one against really tough competition and I know that they're ready because we've had those challenges. If you're never tested and you're never challenged, if you don't ever actually fail, will you be ready when you have to step it up and when you have to play for what will be a really tough slate? We go on the road Tuesday, we play Utah Wednesday, we come home Thursday and we hit the road again Saturday. We have this mentality of being road warriors and taking good care of our bodies and making sure they get all of their school work done. I know when it's time to play, they're going to show up to play and I'm sure they're really excited to do something. It seems like this non-conference portion of our season has been really long because we've had some tough back to back weekends. We're excited to get going. Utah is the only one we're thinking about right now. We go into their house on Wednesday and we have to make sure that we take care of business. Everyone is 0-0 in the Pac-12.Everyone has been tested and we have some good opportunities. I'm quite sure that they'll be ready and I'm sure we'll be ready.”
On Buff Pride
“I do want to mention something. I think that we're talking a lot about what we're doing going forward but I have to point out that it's a really great weekend to be a Buff. We went undefeated in all of our sports throughout the weekend; credit to our football team for pulling off that great victory yesterday. I couldn't be prouder of my kids for pulling off four wins on the weekend. Soccer took care of business and won today. Golf, I heard won their tournament and one of the players shot a fantastic round. This is what high level athletics should be and it's a really great weekend for the Buffs. We're very proud to represent the institution.”
Colorado Players
Alexis Austin, Sr., OH
On Her Fast Start to the Match
“I had some nagging injuries the past few matches, so I haven't been able to play the way I want to. I took a different leadership role this weekend, keeping the team fired up. Everyone on the team played great and they were able to step up and take on bigger roles, taking more swings on the balls and being able to make those plays. I wouldn't be able to do it without them and they couldn't do it without me pushing them to be better. It was great to see the working so well even though I wasn't in my top form.”
On the Team Dominating for Three Sets
“It's important because we're able to stay on top of things. I feel like over the weekend we had ups and down because we would get those leads then lay off the gas just a little bit for five or six points, then have to rally back into the game. So when we win the first two sets, the third one is crucial, because you don't want to go to four sets. So it's important to stay on top of it and to push through to the last set.”
On Preparing For Pac-12 Play
“I feel like preparing for Pac-12 play is just a mental thing that we really need to work on. We need to be constant with our play and not have a lot of ups and downs.”
Cierra Simpson, Jr., DS/S
On Third Set rally
“I think we took our experiences from a couple of the matches earlier in the tournament, were when it would get down to two we would drop the third set. We just really came together, realized we had the lead and just capitalized on it. We just kept in mind that we didn't need to push ourselves into a fourth set. We really just came together and finished it.”
On Preparing For Pac-12 Play
“I think we just really need to remember that every night in the Pac-12 is a battle, there aren't any nights off. But I know for a fact that tomorrow we will head into practice with a new mindset. Essentially it's a new season that we're starting, so we just need to get back to grinding and doing our thing.”
Gabby Simpson, So., S
On Her Recent Play
“I definitely feel more confident hitting. Just working on it all week has really helped me out.”
