Waite Addresses Media Monday
November 11, 2002 | Volleyball
Wisconsin volleyball coach Pete Waite spoke to the media on Monday during UW's weekly news conference. Waite talked about the match versus Minnesota, this weekend's matches and addressed various issues about the team.
A transcript of the news conference follows. The news conference video is available by clicking on `multimedia' on the red menu bar.
Discuss the momentum of game four yesterday against Minnesota. 'We spent some time watching the tape this morning. A lot of it was our ball control. We were not passing well. When that happens you cannot get your setter the ball and she has trouble getting the hitters one-on-ones. Minnesota is a huge team. If you don't get one-on-ones and split blocks, you are going to struggle. The basics of every sport come down to ball handling and for some reason we broke down a little bit during that game and then unfortunately it carried over to the fifth. Sometimes you can recover from game to game, but Minnesota had 5,000 people behind them and had them going a little bit better. We were just not able to get back on track for game five. '
A win there would have been huge for your program. What does the loss mean' 'It hurts, obviously. That was our chance to get a little closer to them in the Big Ten race. We needed to be one of those teams that took a match off them. We needed other people to do the same thing later in the season to have a shot at the Big Ten title. They are in the driver's seat right now. Some other people need to really get them when they are on the road for us to even have a chance. We have to take care of business here this weekend and next to have any kind of shot if other people get the win over Minnesota.'
How do you get your team focused' 'Right now we focus on the match with Illinois. We went down to Illinois and took a loss at their place. I don't think we'll have any trouble getting motivated for that one. We did not play well there and we need to prove to ourselves that we are a much better team. And even against Minnesota, when they played here and we lost to them, we really gave it to them much worse than this weekend. This weekend we were much better than a month ago, but we just opened the door a crack and that is all they needed. They are a very physical team this year, obviously a clear cut above the rest of the Big Ten teams.'
Yesterday's game four was eerily familiar to the last time you played Minnesota at the UW Fieldhouse. Does that mean that you have not changed that much' 'We have, but unfortunately some of the tendencies are still there. At times we can be that strong team that comes through, for example at Penn State we came through with a win. Against Ohio State we stayed strong and got the win. But then on occasion there are times when things break down and we come away with a loss. It's tough. Against the best teams, you can't give them any opportunities to get the points and rallying scoring is hard to control.'
How are your freshman middle blockers playing right now ' 'They are doing pretty well, but it depends on the match. Sheila (Shaw) for some reason was a little nervous in Minnesota. That's something for freshmen to get used to. We saw some of the biggest crowds in the country for volleyball with around 5,000, so she was a little nervous. We got Lauren Ford in and she did some nice things. It is kind of a rotation between those three middle blockers that we just look at from game to game to see how they are playing and to see how the whole team is playing, to see what kind of energy we need off the bench.'
What do you need to do to secure a first round home site for the NCAA tournament' 'We need to finish up strong. We have still got three Big Ten weekends to go and one of them is on the road at Michigan and Michigan State, which are two very strong teams at home. I don't think Michigan has lost at home yet this year. If we take care of these wins, I think we are set. With the attendance we get and the record we have in the Big Ten, we should be fine. It's tough and the Big Ten is really up and down. A lot of people are taking losses that are really surprises to their coaches. Indiana just beat Michigan and Michigan State at Indiana this weekend, and they have been in the bottom third of the conference in the last couple of years, so they are coming up. But we are still up there and we have four of the next six matches at home. I really like that.'
How does the muddled middle of the conference help or hurt the conference as a whole' 'Actually, when I first year I got here in `99, it was that way. It was a little bit of a down year for the Big Ten, and they got eight out of 11 teams in the tournament. I think our chances are still good. I think there is a lot of respect for the conference still. So we'll just have to wait and see.'
Last year the respect was not there as much as it has been in the past. Do you think that the conference is stronger this year than it was last year ' 'I definitely think Minnesota is up. There is no doubt that they are a notch up from everybody. I think some of the teams took some big losses to their rosters and they are still able to recover from that, but they are still capable of doing some real damage in the NCAA tournament.'
Are there any line-up changes expected' 'We may see a little more of Aubrey Meierotto. She has done a nice job getting in there. Rittenhouse has scored well on the right side and especially being at Minnesota this weekend and she is from Minnesota, I think she did a nice job. I think we are solidifying things. I think we've got people in the right positions. The people in those spots need to do their jobs now, especially in serve-receive and ball control.'
You have had some trouble with consistency this year. These two teams coming up have about six wins in the Big Ten. Is there any nervousness on your part that you guys might not take them seriously' 'No, because Illinois is the kind of team that can be both up and down. They are one of those teams where they are the only team to have beaten Minnesota this year and it was at Minnesota. They have taken a few losses recently their big 6'5' hitter has been out with mono and I don't know if she'll be back. This last weekend they took a loss because their setter had a stomach virus. Some different things are happening. Purdue has been struggling, there is no doubt. They've got a young team and they have had trouble getting the wins. When we play at home, I think the team is very focused. Our fans have been fantastic and they really give us great energy and focus throughout the match.'
What has been the biggest change in Meierotto's game ' 'Just from this year to last year, her consistency from day to day as far as being available and being on the court healthy. Last year she really could not go through two or three practices in a row before she had to sit out and rest her knees. In the past six weeks there have been some improvements due to her confidence on the court. In the gym we are seeing in practices when you get her on the court all the time for practices you can get a lot more out of her. Her game is coming around. She still needs some work on her ball control and her blocking, but she is just such a slugger in the front row. She hits the ball harder than anyone on our team. If you swing at that pace, it is difficult to defend, to block, or to dig. We need that. We need a terminator out there and she is the one who has been doing that for us lately.'
