Waite Addresses Media Monday
November 18, 2002 | Volleyball
Wisconsin volleyball coach Pete Waite spoke to the media on Monday during UW's weekly news conference. Waite talked about the upcoming final two regular season home matches and addressed various issues about the team.
A transcript of the news conference follows.
Are you anxious to play Northwestern again' 'We've been looking forward to it since we went down there. We were not pleased at all by how we played there but we have improved a lot as a team. With Northwestern coming in it's important for us in Big Ten play and national rankings so we can't over look it but it's one that we've had on our calendar for a long time.'
How strange of a week is it to play Northwestern and then Penn State' 'That is the strangest thing I've been involved in, but sometimes when you take a loss like we did at Northwestern it makes you change things or it makes the players look at things differently then they were going in to that match. We've grown as a team I think, we are much stronger, we changed some people in some positions. This week is going to be great'it's going to be very different because it will be a mid-week match and a Friday match but we are really looking forward to it.'
Thoughts on Penn State: 'Penn State is still a strong team. They have a young setter that's a freshman that's doing a nice job. But at times they had trouble putting the ball away on a consistent basis. But they've still got some big name players. Mishka Levy who has been a starter for a number of years, [Robyn] Guokas is very strong, very tough. I know they just took a loss to Ohio State last weekend and I am sure they are not very happy about it and we are going to get a very fired up Penn State team. Our rivalry with Penn State has been fantastic over the years. They have had such a strong program. Our players look forward to that every year.
Talk about their good ball control'they don 't beat themselves do they' 'You've got to beat them, there's no doubt. They are not going to lay down for anybody and they are going to battle all the time. They are a tall team this year I'd say on the court height-wise they've got an advantage on us but I think ball control we might have it on them, especially with Zukowski and Byrd in the back row. They are doing a fantastic job for us right now.'
Comments on Northwestern 'Well, that coaching staff has been in for a few years and they brought in some good young athletes. Erika Lange has done a nice job, [she's a] middle blocker, she's very tough to stop. They've got a setter out of California that's doing a nice job. Right now they have another Gardner on the team, one of our player's sisters, Christie Gardner is there playing as an outside hitter starter and so she brings in some ball control. That's a team that's been on the rise and has really surprised a lot of people this season and obviously including us.'
Morgan Shields has been the Player of the Week several times this season, how has she progressed' 'I think this is Morgan 's best weekend of the season. She was playing with the most composure I 've seen her play with, she was setting accurately to the outside, aggressively to the middle, dumping on second contact to the correct places, digging balls, she did everything. She was well rounded and that's exactly what we've been looking for out of her all season. She's just getting stronger and stronger. Look for a great week out of her.'
How much have Zukowski and Byrd helped in Shields' development' 'They've been great. We really put the entire passing load on their shoulders, we're passing with two in the back row where a lot of teams will pass with three and we used to pass with three. So we really felt the third person was getting in the way of those two players and with those two players on the court they're covering everything. Zuk has just improved tremendously since we put her in the libero spot. She has increased her numbers and her passing percentages every match. If she does that and Byrd does that, Morgan can run a great offense and we 're pretty tough to stop.'
What memories do you have of the three seniors ' 'This group has been good. Obviously, Byrd has been a starter since her freshman year and she's had an all-around game from the beginning, but as a freshman she was really only hitting about .150 which is pretty low and she's just increased her hitting load over the years and now she's hitting in the .270s so she's been fantastic. Hultgren came as a transfer. She's been here for two seasons with us, coming out of Texas and she's just been a great addition. A player at 6-3 she just does a great job and a great personality on the court. Rittenhouse is a fifth-year senior and she has done just an amazing job, actually even changing her body type during the course of her career. She really got into great condition this last season, her arm is been in great shape and she has just been scoring for us all the time on the right side. They've been great additions and great seniors for us this season. This is one of the last chances for the fans to see them out there playing but hopefully we can get good crowds and finish in the top 16 [rankings] and we'll be hosting the first rounds [of the NCAAs] and have our fans in the Field House again.'
Is it imperative to finish above Penn State to host or are the two of you in good shape being near the top of the Big Ten' 'I think we're in pretty good shape, but really all we see right now are the coaches' polls and that's just opinion polls. We don't see the RPI, they don't ever show that to us until probably February or March so I know our crowds, both Penn State and our crowds are very good so that should help us out a lot. We'd like to be the ones to get the seed above them obviously, we want to be, if we can't be first in the Big Ten, we'll take the next slot and we want to be as high as possible so this is a big match for us against Penn State because of that race for that slot.'
How does a Wednesday night game affect your team ' 'It disrupts things a little bit, but it actually lets you focus on each match separately a little bit better because you do have a day in between the two matches so you can rest a little bit more. Last week one thing we did was take some time off in the beginning of the week and I think that was one of the reasons Byrd was so fantastic. Her arm, over the course of the season, with all the balls she's been hitting has been really tired. It's like a pitcher taking hundreds of pitches every time in a practice. With her arms and legs rested she's going to be really tough. With this mid-week match I think we're going to be fine. We'll just take them separately and be able to focus on each.'
