NCAA Volleyball Coaches Address Media
December 01, 2005 | Volleyball
All four coaches from the teams participating in this weekend's NCAA volleyball matches in the UW Field House addressed the media Thursday afternoon.
Wisconsin hosts two first-round matches of the post-season tournament on Friday. California (18-10) will take on Valparaiso (27-7) in the opening match at 5 p.m. on Friday while 11th-seeded Wisconsin (23-6) faces off against Loyola, Ill. (13-17) at 7 p.m. First-round winners will face each other on Saturday at 7 p.m. for the right to advance to NCAA regional play in College Station, Texas.
Below are highlights from each of the four coaches' news conferences.
Wisconsin Coach Pete Waite
Opening Statement:
We're glad the day to play is almost here. We've been waiting since last NCAA tournament last year, training hard, getting ready for this time. The team's excited; they're feeling good. We're thrilled we're home; our fans get to watch us one last weekend and we're ready to go.
On the match up with Loyola:
The whole bracket came up in kind of a strange way; the fact that three of the same teams are here. Valpo and Loyola coming in; they're very familiar with this place now and we know them pretty well. They're a scrappy team; it's a different than last year's team. Last year's team was on top of the conference. This year's team upset teams on the way to win the championship in their tournament. It's a hot team. It's a team that must be playing at their best this time of year and that's what every coach wants. It 's a team with a new coach who's got a great background as a player and a coach at other programs. I know they're going to be tough; they're scrappy, a little smaller team than ours. Size isn't as big as ours is in the Big Ten so their style is a little quicker; better defense. We're going to have to adjust to that.
On having the home-court advantage:
I'll tell you it's a huge difference. The crowds just gets you going when you're down and when you're up, they push even faster and farther to finish the game and the match. The team just gets a little more charged up when they're on their home floor and they can stay in a similar routine as all season ' stay in their classes, sleep in their own beds. I know they all like that. I think it's always a little bit better.
On playing Loyola and not looking ahead to the next round:
We approach it like every other match of the season whether its conference or nonconference or NCAA play. We scout the team. We teach the team about them. The team does a great job just memorizing opponents' tendencies, defenses, anything they can to get an edge on that team. We make sure that our team respects every team we play. They know that they could come out as a hot team. If you overlook somebody, your season could be done and we certainly don't want that to happen.
Comparing this year's team to last year's team that advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament:
Absolutely, mostly because it's a lot of the same team. We lost just two seniors from last year's squad. We did that last year with a core of mostly freshman on the court. That said a lot for how fast they matured over that season. They've improved even more from spring to summer and through this fall now going from fourth in the Big Ten a year ago to second in the Big Ten in a tougher conference than it was a year ago. There's no doubt that we've improved things on our side of the net and we're ready for NCAA play.
Loyola Coach Marcie Bomhack
Opening Statement:
It's great to be here in Madison again this year. We 're very excited to have won our conference tournament and be given the automatic bid to the NCAA. We're definitely used to this environment here. It's a great place to play volleyball; they've got great fans and a great atmosphere. Luckily we gained some experience in this Field House last season with our NCAA match here and we look forward to another great match against Wisconsin this year.
On what caused the late-season turnaround:
There were a lot of adjustments to be made this season with our team - a new coach, we had a new setter. It takes a long time sometimes to get used to all of the new changes that were made. I think we finally put everything together. Everyone understood everyone better and we put it in our heads that we were going to get things done and play to our potential. Everything started clicking; girls started playing their roles and playing up to their potential. We ended up with a pretty successful end of our year.
On what she expects from playing in the Field House:
We know how great of an atmosphere is. I'm from Milwaukee. I grew up coming to Badger games. I played in this gymnasium myself as a player. I know that it's fantastic; it's loud; the fans know their volleyball; they 've got the band; they've got Bucky Badger. There's going to be a lot of hoopla surrounding the volleyball event here this weekend but I think that it just makes it all that much more fun and exciting of a place to be. It is a great place to be right now; it's the NCAA championships. That's how it should be.
On having a losing record heading into the tournament:
Our sports information director's done some research and apparently we're the first team since 1995, and possibly before that, with a losing record to make it into the NCAA tournament. To be honest with you, none of that matters right now. All that matters is that we won our conference tournament. That 's how we gained our bid here. We've playing great volleyball towards the end of the season. We've won seven of our last eight matches so we feel fortunate to be here right now and playing our best volleyball at the end of the season which is how it should go.
On not being afraid of facing a ranked team in the first round:
I think that's always been Loyola's mentality. We come in as an underdog and we can surprise people. We've done it before. Last year they beat Illinois right after Illinois had beaten the No. 1-ranked team in the country. Although we haven't done that per se this season, I think that's the beauty of sport. On any given day, any team can come in there and be the better team in that match. That's what we're looking to do tomorrow.
Valparaiso Coach Carin Avery
Opening Statement:
We're very excited. Anytime you make the post season, that 's your No. 1 goal and so it's great to achieve it. We're very excited to be in Madison again actually. Playing here last year in the post season and then playing in a high-caliber tournament this fall here in September, we feel like we kind of have a little home-court advantage over California which is great. We're familiar with the surroundings and the atmosphere. Hopefully, that's an advantage for us this year.
On drawing California in the first round and Valpo's match up with the Bears:
I was very shocked at our draw. With all the Midwestern teams that got in to the tournament this year, I was very surprised that we drew a California team. That was not in my realm of possibilities. I am excited. I think its fun to play somebody you've never faced, ever, and that you're not really familiar with. Last year playing Notre Dame again and after beating them, we knew the odds beating them a second time were going to be tough. So it's just kind of fun to come into this year playing somebody different.
I think we are two very different teams. I think they are a lot more physical than we are but I think that defensively, we're a little stronger team. I think anything can happen tomorrow.
On Valpo's late-season success:
I think our late season success has to do with our upperclassmen. We 're a senior-dominated team; we start four seniors and a junior. We're very experienced. This is a group that came to Valpo and really changed the program. They 've all really stepped it up big time in the last month. I think they've all been playing the highest caliber volleyball they have in their whole careers and that 's a direct correlation to being 13-2.
On the team's goal to win a first-round match:
We started this together. I was a first-year head coach and they were just freshmen. We've kind of gone through our growing pains together. It 's always been our ultimate goal; it is our ultimate goal as it is everybody 's to win a first-round game. I think if you look back our history, the first year (in the NCAAs) we drew Nebraska, we're just happy to be here. The second year and last year we knew Notre Dame would be tough. This year, I think for these four seniors, I think there will be a sense of disappointment if we don't win. This has been our goal all year long; to find a way to push ourselves to win the first-round game.
California Coach Rich Feller
Opening Statement:
It's wonderful to be a part of the NCAA tournament once again. Our three seniors are celebrating their fourth straight year in the tournament. That 's a first time ever for Cal, making it four years in a row. It's always a new season. We look forward to the beginning of the season tomorrow night. I'm pretty pleased to be here in Madison. It's a great volleyball town; a great volleyball college. I'm pretty excited to be coming to a hotbed of Midwest volleyball.
On Valparaiso:
27-7 ' winning their conference ' third straight tournament appearance ' talented team ' a lot of seniors ' big. They know how to win. They're here just like everyone else; trying to win their first match and moving on after that.
Comparing the Big Ten vs. the Pac-10:
I couldn't tell you compared. We haven't played any Big Ten teams this year but I can tell you that the Pac-10 is very, very tough. I think any of the top conferences like the Big Ten and the Pac-10 get tested every single weekend. There's not too many easy matches. You almost never have two in a row that you can just relax on. Traveling back-to-back and playing teams back-to-back is very difficult. The Big Ten does that as well. I think there's a few match-ups that could happen in the second round between the Pac-10 and Big Ten; we'll see who comes out.
On the last three matches of the season, three losses to ranked teams:
It was very tough. You can see the scores. We had five tough matches at the end. There's nothing that gets you ready like walking on hot coals, I hope, as long as your feet don't get burned. It was good. Two out of our last three matches, we played very, very well. Against Stanford and against UCLA, we played really good volleyball. They were all on the road which is like we're here. We slipped a little bit against USC but USC probably played their best match of the season against us. Watch out for USC in this tournament. Every time we go out, it tests us. Every time we 've lost this season, we've played a little better next time out. We 're hoping that that happens tomorrow night.
On being in the cold and snow:
When we found out we were coming here, I gave them one day to talk about the weather. It is what it is. We're playing an indoor sport. If we were out in track and field or if we were out playing football, I would worry but we're indoors. We got a nice heated bus, we got a nice heated hotel room. We're not going to do any outdoor barbequing while we're here.
