Waite addresses media Monday
October 25, 2010 | Volleyball
Oct. 25, 2010
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin volleyball coach Pete Waite addressed the media Monday as his Badgers (13-8, 2-8) open the second half of Big Ten Conference play with two matches at home this weekend. Wisconsin takes on Michigan State (11-10, 3-7) on Friday at 7 p.m. and No. 15 Michigan (19-3, 8-2) on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both matches are in the UW Field House.
UW split in Big Ten action last weekend, edging Iowa, 3-2, in Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday and falling at No. 20 Minnesota, 3-1, on Sunday. Senior Allison Wack was named the Big Ten Player of the Week after putting together back-to-back 20-plus kill matches for the first time in her career. The 6-0 outside hitter hammered down a career-high 25 kills vs. Iowa and had a match-high 21 kills at Minnesota. She also tied her career best with 17 digs in both matches.
A complete transcription of the news conference can be found below or you can watch here.
Opening Statement: Since I was here last, we’ve won the last two out of three, the first one being Purdue at home last Sunday, which was a nice win for us, and then on the road Friday at Iowa. And the Iowa team and our team are the two youngest teams in the conference, so we knew it would be a battle and it went 15-13 in the fifth, which was great. Our kids were down 12-13 in the fifth and came back, so they held strong and that was a good win for them.
And then yesterday at Minnesota, (we had a) slow start, but by the third game, we got things going and beat them pretty handily and then lost the fourth 24-26, which, again, was a great battle. It was in front of 6,000 people. It was a great experience for our young players.
We just finished up the first half of conference play, which now, going into the second half, our players, the freshmen especially, have seen these teams once already, so now they know all the players. They know their tendencies a little bit more. I think we’ll be improving on that end. For the most part, we’re trying to get the kids all in sync at the same time.
Al Wack had a great weekend. She was named offensive player of the week in the Big Ten. After the last two matches, she had her highest kill total and dig total of her career. That’s fantastic. That’s a senior starting to step up and really lead these young players. We’re seeing some good signs. They’re staying very positive with everything. It’s a tough conference, everybody is knocking each other off, but it’s been fun with this group and we’re seeing some good things.
Did you think Allison could put up the numbers she’s been putting up?
Yeah, we’ve always known she could, absolutely. She’s a player who’s not the biggest physical player out there, but she has to play within herself and when she does, she’s very powerful. She’s strong, she’s got great shots and she really has been picking up her defense, which I think has also helped her offense. She’s gotten more aggressive in the back court. She’s doing exactly what we were hoping she’d do and I think the younger players are going to start following suit.
Are your senior players gaining a little confidence, not only with the wins, but how you played a good Minnesota team on the road?
Yeah, absolutely. In a lot of these matches, we’re not getting blown away in these things. They’re hanging in there, and we’ve really, I think there have been, I think (Associate Athletic Communications Director) Diane (Nordstrom) said 12 sets that we have played that have been decided by two points, but we’ve only won three of them and that’s a young team that can’t quite get over the hump. They’re right on the verge, but they’re not quite getting over the hump.
In the second half, I think they’ll be much more confident because they’ve seen these teams. Getting scouting reports on these teams each week and it’s all new players coming at them, there’s a lot to absorb. They’re going to start to get their bearings better and I think they’re going to start coming together more on the court.
Do you have a pick for who’s going to win this conference? I mean, there’s three teams that have kind of separated themselves a little bit, but then there’s four more that are 5-5.
A little bit. Illinois is doing really well and they’ve actually had a number of injuries, but they’ve still come out on top. Michigan is in second for the first time in the last 12 to 15 years that I can remember, if not more, maybe 20 years. Penn State’s in third and then Indiana is in there and they’ve never been up there. I can’t recall the last time they were, 15, 20 years again. It’s a little different.
I think Illinois has got the edge right now going into things, but, again, Penn State is Penn State and they’ve been strong in the past. They’ve got a great tradition. I know they’ll be right up there.
What’s realistic for your team in the second half, and can you maybe make a push for the national tournament?
I think we can. Two of the losses we took were five game sets and getting in a couple of those and suddenly we’re in. So far our record is still at a point where if we get a few wins here in the second half, we’ve got a shot. We just have to stay above .500. I think last year Michigan State got in and they were just barely over .500 there. It’s totally possible.
We’re not talking about that too much because it’s such a young group, we don’t want to put pressure on them. It’s more improving every time they walk on the court, get stronger, eliminate some of the weaknesses and the wins will start coming.
