Nov. 19, 2010

Recap |  Box Score

Coach Pete Waite:

"Well, that was disappointing. We felt that we had a good week of practice and were doing some things I felt would work well tonight, and we were just not on our game. Passing and blocking I thought were areas that we struggled with. Then our offense couldn't get going so well and you can see we made way too many hitting errors to stay in a match with a team as good as Minnesota."

On Dominique Thompson starting and leading the team in kills:

"Yeah Dom did a nice job. She has been in and out of the lineup a little bit, and she got back in and had an opportunity to do well for us, and took advantage of that opportunity. I would also say Elise Walch hadn't been on the court for a while, and we saw some better swings out of her than she has taken in a while. So it was nice to see her being aggressive at the net."

On team stepping up in third set:

"Yeah, that was good. We talked in the locker room between sets, and we just talked about having more pride and really staying aggressive with things. I felt in the first two sets there were times when we just backed off and were cautious. There is just no way you can do that against a big team as physical as they are. So it was good we stepped up, but we have got to sustain that. We have got to stay with it and get the win, and I just feel that everyone didn't bring their game tonight well enough to sustain it."

Allison Wack on if Minnesota's size had anything to do with unforced errors:

"Well, I think it was just that we were being passive and a little hesitant on our shots and not taking a smart shot like if we were out of system, like I was ripping balls cross-court right into the block instead of making the smarter play. They are a big team no doubt, but I think that we kind of just dug ourselves a hole." Coach on Jessica Granquist for Minnesota:

"I thought she was solid with her passing. We were trying to avoid her with our serves and the ones she did get she passed well, and obviously her dig total was pretty good. But overall, with the big block up there, it is going to be easier for the defense too. Yeah, she is a nice player."

Kim Kuzma:

"I mean I try to do anything to keep the ball off the court, and playing middle back I can chase after balls more than I could in left back. I think I do a pretty good job reading, and I think that helps me get to the balls better."

Coach on Elise Walch in third set:

"The aggressiveness she brought tonight was something she hadn't been bringing in recent weeks, and so that is something she has really been working on. It was the old Elise that we knew that came in here as a freshman the first month of the season. So I am sure she feels good about it, and I think that will get her rolling for even tomorrow night's match to bring that aggressiveness. Because she is a heavy hitter and she can really pound the ball, so we need that tomorrow night."

Dominique Thompson on the slide they were running:

"I would say that we have been working on it a lot and it's starting to click more, and the way that their defense was, it was just a set that we should have run against them."

Coach on if he tried to use more players than normal today:

"Yeah, we hit a stretch in that second set where we were down big and I got Mary Ording in there. Sometimes it is a momentum change, Mary brings a lot of really good energy, and that is something that you are just hoping helps the team. Kelli (Kasha) has been really working hard in practice and she has been doing some nice things. So there was a point where I just felt Julie (Mikaelsen) you could use a rest and come off the court and Kelli could get in there and help us out."