Sept. 24, 2010
Recap | Box Score
Post-match quotes
Coach Pete Waite
Opening Statement: “I think it was a great and exciting match for the fans. We knew Ohio State was a very, very good team, and I think after initially coming out a little shell shocked in the first set we came right back in the second and played well and won that game and got back on track.
“When it comes down to the fifth set, it’s just a couple of plays here and there and I think that they had a couple of streaks of some good serving and our passing broke down a bit right then. That’s what it came down to.”
On the team’s inconsistent play:
“Well, sure we have to learn how to battle when the times are tough and we haven’t played a fifth set yet this season, so that was an important learning experience for us tonight. I think our players are going to look back at that and look at the stats and look at video on that and see that it was really within their grasp to have that win.
“We have to be stronger through the fifth, all the way through the fifth and that’s what we talk about all the time but until you experience it, you don’t know quite how to handle it so. Just a couple of small breakdowns.”
On the positive aspects of the match:
“Absolutely, they did a lot of great things. There were a lot of good digs there at the end. We really picked it up offensively at different points. A lot of good things happened. There is no doubt about that. We wouldn’t be the fifth set with a team who’s been in the top 25 this year if we weren’t playing some good ball.”
On Ohio State’s improved blocking at the end of the match:
“I don’t know if they made any special adjustments. Every set was just slightly different – inside or outside – and the blocks able to set up in different ways. It’s a big athletic block up there. They did get a few blocks at the end of the sets and it did make a difference. But our hitters can respond and at times they did, hitting off the top of those blocks and off the edge of those blocks. We just weren’t doing it, we were going right at the meat of the block.”
Senior Allison Wack on the emotions of the match:
“We had it. We were right there. Obviously, there’s a little regret of missing some things and being a little hesitant. You learn from it but we come back. We have Penn State on Sunday so we have to come back. Like coach said, we did a lot of good things in this match so we have to take that for what it is too.”
Freshman Julie Mikaelsen on her improved play after the first set:
“For me, I just needed to focus more on my game than everything around me. I needed to focus more on just getting the ball up and kill the ball.”
