Nov. 28, 2014 Recap | Box Score
Wisconsin Coach Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. Purdue
Nov. 28, 2014
UW Fieldhouse – Madison, Wis.
Kelly Sheffield
On his opening statement:
“It’s a group that’s come a long way. I think there’s a lot of pride down there in the locker room. They’re obviously pretty fired up, and they should be. That’s a tremendous accomplishment to be able to come in and win this league, and the steady improvement that the players have made and the team has made. The buying in, it’s a good feeling.
“I thought we did a really good job… there was some incredible defense being played by both teams, and Purdue, I don’t know what Sunday is going to be like selection-wise, but if that team gets in, they can win quite a few matches, that’s a really good, deep team. Defensively they were just unbelievable. Serving-wise they were unbelievable.
“I thought our team did a really good job of battling through some of the onslaught that they were getting and I thought we battled really hard, and the other thing is that I thought we stayed focused. The task at hand, the match, I don’t think we put too much into the outcome or the celebrating or anything. I thought we compartmentalized and had our defensive assignments, and did a really good job of taking care of the match.”
On getting on top of them right away and staying on top with only one lead change:
“We jumped on them. Purdue kept battling, and we kept fighting as well. Sometimes when you get out in that early lead, you can relax. I didn’t see that from us. I thought we kept our composure and continued to fight.
“These aren’t sexy numbers for the match, and when you look at the box score, it was a great defensive effort by our team. And a really, really good serving performance by both teams… both teams played incredible defense, both teams put a lot of pressure on the serve receive, and that’s what this match was. It was just two really good serve and passing and defensive teams that were going at it.
“It was hard to score against them, all of our players. It was a battle to put the ball away at a high percentage. I thought we brought our errors down a little bit, we weren’t pressing as much. If the ball was there, we were going for big swings. If not, we were being smart with the areas of the court. I was proud of our defensive effort.”
On whether or not senior day was a factor in the win tonight:
“You want to win the right way, and that was one of the things we talk about. Sometimes, the emotions of senior day can kind of take over a competition, and you really have to be able to put that on the back burner. It’s about competing and being ready to compete. It’s about playing your best… it’s not about staying up all night and making posters for each other and being giddy about things. This isn’t our last home match… we’re still playing some more hopefully next week.
“What is it is an opportunity to celebrate the seniors, people who have meant an awful lot to this program, and about them. I’m so proud of the seniors and what they’ve done. Changing of roles and being leaders… being willing to make sacrifices… they’ve done an awful lot and they’ve grown an awful lot throughout their careers, and certainly in the time that I’m here, I’m just really proud of them. But yeah, you want to win that, you want to bring that home, you want to do things the right way. You don’t want to back into a championship. I thought the senior leadership was fantastic.”
On the effect of energy on the team:
“Once we got Ellen Chapman to smile a little bit, then everything else kind of fell into place. This is a team that they thrive on energy… they play with a lot of energy as you can tell. But, it was also the fans… the fans were into it. My goodness, it was 15 degrees outside, and two hours before the match, there was a line outside my office window waiting to get in. We have some crazy Badger fans here. They stuck around for I don’t know how long that ceremony was. The support we’re getting is incredible. Our team absolutely thrives off of it.”
On what is means to him to win the conference title in only his second season:
“I think it’s probably going to be special even if I’m in my 22nd year. This is a great conference with great teams, great players, great coaches. Yeah, it’s special. My emotions are more to be really, really happy for the players. You’re happy that they get to know what that feels like out there with their fans and their family. You’re excited about walking in the locker room and seeing them just ginning ear to ear, you’re excited about that. You can tell this is a group that there’s more in them… they’re wanting more. They’re going to feel really, really good for about 48 hours, and then Sunday night, we’ll probably get locked in on our next big thing.”
On the road to where they want to go this year compared to last year:
“I mean certainly we’ll be a higher seed. We’ve got a goal of winning it all, and we’re not the only team that has that, there’s a lot of teams that have that... and to be able to do that, you’re going to have to beat whoever is in front of you. I don’t think we’re going to get too concerned with what the draw is… we know that we’ll be hosting, we’re excited about that. We’re feel like that’s probably going to be a Thursday or Friday night, that’s what we think it’s going to be. We’re hoping that we pack both of those nights. We’re hoping that they come out here and give us the best home court advantage in the country, and we try to get some momentum in the tournament.”
Senior Dominique Thompson
On the anticipation the team had about winning the Big Ten title outright…
“We felt like we still had more to do. We wanted to have it for ourselves so we were really excited for it but nothing can prepare you for how you’re going to feel once you get that final point.”
Senior Courtney Thomas
On the anticipation the team had about winning the Big Ten title outright…
“It’s awesome. You dream of it, you go to bed at night and you’re thinking about it. You’re like ‘What’s it going to be like? What am I going to do when I win this?’ But it’s nothing like the dream, it’s 10 times better and it was amazing with this senior class and our team. It’s something you look forward to your whole career and not many people get to experience it so it’s absolutely amazing.”
On how it felt to put away the final point and seal the Big Ten title…
“I honestly thought after (Kelli) Bates got blocked, I thought Lauren (Carlini) was going to give it to her again and let her get that kill. I was driving hard in the back row not really expecting to get set and she set me, and I was like ‘This is done. They’re not coming back.’ I just saw the championship flash before my eyes and there it was.”
On how much better it feels to win the Big Ten title outright…
“It’s way better, I mean who wants to share a Big Ten title? When we were at Rutgers and we won, we just didn’t feel like we were the Big Ten champs. It just didn’t feel right after we won. And we’re on the bus and we’re all talking and it was like ‘No, we’re not going to share this thing.’ We’re playing at home on Friday against Purdue and we’re going to go out there and win this thing outright. I think that was really cool. Our team was really motivated and driven and we solely have it. It’s awesome.”
Senior Ellen Chapman
On taking the lead early in each set, and the emotional preparation that took…
“I thought the whole team did a really good job of just staying focused and not thinking about what’s going to happen after the match, looking forward to this weekend with the selection show and everything. I think we just did a really good job of just having our eyes on each point and not looking forward to anything, and that’s really what we were doing the entire match.”
On when the celebration stops and the focus on preparing for post-season play begins…
“I think that we can soak in this feeling a little bit for about a day, and then Sunday is going to come and we’re going to get locked in again. Just be preparing and getting in the gym and getting better for whoever our first opponent is. I think that we can enjoy it a little right now but it’s going to be quick turnaround before we start preparing.”
On how far she has come and the journey with the fans since walking into the Field House for the first time as a freshman…
“Well, the fans here have always been really good. Even our freshmen year, we always had a big crowd and that’s something we’ve always been really thankful for, that they’ve always come out to support us. But it’s just taken been to another whole level this year, and even last year. But selling out games and just running out to a crowd at the beginning of a match that’s cheering for us and the stands are already really filled. It’s just such a cool feeling and there’s no feeling that can replicate that for the rest of our lives and we really need to soak it in for the last couple matches we have here next weekend.”
