University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE POSTGAME QUOTES
December 10, 2005 | Volleyball
Dec. 10, 2005
Tennessee head coach Rob Patrick
Opening Statement:
"I think there are only about 30 people in the country that thought we would be coming into the press conference second right now. They were the people that mattered...our team, and our support staff. We know Penn State is a great team, very well coached, but the belief that our players had in themselves and what they can do, allowed them to play volleyball without being intimidated by a fantastic Penn State team. I'm very proud of this team for what they've gone through all year...injuries, changes we've made in lineups. But the one thing I'm real proud about is how hard they play."
Where would you put this match in the Tennessee history?
"It's right up there, the win against Florida last year was just an epic match, and I think what happened today almost goes back to that match. We walked into Florida's stadium and beat them on their home court and we did not play intimidated at all and I think that's what happened here today. These young ladies had a goal that they set at the beginning of the year and through the year, they never wavered from it. This is one of the matches on the way to that goal, for me this is probably the top two or three matches I've ever been involved with."
You were down 28-25 and after that your team was fearless...is that how you have been playing all along?
"This is a team that can go out and just grab a match and take it away, and that is just something that they've done many many times before. We made a couple hitting errors and I called a time out. It wasn't anything Penn State was doing, we had just made some errors, and if we made fewer errors but were still aggressive, I thought that we could win that fourth game and not have to go to that fifth game. Until somebody tells them that that match is over, they'll play all night if that's what it takes."
How has your team changed since Missouri swept you?
"Pretty dramatically, we've got the outside hitters, a lot of players are playing different spots, and in terms of just personnel, the team has changed considerably. We've changed also in that at the beginning of the year I told the team, `We are going to lose some matches that they thought we shouldn't lose.' We had six returning starters and 10 returning players but I knew that we were going to be a different team, and we were moving people around and people had to get use to their new surroundings and positions. We're completely different then we were at the beginning of the year. Also the confidence of our players wasn't as high as it is now, and that really important. When we walked to get on the plane to fly here, they knew in their minds that we could win this match and they did. And I don't think we had that mindset when we played Missouri the first time."
The second game was pretty ugly, how did you handle that?
"That was a throw away game. When you coach as long as I have, you see that kind of stuff. And it was one all, so we just couldn't dwell on that."
Senior setter Julie Knytych
How exhilarating is this victory?
"Well, honestly I'm from Chicago and Big Ten volleyball has always been really big, so when I didn't go to a Big Ten school, I at least wanted to play those teams and this is just completely surreal. Coming here with all the traditions Penn State has, and it's a great program, taking them out on their home court is just the best feeling in the world. We are all on top of the world right now. We have nothing to lose; we are just showing everyone that we are a program that needs to be looked at."
How did you keep your team mentally in check when you knew losing was possible?
"I think Amy [Morris] and I and all of the seniors, we just try to preach to everyone on the team, `stay aggressive, keep fighting' and that's a huge characteristic of our team. We've got a lot of heart and we are really gutsy, and we just go out there and we leave it on the floor and we leave our hearts out on the floor and we play hard. That's what we are all about. We have really good chemistry, it's really exciting."
Sophomore outside hitter Yuliya Stoyanova
Could you sense the Penn State players were getting frustrated?
"I honestly wasn't looking so much at their frustration, I was just trying to block them and watch their approach. I wasn't really watching how they acted after. I didn't see them acting frustrated, but I guess they were."
Senior libero Amy Morris
Does winning a match here do something special for you?
"I think it does because I left and went to somewhat of a lesser, or rebuilding program. Just to be where we are now, building up our program. I came in and our seniors just gelled so well together and worked so hard. It feels good to come back here and beat them because I love Tennessee. We've been working hard to beat a team like Penn State, it would feel good to beat any Sweet 16 team, and now we're going to the Elite Eight and doing things that we've always dreamed of."
Penn State Head Coach Russ Rose
Opening Statement:
"I thought it was a match where, when the games were close they played harder than we did. I thought we kept making way too many mistakes from the end line. It gave them opportunities and they played very hard and had kills at critical times. We had some people that would have liked to play better."
The missed serves, was that a result of the tightness the team seemed to have?
"I can't think of anything else. It never should have never happened and was totally unnecessary. Our strategy wasn't to be serving tough it was to be serving the ball to certain tactical areas in the court. Every time I tried to put a sub in, the sub didn't do much better."
Did you think you had the fourth game wrapped up at 28 points?
"I thought we took some balls at critical times and made some mistakes. Tennessee kept the ball in play and didn't have any fear when they gave us free balls in the first game. We gave them five points on three missed serves and two free balls. Is that our best team and our best match, I don't think it is. We have to give credit to our opponent and hope the younger players get better and the new kids understand the importance of working hard and doing a little better than the last group."
Even though Nicole Fawcett kept struggling, why did Sam Tortorello give her the ball?
"Nicole had a real tough match. That's the highs and lows of being a freshmen. Last weekend she was terrific. The kills were fine; it was the 19 errors that hurt us. That's part of the game, and she'll learn. She'll be better and she is a terrific young player who I'm sure is feeling terrible about how she played. With Christa out, we have more dependency on Nicole."
What do you say to the seniors about their last match?
"I thought Kaleena passed well and dug some balls. I don't think Sam had her best match. It's great to have them in the program and they won three Big Ten Championships in a row. They would have preferred to win some more. The performance wasn't based on anything other than the other team played a little harder and we had some young people that didn't play as well. When you depend on freshmen, you sometimes live and die by what happens. I've been on the winning and losing end both times. I understand how it is."
Junior middle hitter Cassy Salyer
Were you trying to be overly aggressive when it came to the missed swings?
"I don't think anyone was trying to hit the ball out of bounds. It could be wanting or trying to do too much. It could be any combination of those things."
Did you think you had the fourth game wrapped up at 28 points?
"I don't think we had it wrapped up. I think we had some momentum going at the end. We were in a situation where we in a couple deuce games with them all night and when we were in that situation, we weren't terminating and scoring any points so we wanted to get away from that."
What in your mind was the difference between winning and losing the match?
"I think at crucial times we were not swinging to win and when we were it wasn't in the court."
Sophomore middle hitter Melissa Walbridge
What in your mind was the difference between winning and losing the match?
I think also our serving was a factor. I missed four serves that were unnecessary and that was a mental error that you can't have at this point in the season."
