University of Tennessee Athletics
Minnesota-Tennessee Postgame Quotes
December 05, 2009 | Volleyball
Dec. 5, 2009
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Tennessee Quotes
HEAD COACH Rob Patrick
(Opening statement): "My hat's off to Minnesota. I've been here 13 years, and that was one of the most complete games an opponent has played against us in all the year that I've been here. Minnesota did a fantastic job of controlling the ball today. That's usually the part of the game that we will win every single time, but they took our best shot, controlled the ball and they're very physical front line was hard to contain. We will learn from the loss tonight, but I'm also very proud of what this team accomplished this year. I told them that one match doesn't make a season. The last match is always the one you remember. Our seniors had a tremendous impact on our program. I'm very proud of what Kylie (Marshall), Farren (Powe), Coral (Cheade) and Chloe (Goldman) have done for Tennessee volleyball. They're represented us very well."
(On the future of the Tennessee program): "We're excited. I think these young ladies have done some special things the last two years. I think they're ready to build on it. I don't feel that they're satisfied with where we finished this year. I think they feel that we should have gone further. We had our chances. All you ever want to do is put yourself in those positions. What I see when I watch them practice and compete in the gym, is they're willing to put in the work to take that next step. I told them in the locker room, `I have absolutely enjoyed this season as much as any season I've ever coached. As a group, they would come into the gym every day, and they'd set a precedent for themselves as to the level they expect. It took awhile for us to ingrain that in them, but they've done a fantastic job of carrying that out. It's seniors like Kylie who did a great job of mentoring and modeling what Tennessee volleyball is about. We had some great senior leaders in that way. Now we have Kayla (Jeter) getting ready for her junior year. We have people like her who are going to have to fill some big shoes that our seniors have left.
SOPHOMORE OUTSIDE HITTER Kayla Jeter
(On how Minnesota made an effort to neutralize her): "Minnesota played a great match. They put a great block - a bigger block than I expected. Our setters gave me some great sets, though. I tried to put the ball where I needed to past their block. They beat us in ball control and serve and pass. We never tried to think they had the upper hand. We were all swinging to win."
(On next year's Lady Vols): "I think myself and all the returners are hungrier. Last year we got a taste of the first round, and then this year we went to the second. Now, we know exactly what it takes. In the offseason we're going to work and stay at a high level all next season so when it comes tournament time we will be able to push past the second round."
SENIOR OUTSIDE HITTER Kylie Marshall
(On ending her career in the second round of the NCAA Tournament): "Right now it hurts because the game just got over 15 minutes ago. It's fresh in my mind and what I'm thinking about. Overall, I will definitely look back at how we grew as a team this year. People have stepped up to the plate and taken adversity on this year - and played better because of it. I've had an awesome time with these girls. It's been an awesome experience. It will take awhile but I definitely won't remember this match when I look back on my senior year."
(On Minnesota's strengths): "Minnesota played great. We thought we had a good game plan going into the match and thought we could take advantage of some of their weaknesses, but they definitely closed them up real quick. They played every aspect of the game well. They played a great match. When you're playing out there, you never want to think the other team has the upper hand. That's not the way to play competitively and that's not the way to win matches. I don't think I ever thought they had the upper hand. It was more so about siding out and getting momentum, and I think at times we had that. I think momentum was on our side at times, and we had some good runs that put some spirit and energy on the floor."
Minnesota Quotes
HEAD COACH MIKE HEBERT
(Opening statement): "This was, in some ways, a fairly typical match for us. We hold our opponent to a low hitting percentage and hit in the .250-.270 range, and that's what happened tonight. I thought our defensive schemes, our blocking and our ball control were the difference in the match. We kept the ball right on the setter's head just about all match long. We played well, did everything we wanted to do and had a level of execution that was about the best we have had all season long."
(On if the gameplan was to try to affect Tennessee's Nikki Fowler and Kayla Jeter): "Absolutely, we didn't think we could stop them. We wanted them to attack where we wanted them to attack. Our block configuration with our back row defense, we got just enough digs down the line on Fowler and just enough cross-court digs on Jeter. We just wanted to see if we could irritate them a little bit, and that proved to be the case. "
"By irritate I mean that everyone has a particular style they like to play, a comfort zone. One of my chief jobs prior to every match is to try to figure those things out. I figure out a few things we can do that can make our opponent do something different from what they want to do. That's probably not a brand new thing to be talking about, because every sport has that. By the word irritate, I meant take them out of their comfort zone and have them do things differently from what they want to do."
SENIOR SETTER TAYLOR CARICO
(On the difference in her play tonight than on Friday against Louisville): "I think the last match on my part was a rough match and obviously the setter is a huge part of team chemistry. I definitely played better this match and helped my team out. Good passing definitely helps the offense, and everyone just played better together tonight."
JUNIOR MIDDLE BLOCKER LAUREN GIBBEMEYER
(on Minnesota's physicality and team mentality): "Yeah we're a very physical team. Overall tonight was a team effort. You could tell tonight we really played like a team. I think that's one of our good assets that we know how to play with each other. If someone's not having a good match, we can step up and take a stand. We did exactly that, everyone kind of contributed in a different way."
(on whether the chance to play at home next week was a powerful motivator): "Definitely, we had cheers saying `Take Us Home' every couple of plays. We really made it a team goal, and we accomplished it."
