The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Lamar quotes
12.05.2008 | Volleyball
Dec. 5, 2008
TEXAS QUOTES
HEAD COACH Jerritt Elliott
Opening statement: It's always good to be able to win, especially in the NCAA Tournament. It was our first game and we came out with a little bit of nerves. As the match went along, we executed a lot better on the defensive side. Offensively, we were pretty smooth all night when we were in system to receive. It was a good performance by us against a team that had a tremendous year. We congratulate Lamar on its successful season, and now it's time to move on for our next opponent.
On advancing out of the first round and motivating the team going forward: I'm not sure if it's motivation. I think every team is motivated coming to the NCAA playoffs. I think it's about preparation and you do discuss being focused, being good in your routine, playing relaxed and being able to efficiently follow game plans. You do all the things leading up to it with the scouting reports and making sure that our side of the net. Especially with the first round, you want to set some sort of rhythm.
To be able to find our rhythm and do some things to get used to the NCAA tournament because it's a different pressure and it's a different responsibility for our players. The faster you can get into it, the more efficient your team can become and that was important for us tonight.
SOPHOMORE OUTSIDE HITTER Juliann Faucette
On what Coach Elliot wanted the team to do: Just to keep our composure and play our systems. I think we were losing track of our game plan a little bit, especially with blocking. We set some standards and we weren't following them. He just made sure we got our heads back in the game. That's what was important because we went right back out and you could see a difference.
On taking things forward and responding to challenges: I think with every game you learn something new. With the next game tomorrow night, we just need to come out and make sure we know our game plan and we stick to it. That's what's important for this whole entire tournament, staying united as a team.
JUNIOR OPPOSITE HITTER Ashley Engle
On Lamar's performance: I was expecting them to come out and play their best game. They've had a great season. Once it comes tournament time, it's a clean slate. I knew they were going to come out and not roll over. The rankings don't really matter. We were expecting them to come out and play hard.
On facing Wichita State: They're a great team, just like all the ones that are here. They can play how they're going to play against Rice, but they can come out completely different against us.
Senior middle blocker Lauren Paolini
On the team's offensive efficiency: I think we're just really quick at finding our rhythm. Our passing and setting was very consistent, which helps when you're finding your rhythm.
On the excitement of playing in the tournament: I think it's exciting every year to start the tournament and just know what could possibly come of it. I think it's exciting for every team that gets a bid and gets in. We're really excited to start finally.
LAMAR QUOTES
HEAD COACH JUSTIN GILBERT
Opening statement: I thought we did well early. We weren't able to execute some things we wanted to. We weren't able to disrupt their offense, and when you don't stop that kind of offense you lose the chance of winning. That hurt us and just wore us down then game three got away from us. Our offense was very good, we were hitting .350. But, with this being our first trip to the NCAAs, I think we did a good job.
On playing Texas: It's tough, but I think this is what typically happens with a 16-1 seed matchup. We haven't seen that level of volleyball. In preparation, we worked on serving and passing. I think we felt that is where we could disrupt Texas the most. We were able to do that early but as the match went on we lost our focus. We just didn't play well in the last two games, even in the third game their percentage was lower than in the first two games. We were never able to stop them offensively. I told our team that Texas is a unique. The quality of the skill of the players is close to ours, but their height, jumping ability, and power just wore us down.
On the NCAA tournament experience: We've learned a lot from this experience. Our players understand more about seeding and the things that can happen. We will be back and get to make a good run at it next year. In the four years that I've been at Lamar, we've continued to grow and get stronger.
JUNIOR OUTSIDE HITTER KACI BREWER
On tonight's game: I think we came in with momentum. We've never been here before, so I think we went into this game with the attitude of we have nothing to lose, and we had fun with it.
On the second and third games: I don't think we played worse. I think our serving and passing dropped a little bit. But, they hit some shots that we couldn't get, and they hit more of those in the last two games.
On the NCAA experience: It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to play one of the top teams in the nation.
JUNIOR SETTER ADRIANNE MEENGS
On how Lamar prepared for Texas: We focused a lot of our serving and passing. We knew we could hang with them, but we really had to execute our serving and passing. They're and offensive machine, so we did everything we could to make trouble for them and disrupt their offense.
On the NCAA experience: We've had a rollercoaster season. We lost a lot of people to injuries and we had to deal with hurricane evacuations. Towards the end of the season we finally found our groove and got hot at our conference tournament. So, to be here, to get this far and get to play Texas is an amazing opportunity.
