Stanford Head Coach John Dunning
Opening Statement:
I'd like to congratulate Cal Poly on a great season. If you consider where
they were two years ago, you have to be amazed with where they are right now.
And I'm very proud of our group tonight. I thought they did a great job of
preparing. They're in finals, writing papers, all that, but they handled it
great. That's what you have to do every step of the way. It was also a great
crowd tonight. As a coach, sometimes you just have to sit back and appreciate
it.
On the defense:
I think when our team starts to get in rallies like there were at the start
of the game, our team wishes we conditioned more. But Foluke doesn't like to
run, so we don't do as much conditioning. Erin, you can thank her for that.
The defense we used was similar to what we were using, we just did it really
well. Atherstone can hit ball where you don't think they're going to go, but we
did a great job on her. That goes back to them doing a great job preparing
today.
On Nebraska's near-loss to Michigan State upsets in the NCAA Tournament:
As soon as we heard they were down 2-0, we were checking in pretty regularly.
I thought before this season started, this was going to be the best overall year
in the history of women's volleyball. Some amazing teams and more really good
teams than we've ever had. And it's not increasing by a little, it's increasing
by a lot. I thought every team in the Pac-10 might be better than they were last
year, which is really hard to do. It's a great sport, that's what I think it is
and people are catching onto it. A lot of people know about football,
basketball, baseball, but now, it's neat, I don't know that they've ever
televised two matches in a Regional before.
Foluke Akinradewo, Sophomore Middle Blocker
On starting strong:
Every play, I try to give my all for my teammates, so whatever I can do to
help them out is what I do. It's always helpful when you have a great pass and a
great set, so it's great for you as a hitter.
On UCLA:
UCLA's a great team, but they're definitely an emotional team. They never
give up, ever on defense. Nellie's a great setter. We need to focus for every
point, but if we stay focused and put the ball away, we should be okay.
On upsets in the NCAA Tournament:
Going back to our freshman year when we lost to Santa Clara, we know every
team brings something different and so it's very important to take it one game
at a time. We focused on keeping the focus, keeping the intensity and never
relaxing. I think we learned from two years back what happens when you start
relaxing.
Erin Waller, Junior Right-Side Hitter
I just had good sets, was making contact and somehow the blockers seemed to
be in the wrong spot, so I got lucky. I always play better when I'm in the game
like that, really excited and going.
On the team's differences between now and their first contest against Cal
Poly:
I think we're a lot more together and on the same page than we were early on.
We know what we're doing before the play even happens or what's going on. We
watched film from our game earlier and it was amazing to see how much we've
changed.
Cal Poly Head Coach Jon Stevenson
Stanford is an excellent team and they came out firing on all cylinders. The
first blast they hit us with was enough to knock us right out. I don't think we
ever regained our focus. I wish I could have somehow called a different
substitution or serving zone or something that would have made the outcome
different, but it was an onslaught. In the first ten points, they probably won
five quality rallies and made great plays along the way.
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