Kentucky Volleyball Previews Nebraska
2018 NCAA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
LEXINGTON, KY.
Kentucky Head Coach Craig Skinner
On what the team can take from last year’s match against Nebraska that could help this season …
“It’s hard, it’s completely different teams. We have four new people on the floor and a bunch of new freshmen. I think you take away the amount of respect that we have for their program and that they have for ours and that both programs are back in the same regional is unique. Last year, we were hosting and the favorite, this year, they are the higher seed and we’re playing. Both teams are going to play hard, both teams are going to get after it. Very physical match. Looking forward to it.”
On his experience and relationship with the Nebraska program …
“It’s funny, it’s kind of like reunion weekends. Last weekend, (Purdue coaches) the Shondell brothers and I grew up in Muncie and went to the same high school and elementary school. This week, coaching with John (Cook) at Nebraska for several years, and people there. Familiar faces and people and styles and passion about the game. It’s exciting. You wonder if the NCAA puts these things together as some sort of storylines for matches. It will be cool, it will be fun to see familiar faces and people and administrators that I have a lot of respect for.”
On Minnesota being a tough place to play …
“I don’t know, for our match, it’s kind of a neutral site. They may be referring to when you go on the road at Minnesota in the Big Ten and there’s the home crowd court. I would assume that’s what they might be talking about. When you’re going to a top program and they draw well, they’re obviously going to be familiar with the game and know when to cheer and know when to be into the match. I think even though it’s a neutral court, there will be a lot of Minnesota fans there because they love and appreciate the game of volleyball. It’s been a while since, I was there in (2009), but we were kind of neutral site again with Florida State. I think it was probably back in the mid-90’s when I was there as a visiting team on Minnesota’s court, when I was at Wisconsin. It’s been a long storied program and a lot of success. Great fan support.”
On having a week to prepare for Nebraska …
“Yeah, it evens it out a little bit. Both schools have the same amount of video, same amount of days to prepare, same opportunity to get to know the opponent and that can be used to our advantage. (We’re) kind of familiar with Friday night-type matches even though it’s a 1 p.m. start. We’ll go through our normal routine, but it matches like this I think there’s a lot of tendency for people to over analyze or over prepare what your opponent is about, and how to do things. We just have to do what we do and do it well.”
On if the team is using last year’s loss for motivation …
“I don’t think so. Our team kind of seems to stay in the present. They seem to kind of look forward to the next opportunity to compete. I don’t think they spend a lot of energy on past deals or personal vendettas or revenge or anything like that. We’re practicing this afternoon and I think they could probably take or leave practice because they just want to get on the court and play on Friday at 1 o’clock. I know they’re looking forward to it.”
On the team being able to stay in the moment and remain steady …
“You’re exactly right. We’ve talked about that a lot for the last couple of years. I think this year it’s really sunk in. Early in the season, I think that it tested us because we lost four matches in however many we played. So, it really test your competitive maturity, and how to weather some storms, and how to get through being down 2-0, or how to get through when you’re down in a set by six or seven points. It takes a lot of, not age maturity, but just competitive maturity to do that. Obviously, going into the Sweet 16 every team is good. So, you’re going to need to be able to play when you’re ahead and play when you’re behind. There’s two different feels, but I think our team really does a great job of trying to attack the next point.”
On Madison Lilley’s desire to meet perfection …
“I think the best setters are the ones always trying to figure out what’s next. What else can I do better? Each week I’ll talk to Madison and say, ‘What do you want to work on this week?’ She’ll have very specific things that she’s thought about in her game. She doesn’t spend a lot of energy thinking about what just happened or what’s ahead, but she’s very concerned about – I want to be the best. I want to get better. I want to be better at digging, or I want to be better finishing or I want to be better at my footwork. First some who is so competitive as an athlete, you’d think they just want to get out on the court and play and compete. But, she really wants to refine her game to be and be regarded as a great player in the setter position. She loves to compete and loves to lead and loves to get after it. I think her team has a lot of respect for the fact that she’s a great learner as well.”
Kentucky Student-Athletes
#3 Madison Lilley, S, So.
On being named the Southeast Region Player of the Year …
“Yeah, it means a lot. After SEC honors, making the All-SEC Team was really cool and then AVCA honors are obviously a huge honor too. I think our whole team deserves to have gotten something, but we always talk about the power of the team. My teammates make me the player that I am. Yeah, it’s a huge honor and it’s really cool seeing that. It’s cool to play for Craig (Skinner) who got both SEC Coach of the Year and the AVCA Coach of the Year, too. It’s cool to see how everything plays out and obviously it’s a really cool honor.”
On the team’s health and whether they’re staying loose …
“After yesterday (a day off) that kind of allowed us to figure out school and kind of get that under control. Now we can really focus and lock in on playing and everything. We’re all just really excited. We’re about to have a really good practice and then travel up to Minnesota. I think we’re just all really amped up. We know what we can do and we’re excited to show everybody how to play Kentucky volleyball.”
On her trying to be the best player possible …
“There always things to work on. I think that you should always keep that in the back of your mind. I think revisiting goals too – we make goals at the beginning of the season and then we always touch on them with the coaches in the middle of the season too. So always revisiting those and keeping them in mind, never being complacent. I think our whole team is so good at that. We hold each other accountable and there are always things that we need to get better at and pushing your teammates to be the best that they can be. We all just lean on each other when it comes to being the best that we can be and everyone wants to be the best for the person next to them. So, that’s a really cool environment to be a part of.”
On last year’s experience of playing Nebraska in the NCAA Regional Finals in Lexington …
“Yeah, it was difficult coming off of a five-set, obviously a win was really cool against BYU last year, but it was a quick turnaround. It was kind of hard to – obviously we were tired physically and mentally, so I think that played a big role. Then having this whole week to prepare is definitely going to make a difference. I know that the fire is there. There’s no doubt in my mind that we’re going to come out and play as hard as we can, with a lot of fire and compete really hard. We’re excited to play and we’re excited about the matchup.”
On how Nebraska is different this year compared with last year’s team …
“That’s a good question. They’re a really good program, really good team. I think that we’re a lot different. Mentally I think that we are in a really good spot right now, and I think that we can face anything that comes our way. Whatever they bring to the table I feel confident that we are going to be able to match it. I’m looking forward to it.”
On how UK is different than last year’s matchup with Nebraska …
“I think that Kentucky volleyball is always notorious for like floor defense, really good serving – things like that and then losing our senior class last year – I think that obviously they brought so much fight to the floor and everything. This year I think we are still a competitive team and still fun to watch, still fun to play with everyone else on the court. But, I think our mindset this year – we are so ready for anything that comes our way. I think that Gabby (Curry) mentioned it last week, we can just face anything. Any type of adversity that comes our way we are all so – I don’t know – we have a really good mindset and everything. I think that is really cool and that makes a huge difference. Obviously, going back and playing in a really tough place like Minnesota I think that is going to come in handy. I feel confident with our mindset and everything.”
On having to play back-to-back nights …
“Yeah, it’s different for us because we play Friday-Sunday in season. Teams like Nebraska and Minnesota play Friday-Saturday, so it takes some getting used to. I like playing back-to-back. I love having a whole week to prepare for games, so we’re definitely absorbing everything that we can this week to prepare for Nebraska. We don’t have a choice, we play back-to-back, but I think we like it. I hate waiting for games, like we’re also so excited to play. Back-to-back, I kind of like it but having all week is huge. We’re taking advantage of it.”
