Dec. 13, 2013
Stanford
Head Coach John Dunning
Opening statement …
“I’d like to congratulate Minnesota on a great season; they are really good and really tough. It’s hard for us in every game. I’m very proud of our team for how we hung together at the end of each set. It’s one of the things we’ve been trying to fight through and become good at. We’re getting better at it and it’s awesome.”
On keeping the momentum away from Minnesota …
“We have been trying to play without errors better. Early in the season we made a lot of what we call non-attacking errors, service errors, reception errors, nets. That kind of thing, and I thought we have been getting better and better at it and just being aware of it, it helps us play and have better flow when we play because our setter is really good and we have good hitters and we can get a good flow to our game but when we interrupt it, I thought it hurt us in game two cause we really interrupted our flow. We had three or four nets, we served a ball out, we had a reception error, seven non-hitting errors in that game and I thought it was critical and I think we did a better job the last game.”
On Carly Wopat and Brittany Howard’s performances …
“Yeah, if you and I tried that, it wouldn’t work that way. Well, I’m sorry, I don’t know how good you are. If I tried that it wouldn’t work that way with that few errors. They both hate to make errors. In practice we can work on it and the coaches can help, but it’s, just in these two, in their nature to not like to do it. So, we have to constantly remind them not take more risks. I thought we started out a little bit, trying not to make errors in bad/tough plays that they don’t like to make them. So they build their skill around setting things up so they don’t make errors and they’re great at it. It’s been fun to watch Carly for four years, do that, hit over .400 every year and Brittany is getting better and better at the aggressive part of not making errors as well. It’s really just fun to watch them.”
On the match-up with Penn State …
“We’ve played them a few times. And yes, I do remember the two years in a row that they beat us in the Finals. Great teams, Penn State has things that they are known for, they have a great coach, and obviously I know him pretty well. They fight for everything, they play hard, they’re tough, they usually serve really well, their setters obviously a key, and she is the best server in the country probably. The things that we’re working on are the things that happen tomorrow in terms of going to the next play and saying ‘whatever’ on the last one and just going forward because they can make you look bad for a moment. I think we can too, and so we’re going to have to fight through tough moments but they’re going to have to as well, I would imagine. One of the things we talk about in our program is the opportunity to see how good you are, the opportunity to see how good your team is in a way, and if you play in a great setting like for something like going to the Final Four against a great team that’s well coached. What more could you want to put up against yourself to say how good are we and I know how much it excites them to think about having that happen that way and what they are going to look forward to tomorrow.”
#2, Carly Wopat, MB
On how the game went for her …
“We knew coming in it was going to be a tough match and Minnesota has a different style of play then we’re used to. They are very good at seeing the court and making shots, so we had to prepare ourselves for that and I think we did a really good job. We watched a lot of film and we studied their hitters. So I’m proud of my teammates because we came in and made the adjustments that we want to make and they got some really great points as well. They were going to score and we knew that, but we did a good job moving on to the next one and I think that’s why we won. We knew they were going to get their points but we stayed tough and found a way to get our points as well.”
On keeping the momentum away from Minnesota …
“When we did score a point, we emphasized celebrating and creating our own energy and just staying together as a unit.”
#16, Brittany Howard, OH
On keeping the momentum away from Minnesota …
“At the beginning of the game, we talked about finding a way to win, they are a very atypical team, they are a really good team, they do a lot of stuff we are not use to seeing and we worked our system to defend what they usually do and they did a really good job of finding holes in that. We just kept finding a way of stopping them and that’s the way we were successful.”
Minnesota
Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon
Opening statement …
“First of all congratulations to Stanford. They played very well tonight and deserved to win so we wish them all the best going forward. For us our season to be done, and it’s obviously sad. (It’s an) occupational hazard. I thought our team played at times quite well. I thought we had chances to win. Certainly in the first two sets and you could even talk me into a chance in the third there. Ultimately that inability to make one or two plays was probably the difference in the match. Closely fought match, and obviously (we are) disappointed in the result today, but very proud of the body of work our team put together this season. Strong season for us. Now obviously sad for our seniors, but (we are) looking forward to 2014.”
On Minnesota’s struggles to execute in key-situations …
“You can attribute that as much to Stanford’s play as to anyone on our team. Certainly my comment was not to imply that there’s anyone at fault here. Good team, two good teams in fact, playing good volleyball. It’s a play here and a play there, that’s the difference.”
On the outgoing seniors …
“It’s obviously sad for us to lose them. But again to my earlier comment it’s an occupational hazard. These things cycle through every four years. For me, the last two seasons working with these three has been a privilege. I’ve enjoyed their commitment to the process. The fact that they’ve tried to make change. In fact, not only have tried, but succeeded to that end is a testament to their commitment to our team and the goals that we have. We will certainly miss them. I think we’re all sad that we weren’t able to be these one or two plays better to get them into this tournament. We will send them off, and get ready for the next season.”
#13, Ashley Wittman, OH
On her match-high 17 kills …
“I was trying to get them in trouble using a bunch of different shots not trying to hit it in the same spot every time. Trying to go down the line, go cross-court, roll shots, tips, anything that would get them out of system. That’s what I was trying to work on, and it worked for a majority of the time.”
On the Minnesota’s struggles to execute in key-situations …
“We were right there with them all three sets. It was just two points. It was anything. Someone could have made a better stop, pass, dig set. Someone could have swung better. It’s still a good game, we just couldn’t execute at the times we needed to. It was only two points that could have made a difference in the game, but we just couldn’t pull it out in the end.”
On looking back on her career …
“Right now I can’t really. It doesn’t seem like it’s over because it’s just the last day. My time here has been phenomenal. We’ve been a great team, and we’ve had a good legacy. Sweet 16 three times, Elite-Eight once so I’ve had an awesome time. I’ve definitely grown as a player and a human being. One match doesn’t show my whole entire four years. There’s been ups and downs, but I’ve had a good time and it’s been a privilege to play here.”
#1, Daly Santana, OH
“Overall as a team we have ups and downs. That’s what volleyball is. Today I tried my best to play one play at a time and keep working hard. It was a good game, we just couldn’t finish at the right times. We will make sure we are ready for the next season. We will use this game as a learning experience.”
