Sept. 29, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ky. –
Opening Statement…
“I’m very excited about where we are at this point. We were at Georgia and LSU last week. We go to Tennessee this week and then we play Auburn at home. We finish at Florida and South Carolina next week. Five out of six games on the road is not ideal, but we handled the first stage of it very well. I’m not necessarily as excited about our statistics, but rather the way we are playing the game. We were down 17-10 yesterday at LSU, but we pulled it out and won 29-27. The toughness and commitment of the team was unbelievable in that win. This group is successful on the court and on the road. Right now we are leading the league in hitting percentage and blocking. More importantly, five players averaged double figures in points over the weekend. When there is a balanced team and you have five players coming at you at once, it gets very difficult to defend. In order to reach our goals this year, we have to maintain our level of play. Our fans have been great and continue to come out. I really hope the people in Lexington and the Big Blue Nation have the chance to see us play, because the sport at this level is exciting. If we want to achieve our goals, we need the fan support in Lexington to push us to the next level. We are off today and we head for Tennessee Wednesday night. They are 3-1 and we are 4-0 in conference play, so it will be a good border battle.”
On Kentucky’s youth…
“We face a challenge because we have two freshmen and two sophomores on the court, but the maturity level of this group is impressive. I never know what to expect from them and they always seem to pull through.”
On Kentucky’s offense…
“The last couple of years we relied on Queen Nzenwa and Nicole Britenriker to carry the offensive load, because they would come away with 20 points per match. This year we can have five players with double figures in a match, which alleviates a lot of stress and pressure on individuals. Also, Sarah Rumely our setter has done a great job of distributing the ball.”
On Wednesday’s match against Tennessee…
“Tennessee struggled early and had a major injury, but the last few matches they have been really good. They run an unusual offense and the match will be tough, especially because it is on the road. I’m sure they will be fired up for us, and we will be playing in Thompson-Boling Arena, a big atmosphere.”
On winning 10 matches in a row and 24 of the last 27 sets…
“When I watch our team warm up and compete, I’m impressed that they can focus on one play at a time. That is what we can attribute the streak to. It’s not necessarily anything physical, but it’s a level of competitiveness and toughness. The girls are resilient during each point, and that’s what creates those results.”
On building confidence when playing on the road…
“It’s hard to say that confidence is built on any one particular thing, but we have played very well on the road. We started playing well at Maryland and continued it this week. On the road, the girls are able to better focus because certain distractions are gone. I like our chances, but we’ll have to see what happens when the first whistle blows Wednesday night.”
