Dec. 14, 2013
Penn State
Head Coach Russ Rose
Opening statement …
“I thought it was a great match. I thought it was two teams that have great respect for each other. Stanford is a terrific opponent and I certainly want to recognize the great seniors on the Stanford team. I thought tonight our seniors really carried the day. I thought Katie Slay, Ariel Scott and Deja McClendon were exceptional in the things that they needed to do to for us to be successful. It was a team effort and it had its ups and downs. There were two totally different styles of play. In the first game, there were a lot of errors and we came back in the second game and made eight (errors). We found a way to win the second set. Stanford does such a good job of keeping the ball alive in a very positive way and they were averaging over four errors a game, and it’s hard to win in a situation like that. I thought we would come back in the fifth game. I was disappointed in the points that we gave away in the fourth and fifth games, but Stanford can do that. They are very talented. It’s hard to explain how good their players and how special their players are. We felt that we could have success and even when things were a little bumpy, we kept our heads, even though I was chewing on a couple of behinds out there.”
On how well the team played under pressure …
“I thought we passed well. I thought we played good defense. Deja (McClendon) led us in passing and in most of the good serves. Ariel (Scott) and Deja led us in kill attacks. I’ll say what I told the girls in the locker room, and that is that if I’m picking some sort of all-tournament team, I thought Katie Slay’s performance tonight was exceptional. And I also thought that Lacy (Fuller) had two great matches in the regional that allowed us to advance.”
#1, Ariel Scott, OH
On what her job is on the team and how she did today …
“I just need to be a good outside hitter. I probably do my best in that area, and with my swinging, I know that Deja (McClendon) and the other girls have to pass. I just need to keep them encouraged and stuff like that.”
#12, Micha Hancock, S
On her performance tonight …
“We came out and we were a little bumpy. It could have been a little cleaner for me. It wasn’t the best win that we’ve had, but it sure was a good win.”
On the game-changing dig in the second set …
“Yeah, no doubt. When someone digs the ball, and especially Lacy (Fuller), because she is just flying and she is crazy. We need to execute on plays like that.”
#18, Deja McClendon, OH
On her play tonight …
“I thought I did a better job of keeping us steady and not letting us get rattled. Stanford is a great team, but most of all I felt like I needed to give my team energy. If we have energy, it helps us.”
Stanford
Head Coach John Dunning
Opening statement …
“That was a great match. I want to congratulate Penn State. They are in that position every year and I wish them well in the final four, I’m sure it will be a great final four. I’m looking forward to watching it and going. I’d like to congratulate my team as well. I thought that was a wonderful match we played. We played with our hearts and put everything that we had out on the floor. I know how hard they worked to get here. As a coach, what you want is people to be able to enjoy the things that they worked so hard for and when you get to here and you can’t, it’s tough. Then I think you have to take a look at all that is built, and the people who are in the process and be happy for them because of all the things they have learned about themselves and about friends and teammates. I’m sad for the two that are sitting right here, but I’m also very proud of them. I know that they are probably okay to take a break this afternoon.”
On their momentum in the fourth set …
“That is the beauty of the sport we play. It’s all about momentum and it’s all about match-ups. When you’re good and you can get the momentum and keep it up, that’s the beautiful picture about volleyball, but we also know that when you go start the next game you might feel like you have the momentum but you’re restarting a game. That’s just a cool thing of the sport. We had the momentum and we got stuck in a rotation and that’s just the way game five can be. We were ahead 9-6, and by the time we get out of the rotation I think it was 11-6 and if you give up a streak of five points in that game it’s going to be tough to win. That’s just what happens in our sport. It’s cool, but it’s not cool when it goes the other way.”
#23, Jordan Burgess, OH
On the match and the season as a whole …
“Leading up to this match, I don’t think any of us can say we’ve been more excited for anything in our life. I think this whole journey through the season, especially these last few weeks, has been the most fun times we’ve ever had and not just because of the matches, but because of the people we did it with. Of course we wanted to win it but I wouldn’t have wanted it to go any other way if we had to lose, and I’m really proud of all the girls we played with. Penn State did a really good. Going into it we thought it was going to be an awesome match up because we play similar styles of volleyball, and it was. It was an awesome match to watch and be a part of.”
#12, Inky Ajanaku, MB
On the match and the season as a whole …
“Going into it we knew we were going to have to battle the entire time. We knew it was going to be a fight till the end and I’m glad that it ended up that way. We didn’t have turn out that we wanted but I am really proud of my team. We fought back when a lot of people though we were done, and that’s just how we play. We were not going to go down without a fight, and we gave one hell of a fight.”
