2017 LEXINGTON VOLLEYBALL REGIONAL
MEMORIAL COLISEUM
GAME 1, ROUND 1
WESTERN KENTUCKY VS. NOTRE DAME
DEC. 1, 2017
Western Kentucky Head Coach Travis Hudson
On being proud of the team….
“I am so proud of this team. I am so proud from Alyssa Cavanaugh down to the last kid standing in that line. This group is a together group. They are a talented group. They have pushed each other. They have stuck together. The hardest part sometimes is the day to day. It is the being fierce competitors in practice and being hugely supportive of each other at the same time throughout the season and this bunch has just been very together all year and it is rewarding for me to see kids who learn life lessons in terms of how to handle themselves pay off in a big way. “
On aspects of the team that was special in tonight’s game …
“Well, I think it was a huge advantage for our kids that they’ve been here. We have been here and these kids have been here for the last three years, this group of seniors. I think we were really calm and ready to play at the beginning where that is a really good, well-coached Notre Dame team and to jump out on them 7-0 or whatever we did in that first set, that is uncommon. So, there were probably a few butterflies, a few jitters for them and it was a nice way to get started. But, I think our experience in this tournament is something that paid big dividends tonight.”
On Emma Kowalkowski on defense…
“Everybody talked all week about of offense against their defense, rightly so. We were second in the country offensively and they were 12th defensively, But, as the kids said earlier, our defense gets overshadowed a little bit and that is something that we have worked really hard on all year long. I feel like we are a pretty good team offensively too. We blocked the ball well. We had over three blocks a game tonight. We put the ball on people that we want to put it on and serve receive. Defensively, we were flying round making plays tonight and when we are active like that defensively and give our offense a lot of chances, we are going to give our offense a lot of points. “
On what you know about ETSU and Kentucky …
“Well I know they’re both really well-coached. Obviously, we’ve seen them both this year. You know, ETSU, what a great group of kids. They came to our home tournament and had us on the ropes in the regular season and we were very fortunate to pull out a four-game win. You know, this Kentucky team, there’s been a lot of talk this week about Kentucky getting one of the top-four seeds and did they deserve it and other teams that did and all that, man I think that’s completely unfair to these kids in this program because yes there are other teams that could have made their case too and that’s easy to do for people to stand out there and do, but this Kentucky program absolutely has earned where they are right now. And, they’re absolutely deserving of being a top-four seed. They’re a talented group, they’re a very well-coached group, they’re physical and they’re a team that could play with anybody in the country. And so, it’s disappointing for me knowing Craig Skinner the way I do and knowing what kind of program they run and the classy way in which they do things. It’s disappointing for me to hear people try to talk down their seed in this tournament because those kids went out and earned that all year long.”
On the state of Kentucky volleyball …
“Well it’s a great time for volleyball in this state. I think the fact that Louisville and UK and Western Kentucky are all not only in this tournament but as conference champions in each of our respective leagues and you know, we have a chance to match up against them tomorrow. I think it’s says a lot about the level of high school play in this state, the level of high school coaching in this state, the level of club volleyball in this state. You know, there are a lot of places that are perceived to be great volleyball areas and I think this is a testament that this part of the country holds an awful lot of good talent and an awful lot of good coaches.”
On WKU fans coming …
“Finally! You know, we’ve been pushed to the west coast several times in our last few years to the NCAA tournament. I mean we were in Polonia, California, you know, we were in Provo, Utah. You know, to be able to play close enough to have that happen. Because the Western Kentucky fans, I mean I hear a lot of people always say ‘we have the best fans in the world.’ There are a lot of great fans in a lot of places, ours don’t take a back seat to anybody. Our fans are supportive, they’re high-character people, they support everybody that’s in a match and to see them take the time to come out here and turn out for our kids is something that I could never repay them for. It’s a moment that they’ll have for the rest of their lives.”
On opportunity to get to Round Two …
“Well, I mean it’s hard, it’s hard to get to this tournament. It’s hard to get to this tournament and Western Kentucky had never been to this tournament prior to 2002 and we’re in this tournament for the eleventh time since then. And, it’s a hard thing to get here and certainly an even harder thing to advance. And, we know we have our work cut out for us tomorrow. But, what I know about our kids is they’re going to go out there and lay it on the line. They care a lot about that jersey they slide on every day when they go out there to play and they’re going to go out there and play and leave it on the court. Look, one team is going to be happy at the end of this tournament. One. OK, and so I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about that. I spend a lot of time thinking about how to get the very best out of our program and let that take us as far as it should take us because that’s what this tournament is for.”
On tonight being an overall look at the program …
“Well, it is because what we pride ourselves on is our balance. Why we’re so good offensively is Alyssa Cavanaugh is an incredibly talented offensive player but, Alyssa Cavanaugh took less than a thousand swings this year, OK. We pride ourselves on being able to come at you from wherever you would like us to come and this was a chess match. Again, I’m going against one of the all-time great coaches in this profession and I know there is going to be a lot of adjustments made throughout the match but we’re a team that when you make those adjustments, we’ll come at you somewhere else for awhile. And, I think you saw that. I think early on Rachel Anderson came at them, I think that I becomes Sydney Engle for a while and Alyssa Cavanaugh for a while and Taylor Dellinger and that’s who we are and I’m really, really proud of our kids.”
Western Kentucky Student-Athletes
#1, Alyssa Cavanaugh. Senior
On the fan turnout…
“We really appreciate everything. We could not do anything without them. They took their time to travel two and a half hours. We had a fan bus that Western got together and that just means everything. We could hear them the entire time and that just created the atmosphere for us to want to win. “
On relaxation of the team …
“I think going into this week of NCAA we were really focusing on us and I think that is what we started out doing. Just focusing on us and that really kind of comforted us and carried us on.”
On already playing their opponent tomorrow …
“Well, we both saw both of them really early on in the season. So, I think that they are going to be a completely different team, as well as we are. So, really I think that it is just a clear wash and we are just going to prepare ourselves for those teams.”
On playing Kentucky as a pre season scrimmage…
“I think it was more getting comfortable with ourselves and it just happened to be against Kentucky, which is a very good program here and I think that it almost helped us in the beginning to comfort levels and get players in and out.”
#16 Sydney Engle. Senior
On the teams confidence…
“I think we were ready. I mean, we have been waiting for this moment all season. The fact that we finally got here, I think that we were all just eager to play and I think that played in our favor for the most part.”
On the last time out of the third set…
“We just need, they were coming out, like Travis (Hudson) said at the end of the season, no one wants to go home. So, they were just coming out swinging as much as they could. He just wanted us to match that and that is what he said. So, we were just going out there, swinging as hard as we could. Alyssa (Cavanaugh) took some swings at the end, which really carried us through the end of that set.”
On the defense being underrated…
“I would think it is. Since I am on both sides of it, I kind of get to see the perspective of both. But, I think our defense plays just as hard, if not harder than our offense does. But because we are so good offensively, it sometimes does get overlooked. But, I wouldn’t want to play defense anywhere else.”
On Kowalkowski in practice…
“We always joke around that she is on the floor more than she is up in the air. So she was doing great. She as touching everything we needed her to. She was digging with control, which made it a lot easier for our hitters. She was just doing what she does best.”
On opportunity to make Sweet 16…
“I mean, it is amazing. Like I have said before that we are just trying to set new goals here and I think that is one thing that I don’t think has ever been done at Western and we are just trying to set new records and do new things with this class and I just can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
#3 Emma Kowalkowski, Sophomore
On Notre Dame’s defense…
“I thought our scouting report really covered all the aspects of the team and us bring a pretty offensive team was a good match up for their defense because they are known for defense. So I thought we did a good job matching that. The offensive side and the defensive side.”
On the seniors Cavanaugh and Engle…
“They’re two pretty special players. I mean, they do anything and everything on the court, off the court, you name it. They do it and they do it well.”
On the first set…
“We always say win to win and I think by establishing that goal early on, that it helps in the long run because we were up with the advantage and we can let a few points. They earned a lot so they can take those. We have our win to ten.”
Notre Dame Head Coach Jim McLaughlin
Opening statement….
“Western Kentucky was good. They have the ability to pressure. Put pressure on us both offensively and defensively. They dug a lot of balls. They run a good offensive. They can set the middle third, put a lot of pressure wing blockers who are good. Didn’t make many errors. And then when we kind of got it going a little bit, found a little rhythm, number seven (Alyssa Cavanaugh) took three, really good swings at the end of game three. We were in good spots, she made some good plays. But I’m proud of our team. I told them the progress they made over four and a half months was significant, maybe more than any team I’ve ever coached. I’ve asked them to be difference makers and they’ve done that. They’ve made a difference in our program. Made a difference in my life. I’m proud of them.”
On how big of a factor Sydney Engle was for WKU…
“I think she hit over .500, she didn’t make an error. They had a lot of good players. Their setter was good. Sixteen was good on the right side. I just remember – because of the emotion of the match – the last three swings that seven took. But 16 was pretty complete the whole time.”
On what his group of seniors mean to him bringing them to their first tournament since 2012 …
“Everything. They’ve become good volleyball players, but they’re great people. It’s fun to be around them. They’ve learned how to work and treat people right. They’re good teammates. They say and do things that make each other better. They represent our university at the highest degree in everything that they do. It’s fun being in the gym, as hard as it is. It’s hard what we do. It’s really neat to be around this group.”
Notre Dame Student-Athletes
Sam Fry
On the streak they went on to get into the tournament….
“It’s definitely really special. Just to tag onto what Jim said I’m proud of the team and the girls. I can’t thank the coaches enough for giving us the opportunity to be here. It is tough, but just looking at what we did this season, beating some ranked teams that we haven’t done in a long time, that’s something to be proud of. Notre Dame just set us up for a really good opportunity.”
Natalie Johnson
On the streak they went on to get into the tournament …
“As to what Sam said, I think this was a great experience these past four years. We got the opportunity to turn a program around and not a lot of people can say that they did that. We’re some of the people that can say that we were the start to the new era of Notre Dame volleyball. It’s been a huge honor to represent the school, represent everything that this program is about and I’m looking forward to seeing what we’re going to do in the upcoming years.
Caroline Holt
On WKU scoring the opening seven points …
“Well, like the question before, we’ve never been here before so just had to settle in for a little bit. Proud of how our team came back and fought back. Kind of settled in and got our composure.”
