Oct. 10, 2008
Recap |
Final Stats
TULANE HEAD VOLLEYBALL Liz Kritza
Overall thoughts on Friday's 3-1 win at Tulsa
"We're pleased with the victory, but there are moments tonight where both the players and the coaching staff know that we underperformed. That is to be expected coming off a tough loss, but I like the way we composed ourselves in the fourth set, came back and put it away. Tulsa won the conference tournament last year and they came into tonight with 16 wins, so there is no doubt that Tulsa will compete in this conference. They struggled at times tonight and I know that one of their big hitters was out, but that is a solid ballclub. Credit Tulsa, though. They made some adjustments and went after some possible weaknesses in our defense and they kept doing it until we made some adjustments. Today was a very good learning match for us. Although I was not completely pleased with every play, I think that this group learned a lot, especially about the momentum of the game and being able to come back after dropping the third set to piece together a 25-19 win in the fourth set."
On getting middle blocker Jen Linder going early
"One of our points of improvement for both of our setters was to diversify our offense. I think that they did a good job of spreading the ball around and Luna did an excellent job of recognizing that Jen Linder had a clear advantage. She was having a good offensive night and Luna made sure that she used her plenty. Linder had 10 kills, hitting .533 with 13 points, and we need to see more nights like this from Jen. If she can do that, we will be very successful. Along with those, she came up with six blocks. She really stepped up big tonight."
On the performance of outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic
"I think that Visnja came back and passed at a decent clip. They came after her a lot and she still came up with 18.5 points for us tonight. Visnja did a very good job of siding out for us and putting away balls in transition when we needed them the most. I think Luna did a good job of pushing her fast and Visnja came back well from her last performance. That is a good thing to see, especially from a true freshman. We will look for more nights like this from her as well."
On the difference between the first two sets and set No. 3
"In set three, our passing broke down and we started siding out at a low percentage. That was our lowest hitting percentage of the match. When you cannot sideout, you cannot win in this game. You have got to be able to sideout to be able to keep up. Otherwise, people go on runs with points and that is what happened. We could not side out and they went on some long runs of points. In a 25-point set, that cannot happen. Volleyball is such a game of momentum that if you allow a team to get three or four points in a row, it is very, very difficult to come back."
On the team's performance in the fourth set
"Between sets three and four, the team that was out on the floor decided to take some accountability for the level of their play. They stopped wasting contacts, stopped making unforced errors and they really decided that it was time that they start asserting themselves, setting the tone and setting the level of play in the gym. They need to do this time and again in conference. Everyone is going to be coming after us. If we can play volleyball at a high level, there is no reason why we should not win, regardless of what the other team is doing. If they are playing well or if they are not playing well, we have to understand that we need to stay in system and play at the highest possible level that we can. They understand that and I said it was their job to do it. It was their match to win, and they took complete accountability to do it."
On what she wanted to see more of tonight after losing to UAB last Sunday, 3-2
"I wanted to see more leadership and I did. I saw Luna step up. I think we made a couple of defensive adjustments in the fourth set. Some of the players were in a bit of disarray early in the fourth set, like Bridget (Wells). Bridget struggled a little bit in the fourth set and when she came off, (assistant coach) Sinisa (Momic) did a good job of pulling her aside and getting her back together. Once they started realizing that it is their match to win or lose and coaches set the strategy and give them adjustments, then all of a sudden, we are a mature ballclub that can play at a high level."
On having five players in double-digit kills and hitting .289 as a team
"Hitting .289 as a team and having five players with double-digit kills in a four-set match and scoring 73 points, that was pretty good. When we have an offensive advantage, we need to be complete free to use it and be completely unafraid to go after it. I think at times tonight, they started understanding that. This match helped us learn a couple of things. It helped us grow as a team and be more mature. It helped us understand how to win sets and how to win matches much quicker. That will prove to be a positive, not just in the win column but in our overall team's development, throughout the season."
TULSA HEAD COACH ED ALLEN
Overall thoughts on the match
"We gave a much better defensive effort. It's certainly the defensive effort that we have been accustomed to having here. It's the defensive effort we had at Rice. I was very pleased with the number of balls that we were able to touch at the net, which ultimately gave us opportunities to transition. Our setter is going to have to do a better job of understanding the matchups, and putting our hitters in better situations. She will continue to grow as the year progresses. But, that probably was one of the biggest differences in the match. We did a great job at the service line. I think we served the ball extremely consistently, and we also served the people that we wanted to serve. I think it helped dictate and put our defense in a very good position to start with."
