Nov. 30, 2007

Xavier Head Coach Floyd Deaton

Opening Statement:

I don't think we played our best volleyball, but I think that's two-fold. I think Cal Poly came in to avenge something and they did a nice job. We had the opportunity to go into San Francisco and play (Cal Poly) and I think that we caught Cal Poly off guard a little bit. This time they were prepared and they had something to prove and I think they did an outstanding job. They've got a great coaching staff and they had them prepared. When you get into the field of 64, someone told me you don't back into that, you don't back into an NCAA Tournament. They were prepared and we had to bring our best game. I think that's something we really need to do. They are a big team. All you have to do is just stand there and look at them, they're huge and talented. We had to bring the best that we had, and I don't think that we did that tonight. Again, I think that it is two-fold: I don't think we played well, and I think that Cal Poly did.

On what Cal Poly was able to do that Xavier couldn't:

Volleyball is a game of momentum. It is an attitude game and you block aggressively, you block like it is your ball out there. I think that was the big difference. I think going in, our game plan and what we did, we knew what they were going to do. We just didn't know how good they were going to do it tonight. I think what was different was I think the first time, we might have snuck up on them a little bit and this time they said "Hey, Let's go." When you look at us and you look at them, we've got three freshmen on the floor, a sophomore and two seniors - sometimes more. All of a sudden, you put them in 64 and it's like "Wow." I don't think that it is anything that they did different out there, they just came with an attitude and that's something that we needed to adjust to, and I don't think that we quite did that.

What was different in the third game, where Xavier seemed to come back a bit?: The speed. I don't know if it was Cal Poly relaxing a little bit. I'd like to think that we just took our game up a little bit. That's how it goes in a lot of matches. It is close and you think "Where were they the first two games? " I think that it is just the speed and that we were able to get in system. If you look at us out there, we are a whole bunch do midgets running around out there. I think 6-foot is our tallest girl out there, so we've got to move fast. In game three, I think that was what helped us. We were able to move fast, we were in our system. We couldn't do that in the first game. Against a Cal Poly team, you can't go down 15-6. What's the old saying - go start the bus? That's tough to come back, especially when you are not big.

Xavier's Jenni Horvath

On Xavier not being able to put an offensive run together:

It just seemed like our chemistry was kind of off. We'd get the pass and then we wouldn't get the set or we wouldn't get the hit. We couldn't put three things together to get it going. At times, we saw glimpses of our fast offense, which is what got us here and was the game plan all along. To just start slow, it is not going to get you anywhere, especially when it is down to 64 teams. These hitting percentages, they don't win a game.

On what adjustments Cal Poly made from the first time they met to the second:

I think they played a very nice game. I think that some of the things that we looked at on film were the same and we were supposed to capitalize on them, but we didn't. I think that right there was the problem. We just didn't adjust to what they were bringing.

Xavier's Hillary Otte

On the Cal Poly Offense:

One of the things that we've always been taught is that you have to play defense like there is not a block, and you have to block like there is no defense behind you. I just don't think that was clicking tonight. We weren't working together. We had some nice plays, but we just couldn't put two and two together. We had to be aggressive on blocking and we were watching a lot of balls go by on defense.

Cal Poly Head Coach Jon Stevenson

Opening Statement:

We're happy to be here. We're very happy to be through the first round. Our team played really well in that match. I couldn't hope for much more. They just executed in every facet of the game and I am just very impressed with how we did in the first round.

Was there any sense of wanting or needing to avenge a loss to Xavier earlier in the year:

I think it's unavoidable. Our team is really under the microscope in a match like this because we did lose to this team before and it is a chance to see if we have improved and in what areas we have improved. It is never fun to lose and we don't like to lose, there is nothing really good about it that I can think of, but maybe sometimes you take certain things away. That was a unique match, and credit to Xavier for playing well then, but that was the nature of our sport - we do a lot in a short period of time, relatively speaking. That tournament was on the heels of being on the road for four straight weeks. We just didn't get to practice. We played a number of top teams (Penn State, Nebraska and Stanford). When we got to that tournament, I think that we were a little tired I think that we were, basically, "match-weary" and I don't know that the girls even wanted to see a volleyball. What we wanted to do was to be able to get into a controlled environment and practice. That was a unique time. So much has changed for our team. Some kids have really grown up.

We had a great performance tonight from Gaby Rivera - 9 kills, zero errors on 19 swings. And she can do a lot better. She didn't play defense on the ground. The point of it is that from an offensive standpoint, you win by being really solid on the outside and then with serving and passing. Alicia Waller has been solid all year and solid ever since I have started to coach her, she has been an unsung hero. This was almost a typical match for Ali. You almost don't notice her, but she gets it done. Then Kylie is the dynamic one. Everyone sees that incredible arm strength of hers, so they balance each other out very nicely. So now to add Gaby Rivera in the mix and to have a three-way competition - because we have Ashleigh Bertoni, who didn't play tonight, who was a starter all last year - every day in the gym, we have this dynamic competition tension that really lends itself to improvement. There was more riding on this game, but no ill will or anything like that.

On the balance of the team:

Offensively, we have a fifth-year senior captain (Chelsea Hayes) setting our team and she knows how to run an offense. We just need to get the ball in her hands and she can do a great job. She can take a little suggestion here and put it to work immediately. There is a saying that I believe "Never try tactically what you can not achieve technically" and so we now have the athletes who can technically do a lot of things. We have not been able to hit behind the setter off of one foot in past and now Jaclyn Houston has become a monster doing that. We've never had an athlete like Dominique Olowolafe and she jumps in a very special way and she is just getting better and better. So we have the ability to go to a bunch of different people as long as we get the ball to the setter. On the other side of the ball, the idea is to put as much pressure on our opponent at the net. We follow a set of principles that governs not only how we practice, but how we play in that system and it really requires a team to play together. One of the things that was unique about Xavier tonight, was that they ran a ball to their left-side hitters that was as fast or faster than we've seen all year long and they had some success. We did do a good job of blocking that ball cross-court with our off-blocks dropping off to dig. You figure things out over the course of a match and it dawned on me that we were doing the wrong thing tactically, throwing blockers out there when they couldn't make it. We took our best defensive player right there were they were hitting all of those balls. You saw Kristin Jackson - who is one of 24 players in the history of NCAA Volleyball to have 2,000 digs - and you saw what she was able to do.

On Ohio-Purdue:

We hope they go five games and play for about three hours and fifteen minutes. We are on foreign soil. Either team is going to be an excellent match they are both great programs. At the same time, I feel really good about our chances. Coming here, when we first looked at the draw, I think that we put too much stock in the idea of potentially hosting. We hosted last year and it was a great experience for us, but we ended up playing Cal in the second round. It is different to come here and have the regionalized component of the NCAA tournament applied in a way that really makes sense. If you look at the RPI, for us to be 16, it really made sense for us to play Xavier, who was right at 49, in the first round. Then to have 16 vs. 17, which would be Ohio potentially in the second round makes sense. However, Purdue is right there and we are talking rally scoring and the NCAA Tournament. I can't wait for the match. I can't wait to get out there and see what they are going to do. I think that our girls are really confident, and it is so night and day different from our team last year because of their health, their energy level and then throw in an extra year of experience. It all adds up to I like our chances.

Cal Poly's Kylie Atherstone

On wanting revenge against Xavier:

Of course, and it's just the NCAA Tournament, so you've got to bring your best. I think that throughout our conference season, we've been playing really well and steadily increasing and we wanted to make sure that by the time the tournament came around we were at our peak to play our best.

On executing well on the block:

Our coaches create a really good scouting report and go over it with us very well. We executed that exactly the way we needed to in the game and I think that because of that scouting report we were able to dominate on that side of the court. That is something we really pride ourselves in, as our coaches say "swarming" to the ball. We really like to block balls.

On the depth of the team:

I think that we are really now coming closer on and off the court and the fact that we are closer off of the court helps to bring us together on the court. I think that we really know each other's strengths and weaknesses and we really contribute to each other during the match. We know that if someone is really struggling, we know that we can lean on another person to help to bring us up. It is a really nice connection that we have on the court.

Cal Poly's Ali Waller

On traveling across country: We traveled all day Wednesday and then we got up early the next day and just prepared and drank a lot of water.

Is the team as sharp as they've been all season?:

I think we are pretty sharp and we are going to get sharper.