Post Game Quotes
December 20, 2003 | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 20, 2003
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USC Quotes
Head Coach: Mick Haley
Opening Statement
"This is one of the most special times in my life. To watch a group of individuals put it on paper in January, sit down and go through all the trials and tribulations and all the things that happen to you once you've won one and try to defend it. The bigger lesson was learned because they stuck together and gave to each other. We have a lot of talent out there. Nobody took away from that. Every time we got one of those opportunities to get better or to go the other way, we took it as an opportunity and we got better. And we also played well in the tournament from the get-go.
"Florida kicked it up and came out after us tonight. It was almost like, 'Okay, we need to do this again,' and they went out there and did it. I'm truly proud of this team."
On what he told his players about taking their place in history
"Honestly, we just don't talk about that. What we talked about is trying to make this sport to be an educational opportunity that we get more out of than just winning a championship. There's a lot more that goes into this that can be gained besides the championship. The effort, the attitude, the enthusiasm, all of that comes together and, really, that's the important thing."
"The only thing I told them was they would appreciate this 100,000 times more 10 years from now. I told them to go out and use the lessons learned with their family, with their job and with their friends. I think that's real valuable."
Outside Hitter Keao Burdine
On her play in tonight's match:
"I just wanted to play for my team. That's why my T-shirt says 'love my team.'"
On the differences between winning it all in 2002 and this year:
"Our opponents are after us a lot more this year than last."
Outside Hitter April Ross
On whether or not this team likes to play from behind:
"We thrive on those situations. Sometimes it is hard to build a lead and stick with the same intensity. We don't purposely do it, but sometimes when [the game] starts to get closer we pick it up. We liked to be pushed a little bit. We have more fun that way, we play our best that way. It doesn't happen on purpose, but we like it."
On which title was more fulfilling:
"I thought it was more exciting last year, just because we hadn't won it in so long. I wouldn't say it was unexpected but we hadn't experienced it before. This year, it has been more meaningful. It has been harder and we have gone through more trials with everyone out to get us. I personally feel like we accomplished so much more this year."
Florida Quotes
Head Coach Mary Wise
Opening Statement:
"Congratulations to USC. They're one terrific team and well-coached with a ton of talent. I thought our effort was great, our size wasn't. There wasn't much we could do about that (size) but I'd like to think that we made for a high-level volleyball match. Our team showed a whole lot of fight out there in battling a great time. My congratulations to USC."
On the third game:
"USC flipped their lineup and did a great job, taking advantage of that. Normally, we don't often face two All-Americans. In order to get here and win it all, you have to have three things: a player of the year type candidate, a healthy team and a little luck. I'm not sure we had a little luck. One of these days, we'll be back with all those things. Unfortunately, they don't give out trophies for heart."
On when she felt the game starting slipping away:
"I felt is slip at the 10-2 run. USC is so talented, I knew that there was no way we could point-score easily. I felt that if we could control the serve, we could side-out. Point scoring is really hard against USC and I didn't think we could make another run like in game one. It just wasn't going to happen."
On USC's back-row defense:
"Aury (Cruz) got some good looks and took some risks with their back-row defense. We tried to hit smart and not get blocks but their back-row defense was stellar. I give credit to USC's coaching staff. It is not easy to coach a team all year long with much talent. Mick and his staff did a great job."
Outside Hitter Jane Collymore
On USC's runs in games three and four:
"They are a very good team. They have a great libero and they have great passers. They're able to set up their offense well making it tough to defend."
Outside Hitter Aury Cruz
On USC's runs in games three and four:
"We realized our game plan at the beginning of the first game. We just kept with the game plan, but we were not able to handle their runs later. We let them have stretches that made it hard for us to catch up."
On reaching the national championship game as a senior:
"I'm going to especially remember this year. We've worked really hard since the NACWAA Tournament loss to USC. I think it was one of our best seasons that we ever had. Getting to the final is one of the greatest things you could ever feel and will always remember for your last year."
