Coach Kritza's Comments Following Tuesday's Practice
Dec 2, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 2, 2008
Overall thoughts on Tuesday's practice
"We continued preparation today, but it was more specifically geared toward playing our Friday opponent, Tennessee Tech. We have our scout going and we have a clear idea now of what we need to do within our system to come out victorious. Today, we made sure that we focused on our defense because it will be a huge component for us playing well against Tennessee Tech on Friday. They are a very solid team, they are well coach and they have a good compliment of skills. We need to make sure that our offensive and defensive systems are both ready for Friday. We need them both to be at the highest level that we can perform if we are to move on."
On how the team prepares for a team it has not played in 30 years
"That is the beauty of technology. We can get scout film and there is a lot that a coach can tell by watching it. That is our job - to devise not only the best possible scouting report on them but also the best possible strategies based on what we have. Fortunately, I have some of the best coaches on my staff so I am confident that we will be prepared. For us as a team, it is a balance of these kids getting ready to go out and perform their best because we are still seeking continual improvement. It is not like we went from the preseason and this is the best we are going to be and that is it. We are actually going out every day and focusing on the small thing because the details matter more and more every day. It is a balancing act for them, and a really, really tough one because they are being pulled in a million different directions right now. They have finals going on and they are preparing to close up shop academically, and they need to make sure that they are tending to their business both academically and getting ready to play what will be the most important matches of their collegiate careers."
On how the team overcomes its overall lack of NCAA Tournament experience
"I think experience comes in many different forms. For us, we have plenty of experience on our bench well beyond the collegiate game. Sinisa has played and coached at the highest possible levels. Meg has considerable experience through her successful college career. She knows what it is like to be a student-athlete, to go into postseason, to know what it is to balance finals and playing the toughest matches all season, and striking that balance while being successful at it. Our players individually have had numerous successes on many different levels as far as preparing themselves to play very important matches. Every individual is going to draw on their own levels of experience and I think collectively, this group is determined to make some noise in the NCAAs. Whatever we lack in experience, we more than make up in enthusiasm and expectations in this group and they are willing to work hard every day to get it."
On the team playing into December for the first time
"When we set out in early August for preseason, I asked for a commitment from these girls to play well into December. So they were prepared mentally and we made sure they were prepared physically - obviously with some adjustments to prevent injuries and drop-offs late in the season - but this group has been prepared to play all the way into the third weekend of December. While it is our first time actually doing it, the preparation that has gone into it with practicing more continuously over the summer, our tour of Europe, and all of the players being back and training physically so they have a good strength base during July and then going into a really tough August season allowed us to structure practice and taper our training schedule so that they would be fresh at the end of November and into December."
