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NCAA WOMEN'S REGIONALS: MADISONDecember 10, 2016Tori BlakeLauren CarliniRamona KriskovaHaleigh NelsonKelly SheffieldMadison, Wisconsin THE MODERATOR: We are joined now by Wisconsin Head Coach Kelly Sheffield and seniors Lauren Carlini, Romana Kriskova, Tori Blake and Haleigh Nelson. We'll start with an opening comment from Coach and then take questions for the student-athletes. Then we can take questions for Coach. COACH SHEFFIELD: Couldn't be more proud of our team, and the fight that they showed. It's hard to lose a match like that. It's hard to be this close to a dream and fall short. We were on the other side of it 24 hours ago, and we're on this side of it tonight. I thought it was two teams really fighting hard. Congratulates to Stanford and the adjustments that were made as the match was going on, and we had obviously a real hard time with Inky. And she does what elite players do. And our middle was matching her pretty much there. I thought Haleigh had an outstanding match. Their libero was fantastic as well. I thought she did a great job defensively. But there wasn't a whole lot that separated the two teams. I thought both teams were playing, laying it all out there on the court and battling and fighting and we came up on the short end. But I'm proud of the journey this team took. I'm proud of how far we've come, proud of the fight, and proud of the class that they've shown throughout as well. Q. Lauren, has it sunk in or how is it sitting with you right now? LAUREN CARLINI: I'm trying to accept the fact that we've played our last match in a Wisconsin jersey and as a part of this Wisconsin program. So I don't think it's really sunk in yet. I can't believe it's over. But I am so proud of what this team has done over the years and as Coach said, the journey that we've been on and I'm glad to have been part of this senior class. Q. Haleigh, that had to have been a difficult rendition of varsity knowing the finality of it all, and what's going through your mind at that moment? HALEIGH NELSON: Well, you know, I'm just so grateful to have been a part of such an amazing program and playing in such an amazing venue like the Field House, varsity for the last time was after obviously a terrible loss, it hurts really bad. I really tried to enjoy it because it was my last time on the court with these people that I love so much. So while maybe it seems like it was hard, it wasn't, because it's just so special to me to get to play here and to get to do the things like that that makes the Field House so special. Q. For anyone, what was that moment like when the crowd was acknowledging you at the end? LAUREN CARLINI: I couldn't be more grateful for all the support that our fans have given us, and they've become more and more loyal each and every year, and just the turnout and the energy and the amount of support that they give us as a program is huge. And I just hope that we can grow it each and every year and ^ get more fans in here and grow that support because this group deserves it, this program deserves it. Q. From a volleyball standpoint, you win a tough second set to pull up 2-0, and then they were pretty much in control the last three. Was there something that turned it around that they did, any adjustments that they made, something that didn't work? We knew they had the blocks and that started to add up. What happened? LAUREN CARLINI: We had a few miscommunication errors starting in the third. And I mean Stanford is just a great team, and they pushed us, and we tried to string some points together and make a comeback, and it just didn't happen, wasn't in the cards. I'm a player, so I don't know maybe as much strategy as like a coach would watching the match. But I don't know if there were really exact adjustments that they made that turned the tables on us, but they're a great team and they pushed us and they came out on top. COACH SHEFFIELD: I surely didn't look as it as something we weren't doing. They turned up the heat on their defense, you know. That was one thing, you know, defensively they got a little bit better. I thought they were making some great -- both teams were making some great pursuits. The block got going a little bit. But there was some different matchups. Both teams were changing the matchups. I thought maybe what they probably did better than anything there coming out of the locker room was they started serving a lot tougher, put a little bit more pressure on us. It was a little bit more difficult for us to stay in our offense. But I'm not sure it was something that we weren't doing. I know that can be an easy thing to think that, you know, if one team loses, they must have done something wrong and if another team wins they must have done something right. I thought it was just two teams for two-and-a-half hours that were just laying it all out there. And sometimes it was easy for both teams to score in a very high clip and then there was other times that it was really, really tough to score because both teams were just putting so much effort out there. But I'm not sure if it was a, you know, necessarily what we were doing. They made a couple of nice adjustments and I thought their serving really picked up at the break. Q. Tori, is there any way to prepare yourself for the emotions like this? Have you ever been through something like this? TORI BLAKE: Oh, gosh, no. I think I'm still in denial here. At the end of the day only one team gets to win their last game. That's just kind of how it is in the tournament. And it wasn't us. It sucks, and that's the only way I can explain it. But I mean we have an amazing group of girls, and I mean they're coming for it next year. They're going to come in real hot. You'll see it. THE MODERATOR: If there is nothing else for the student-athletes, we can take questions for Coach Sheffield. Q. Yesterday was obviously a pretty emotional day than today it seemed toward the end. Did you guys feel emotionally stressed out or did you kind of feel like you ran out of gas? How did yesterday affect today in terms of having to dig so deep yesterday and then find yourself in a similar position today? LAUREN CARLINI: I don't think yesterday's match had any effect on how we came into the match today, how we felt at the end. This is what we train for. It's two five-setters back to back, and that's why we put in all the time that we do in the spring and in the summer. We train so hard the way we do for those moments. And I don't think we ran out of gas. I don't think we were emotionally drained. We were still connecting at a high level and we were going for it, and it just didn't fall in our favor. Q. The last volleyball game, we talked about this last time. How does that feel not just not wearing the jersey, but the sport that you love so much in general? HALEIGH NELSON: It doesn't feel good. But I just loved being a part of this program so much that all I can be is thankful that I've gotten to play with such amazing people and for such amazing people. And it's just such an amazing experience that even though it's coming to an end, I've got nothing but good things from it. It's just a lot of love, and there wouldn't be tears if there wasn't so much love. And this team is going to win a National Championship. You can guarantee it. People need to start believing in the Badgers because they're coming. It might not have been this year and it might not have been the past three years, but they will. And it's because they work so hard and they really truly deserve it. While unfortunately it wasn't with us on the team, they're coming. Q. Coach, what have these four seniors meant to you and meant to this program? COACH SHEFFIELD: They're why you coach. They're why you coach. To be with selfless people that give everything that they have for each other, for their school, for their sport. They get out of the shallow end and they dive in the deep end. They trust. They give you everything that they have. You watch them grow as people. You know, you have a player like Tori that hadn't been out here a whole lot that's spent four years just really, really battling through health and just does not -- there are so many times she could have given it up and said it's not worth it. It means so much to her, the team does and this program. Romana you couldn't be more proud of what -- kid comes over here and what she did tonight was special after last night. I'm so proud of her. And especially last night after the match not getting great news on her knee. That really bummed her out late at night. And to dig down and dig deep, give the performance she did today, her last match in Badger jersey shows so much about her character as well. And Lauren's the best. She's the best passer we've ever had. I hope I'm not offending anybody by that, but people see the intensity. But what they don't know is that she's ten times the better person than she is as a volleyball player. And you see the player like Haleigh Nelson and the journey she's come and how far she has come. And I don't know if I've ever been around a player that's improved more in four years. It's more than just on the court. It's being around them every day and the people they are. It's why you coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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