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AUSTIN 1ST 2ND ROUND NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPDecember 1, 2017Jerritt ElliottEbony NwanebuChiaka OgboguAustin, Texas Texas - 3, Fairfield - 0 JERRITT ELLIOTT: Well, first, congratulations to Fairfield and Coach Todd Kress. You know, for them to go 18-0 in conference and get into the NCAA Tournament is remarkable. It hard to go undefeated in any conference, and it's remarkable to be able to keep your team poised and play at that level all the way throughout the season. And they came out and they showed that they could play with us early on. I think it was 15-14 and they were almost hitting .500 against us and then we were kind of able to get our defense going a little bit more. The NCAA Tournament, there's a lot of nerves. I thought we were able to settle down more as the match went on and we obviously got some great production tonight from our middles and eastbound any early on to get a lot of first ball kills and give us some separation early in some of those matches. Q. Overall thoughts about opening up the tournament. CHIAKA OGBOGU: Yeah, we knew Fairfield was going to be tough against us and we knew they were going to battle, and it's the first game of the NCAA Tournament. There's going to be nerves both sides. Our communication was just about taking care of what we could take care of and being come on our side and trying to escape away points. Q. That 15-14 tie through the first set, went on a 7-0 run after that and you had three kills during that run. What sparked you guys during that run there in the first set? EBONY NWANEBU: I think in the first set, we kind of just said right now, we're playing enough to win the game and not enough to necessarily dominate. I think that kind of like started a little spark in that little time moment, and then Chiaka just got really good sets and it worked for everyone. Q. Overall, offensive numbers, what do you think about offensive performance tonight? JERRITT ELLIOTT: Yeah, one of the things we looked at the his the percentage and the opponent's hitting percentage. If you're a 150-point different you're going to be in a good position. And I look at our kill percentage, hit close to 50 percent which is remarkable. And then you look at the error percentage. Our error percentage is extremely low tonight. It wants to be under 12 percent for us, so we hit all those numbers. When you're able to do that and control the game, you're going to put yourself in a good position to win. Q. How did you guys feel out there offensively? EBONY NWANEBU: I think Chiaka was really collected and calm while she appeared that she was for our first tournament. I think a lot of us just gave her covered before the game and I think that also helped. Just her confidence is really contagious and it makes the hitters confident and I just think that we were able to just see the whole court and with her sets, we're able to play where we wanted to. CHIAKA OGBOGU: Yeah, I just think at the end of the day, it's another game and it's something that we've been working on in practice, just building that connection every day. So it's awesome to see it payoff in the game. Q. That second set, three set points on separate occasions -- JERRITT ELLIOTT: Well, I think there's obviously a lot riding on this tournament and the women that are able to earn their right to this NCAA Tournament have proven they are fighters throughout the season. As I told you, they have got some fun little, size compared to what we have but we have some ballers that touch the ball well and compete and have some good arms. We knew they would fight. I mean, from watching them on film, the matches we had, they would get after it. And so I have a lot of respect for what Todd has done with this program, and it's part of the building process for them and I think he's done a great job there. Q. What are your thoughts on the NC State match? JERRITT ELLIOTT: Yeah, now I have a good set of number of matches on them. I'll go watch and look at some of the statistical patterns. We'll see what some of our matchups are going to be, but they are physical. Both they are left sides, I didn't see the final box score but I know they took a lot of swings, and they have got a very good block. They are well-disciplined behind the block, so again, we're going to have to show up and play. This tournament is always about how you perform, and if you can put yourself in a position to be steady and hit the numbers that we train on a daily basis, then we'll be in a position to have an opportunity to get there. But as I told the team in the locker room right now, that's a great win, getting through the first match, and tomorrow night the stakes are raised and when stakes are raised it makes it more enjoyable to go compete. We'll see if we have what it takes tomorrow night and get ready to get a good night's sleep and wake up ready to battle and compete. Q. The last home match of the season, how much would it mean to finish with a win? CHIAKA OGBOGU: It would mean a lot. It's sad to think that it's the last home match but we're just excited to get out there and hopefully get a win. EBONY NWANEBU: I did all my crying tonight so I won't be sad tomorrow. But just I'll probably still cry. But it the last game that me and she will play in Gregory ever. The next time we'll be in Gregory and just watching. There are emotions but at the same time we have to focus on the game ahead of us rather than get caught up in the fact that it's going to be our last time. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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