2021 NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

December 16, 2021

Dan Fisher

Kayla Lund

Chinaza Ndee

Nationwide Arena

Pitt Panthers

Press Conference

Nebraska 16-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22

Pitt

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by the University of Pittsburgh.

COACH FISHER: I'd like to congratulate Nebraska on advancing and a hard-fought win and a great season. We were close. We weren't quite good enough tonight in a couple of areas.

It stings because we felt like we could have played a little bit better. But what hasn't stung at all is having spent time with this team all year. I'm proud to be associated with this team and our city.

I'm just so grateful for all the hard work our team's put in this year, and especially for the four seniors who I care about dearly. And it was always going to be a sad ending to say goodbye to them even if we won it. So they'll be very dearly missed.

Q. Dan, you talked about some of those mistakes there, some of the shortcomings -- things about service errors stand out from looking at the box score. But what were some of the biggest mistakes that you saw from your team tonight?

COACH FISHER: Well, the service errors were a factor. But mostly I just thought that we didn't have a great night offensively. Not one of our pins hit over .200. That's the first time ever. I think the last couple of years I don't remember a game like that. It's hard to beat a team without at least one of your pins having a pretty good night.

I was proud of our defensive effort. But I guess if I was impressed by one thing with Nebraska, I was really impressed with their serving. They kept the heat on us all night. And they definitely -- I thought the serve pass would be closer. I thought they definitely won that.

Q. After the game was over, you guys shared a moment with some Panther fans down on the baseline. Can you tell me what went into that, kind of what was going on there?

KAYLA LUND: With the fans in the stands? So after we kind of got it together with each other, shared our moments with each other as a team, we obviously had a pretty good family section, family and friends section.

And so to be able to go and be with them in that moment was special. We have people that traveled in from all over to be here for the night. And so sharing a moment with them, our family, our loved ones who have supported us for five years in Pittsburgh, meant a lot.

Q. When you're in that fourth set trying to claw back from an early deficit, what are you telling each other in between points as you come together on points you win and points you lose?

CHINAZA NDEE: I think the main thing we were just telling each other is at any moment we can play better, you know. Something Fish said was it doesn't matter what we've done the last two sets; it matters what we're doing now. I think we were trying to echo that with each other.

Q. Defensively for Nebraska, you can look at some of the stats going into this match as far as opponents hit percentage, as players, the ones who are out there having to face them, where do you sort of see those challenges that they present defensively the most? What makes them such a difficult team to go against?

KAYLA LUND: I think their defense didn't affect us as much as it shows. I think it was our offense that struggled a lot. Whether it was setting, whether it was out-of-system setting or anybody else setting and our hitters not being in rhythm and getting to the ball. And then when we get a good set, not taking advantage of it.

I would say that that factor was more on our side of the net than what they were doing.

Q. Coach said Nebraska stressed you all with their serve. What was it like playing serve receive, and what was going on in that aspect?

KAYLA LUND: I think -- I just don't know if our vision as passers was good enough. And then stemming from that if -- and by vision, I mean are we looking at the arm? Are we looking where they're facing and turning, things like that.

And then I just don't think we were tough enough in there. Serve/receive is a pretty big mental game. And when you're constantly getting served at again and again, you've got to be gritty. And I don't think we showed enough grit back there tonight.

Q. You all have been asked a little bit earlier about interaction with some fans after the match. There was a moment before then when the two of you and Kylee were on the court and kind of embraced and went over to coaches and hugged them. What in moments like that do you all say to each other? And I guess what's that like to be able to savor those final moments as a team out there on the court?

CHINAZA NDEE: All we can really say is "I love you." There's not a lot of words you can put together to sum up so many years of time spent together, memories created together. There's not a really sentence that covers it.

And so it was just "I love you" and "I'm grateful for you," "thank you." We've put a lot of work in. But we've also just put a lot of work into our relationships. And I think in that moment it's just gratitude for that. That's all.

Q. We can look at all the wins and all the accomplishments of this program over the past five years, but I mean for someone who has seen it up close, what sort of an impact and a legacy have these two players left with this program?

COACH FISHER: I think they're two of the greatest Pitt players ever for any sport. They're both on the Varsity Walk already, which is unique. But they've set the tone for how we do business for the last five years. And I don't know if I can put it into words. I love them both a lot and we would not be here without them.

Q. It's obviously difficult to process in a moment -- like when it sort of settles and the pain subsides a bit, when you all look back at your time at Pitt, what do you think you'll all look back on with the most fondness?

KAYLA LUND: Just how life-changing it was. And the woman that I've become because of my time here. When I was just up with my mom, she was, like, who would have thought when you were 16 years old and committed to come here that this is where you would be. And so a lot of gratitude and just a whole lot of love.

CHINAZA NDEE: I think I'll be most grateful for all the good people that I have in my life now. Like, this has just been a place where I just -- I'm just surrounded by good people every day. And like that is priceless, 100 percent, because I think it's easy to get lost in the grind and, like, the day in, day out and now I just look around and I'm around good people every day.

That is amazing. And every day new freshmen come in, new transfers come in, and it's just good people. And that's what I'm going to look back on, wow, I got to be around a lot of cool and good people and people like Kayla and people like Fish that I'll have in my life forever. So I'm going to be grateful for that.