As you can guess, most of what’s covered in this deals with Mizzou’s huge comeback against Texas A&M Saturday (thanks to Mike Jackson for covering me on the live blog).
On the way the players responded to being down 0-2 to A&M:
I was really proud of the way the players were able to bounce back after game 2. We weren’t playing badly, we were playing okay—but A&M was just playing better. Between two and three we talked about toughening up serves, controlling the first touches better, trying to get in system more to run an offense. What I was really happy with was the way the players responded to the challenge they were faced with and just slowly but surely worked their way back into it.
On being down 0-2, continued:
I think there was a collective understanding that we really weren’t playing well, but yet we were still that close. We still had an opportunity to win game two. What I sensed from the group in general was an acknowledgment that we’re right there with them and we’re really not playing that well right now. I think they really knew that and believed that if we just started serving and passing a bit better we could do this. Any time you come out down 0-2, you have to start thinking small. We were trying to think point to point. If you try to think about the big picture being down 0-2 and we’re going to have to win three sets to win this match and all of a sudden, it starts to feel pretty insurmountable. I thought our players did a great job just trying to stay focused on what was directly in front of them, point for point.
On Paola Ampudia, who racked up 19 kills in the match:
Paola’s really done a nice job of buying into what we do—the system that we play and how we want to utilize her. I think she realizes to play at this level you have to be in good shape, you have to be strong, you have to be smart. I think she’s done a very nice job of working hard in practice every day and I think you can slowly see the improvement. And as good as some of the junior college teams are, from top to bottom you’re just not facing the same level of competition night in and night out in a conference like the Big 12. Paola’s doing a nice job of making that adjustment and really learning what she’s gotta do to really excel at this level.
On the back row play of Caitlyn Vann, Priscilla Armendariz, and Annie Lopez against A&M:
One of the reasons we were able to get back in the match was our back row play picked up. In the first two sets, it wasn’t where it needed to be. We talked about that at the break, because at that point Jules had already swung at 45 balls. And any time you have an outside hitter carry that much of a load, it means that we’re not controlling the ball as well as we needed to be. And that’s what we did between two and three—we challenged them a little bit and I let them know right now the difference in that game is A&M is serving better and tougher than us and we’re not controlling the ball in the back court as well as they are. And that’s the difference in being up 2-0 to down 0-2. And I was really pleased with the way those three accepted the challenge of going out and picking up their level of play, and they were huge in those final three sets.
On the importance of beating A&M:
This was a big win for us for a number of reasons. One, A&M was coming in 2-0 in conference and is a very, very good volleyball team. Beating somebody of significance like that is obviously a feather in your cap when you’re looking at your body of work over the course of an entire season. It was also big just in terms of a confidence booster. It’s one thing to say we can beat good teams, but when you actually go out and do it, you have some concrete evidence that we in fact can do this. As much as our Wednesday win over UMKC was good because you pick up another win, I think for a true confidence builder you have to do that against somebody who’s really good. What I hope will happen is that our players will understand we are right there, we are a very good team, and when we get in those tough situations—and it’ll happen again at some point—they’ll be able to draw upon Saturday against A&M and have some confidence in being in a tough spot and being able to pull themselves out of it.
On the week ahead, specifically Wednesday’s match against Baylor in Waco:
It’s a tough week for us. We’ve got two very good teams that we have to go play on the road. Going back A&M, that’s why home matches are so important—it’s tough on the road. Baylor is another one of these teams like A&M in that the bulk of their main players are in their senior year. They’re an experienced, veteran group. They’re big, they’re physical, they’ve got a great setter who’s done well for them the last three years. They’ve got a great, all-conference middle, they’ve got two good outside hitters…they’re just a really good team. And they’re another team that I think, quite frankly, is underrated. I believe Baylor is a top-20 caliber team, and I think that’s where they need to be. It’s certainly going to be a tough one for us. We’re going to have to execute well. And, again for us, we’re going to have to serve and pass tough. When we do those two things, we have enough weapons that we can hang in and compete with somebody like that. But it’s going to require some high-level execution from us Wednesday.
