Volleyball

Wisconsin vs. Ohio State Postgame

Coach and player quotes

Volleyball

Wisconsin vs. Ohio State Postgame

Coach and player quotes



Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
Opening Statement:  "First of all, I thought defensively we were pretty solid tonight, front court and back court, we were getting quite a few stuff blocks tonight. (We were) finishing our blocks and the back court was fighting back there, which is good because this is a team that really gives you a whole lot of different looks. They're running a lot of different plays at you, and this team, probably about as much as anybody that we'll see all year, you really got to have your eyes because they're just changing things so much. I thought we did a really good job defensively.

"I thought Lauren (Carlini) did a great job of setting and making really great decisions all night. Romana (Kriskova) got going early on and offensively she got a lot of kills and hits were a pretty high percentage in that first set. That really paid off. Good match, we obviously got another one tomorrow that is exactly what this one does." 

On if Carlini had a lot of options offensively: "But you kept it balanced. (Kelli) Bates hit for a pretty high percentage, but most of the stuff that she was getting and Molly (Haggerty) was getting was a lot of junk stuff. She hit for a pretty high percentage with not a lot of balls consistently going to her. That's a big number on any night to hit .333, but most of it was she was the only person it could go to."

Senior setter Lauren Carlini
On if she had the most options offensively: "I think we came in with a great game plan. Kelly said earlier, 'You don't have to keep this even offense,' but I think I still kept it pretty even, sorry."

"Yeah, I think again with the offense we had a lot of options. We took care of the ball and it felt pretty effortless to be able to set people and everyone was very efficient tonight so it makes my job a lot easier."

On getting a huge momentum swing off long rally:
"When people are scrapping really hard and our side is battling and their side is battling, whoever win's that point is going to get the momentum. What I liked about that is we got back to work right away. We celebrated – it was great – but then we cleaned the floor and got back to work. It's not this celebratory thing, it was 'okay that was cool, let's get this serve in and defend hard'.

On playing in the Field House after a spur of away games:
"We ran out of the tunnel at 40 minutes and everyone just started smiling and looking at each other saying, 'This is so much fun being back here,', just because the fan base is so awesome. The support and having everyone here and being back in the Field House is just a great feeling."

Junior Kelli Bates
On her comfort level on the court:  "It's a little different considering I am older and I have to make sure I'm carrying this load and I have to make sure that I'm kind of living up to what I need to. It's not different. This is where I'm supposed to be, but if I ever needed to go back to libero, obviously I would make that change. But, this is where I'm supposed to be and this is what I think is going to be best and kind of what like Kelly and Lauren have been saying, she spreads the offense so well that I do the job when I need to and if not someone else is going to get it done. That's just kind of who we are though."

 On tying career-high seven blocks:
"It was really fun. Honestly, a couple of them I was able to read and a couple of them I was able to get with the experience I have. I'm more able to adjust to hectic situations. If their setter sets them really tight, I know where to line up; versus when I was a freshman and didn't know those kinds of things. That's where I think experience and being an upper classman comes in handy."

 On getting key aces tonight:
"I've been working on my serve a lot. I haven't been killing myself over getting a good serve but every time we serve in practice or every time we're doing mental things, I just try to lock in as much as I can and put myself in game-like situations. I always try to be unpredictable with where I go but also consistent."

On feeding off the crowd energy:
"The one play that Lauren got the kill on and Molly had a bunch of ridiculous saves, it was so loud that I almost couldn't hear anything. Everybody was just screaming and running around. It was so crazy. Those kinds of momentum shifts make it so much easier for us to keep the momentum going. The Field House makes a huge difference."
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Players Mentioned

Kelli Bates

#4 Kelli Bates

OH
5' 11"
Junior
Bradley, Ill.

Players Mentioned

Kelli Bates

#4 Kelli Bates

5' 11"
Junior
Bradley, Ill.
OH