|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN VOLLEYBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 20, 2014Kelly SheffieldCOACH SHEFFIELD: Just getting back from an interesting week playing the same opponent twice. You know, being able to sweep a really good team in six games, I think we were certainly happy to see that. It's kind of interesting how each match takes a life of its own. The first one at their place, outside hitters went off, and Kelli Bates, Ellen Chapman, Courtney Thomas, those three were hitting for really high numbers. Our offense, a few nights later, very different, our middles get going. Pretty big night. That's the type of team we have. And fortunately we're able to be able to play those types of games. This week coming in, Iowa, they've got a new staff in and a new style and looks like they're starting to take off a little bit. They go five with an excellent Illinois team earlier in the week and then take up their first win against Northwestern, who is just outside the top 25. They've got to be feeling really good about themselves. They look really good on film. Certainly a lot better than what we've seen a year ago. And then Nebraska later on at the end of the week. And we know how talented, very talented they are. So we're excited about this week. We're excited about getting back in the gym. Q. Iowa improving the last two weeks, what have you seen in them from earlier in the year as they're progressing, where are they getting better? COACH SHEFFIELD: Like I said, it's a new style. New coach and I've known him for a long time. He does a great job. He's trying to quicken up the offense. So they've got a lot of different looks. They're running a lot of double slides and just takes some time to play the style he's wanting to play. They're playing hard. They're playing with a lot of energy. But offensively, they're just running things a lot quicker, a lot more diverse, and you can tell it's starting to take hold. Q. Your third sellout of the season this weekend, attempt to open up that upper deck or what? COACH SHEFFIELD: Yeah, if we can get that in the next 48 hours that would be fantastic. It's great. It's cool. People are‑‑ it's starting to become a hard ticket. And we're real excited about that. What I was real excited about this past weekend not only selling out but the student support there. I mean, they were packed. They were loud. Energetic. I think they were starting to come along as well. And man that makes all of us really excited. Q. You have a lot of talented players. Is it difficult to juggle; obviously you play a lot of kids a lot of minutes. But there are others that are continuing to battle throughout the week. Is that tough to juggle that and try to find them some time? COACH SHEFFIELD: Probably no. I'm not‑‑ I don't know if I'm trying to find anybody time. I think everybody, time is in practice. And we stat everything in practice. And the people that are getting it done on a consistent basis in practice, they're going to find a way in the lineup. I think Caroline Workman was a great example. She was someone that wasn't getting a whole lot of court time early on in the season. And her passing numbers just kept getting better and better defensively and her confidence in how she carried herself and serving kept getting better. We're tracking that. When we got in the Big Ten season now she's getting a lot more playing time. But it wasn't something that I was looking to necessarily get her more time. It was her performance on a daily basis is what earned it. Q. Looking ahead to Nebraska. Cook obviously has history here. What's your relationship with him over the years, how well do you know him and your appreciation for what he's done as a coach over the years? COACH SHEFFIELD: We've got a great relationship. I've got a lot of respect for him. He's helped me out on numerous occasions when I've called and just asking for some advice or help. He's been extremely helpful in that. Hopefully when he comes in here sees that new display in the fieldhouse that brings back some good memories. He was a part of a lot of great programs, championship programs here. And he had a very positive impact on this program here and we're proud of that. I think he's a great coach. He's built an unbelievable program and incredible fan base that we're trying to emulate that as far as what they've done. Tremendous commitment to the sport there at Nebraska and he's helped to get everybody energized. Nothing but respect. Q. You outblock Minnesota and you're ranked 11th in the league in blocks. Are you sneaky defensive team at the net? How would you characterize the way you play there as far as the way blocks are concerned? COACH SHEFFIELD: Great question. Blocks is one of those funny things you can do everything right and make the right read, be in the right position, penetrate, all of those things, and get nothing for it. And then a play later you can just be wildly out of control, throw your hands up there, and the hitter just hits them. And you get credit for that. So it's one of those tricky stats. We look a little bit more of how we're doing overall defensively. What are we allowing our opponents to hit. Because we think our block and our back court work together in synergy. With that I think we're being more disciplined with our blocks, with our hands, cleaning up our footwork. Assistant coach Gary White has done a great job with our middles. And I think our wing blockers are doing a lot better job with their hand positioning. But it's funny. When we were toward the bottom of the league, I would have considered us one of the worst blocking teams. Now that we're up there in the top 3 I want to consider us one of the best blocking teams now because the numbers say it. It's an area we're spending a lot of time on and we're getting better. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|