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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN VOLLEYBALL MEDIA CONFERENCESeptember 9, 2013Kelly SheffieldTHE MODERATOR: The volleyball team is a perfect 6‑0 on the season. Head Coach Kelly Sheffield is here. We'll have opening comments and take questions. COACH SHEFFIELD: We started out this past weekend playing against a really good Northern Iowa team, fell behind 0‑2. Came back and won that in five. We made a small adjustment or lineup between two and three that I thought really paid off. We moved Ellen from the right side to the left side and Courtney Thomas from the left to the right. First match, collegiate match for Lauren Carlini, and I thought she got a little bit stronger as the match went on. I think that was about the first time in about ten years that we've come back after being down 0‑2. I just thought we gutted it out and grinded and kind of stayed with it. Following match, we played North Dakota State and made a lot of adjustments with our lineup. We've still got some injured kids that we're trying to protect a little bit. Three matches in 24 hours was a little bit‑‑ was a little bit more than what all of us felt comfortable, including the doctors, with some of them. So we threw out kind of a hodge‑podge group there, kind of grinded out a four‑game win. And then Louisville, 17th ranked team in the country. We came out and really happy, really impressed with the way that we started out the match. We kind of took it to them, came out of the locker room, really took it to them. And probably more important than that is that we didn't let our foot off the gas, and we kept going and kept going. Those were things that we talked about, you know, that toughness. Are you able to come back from 0‑2? Are you able, when you jump onto somebody, to keep the pressure on? I thought it was a really good weekend for us. Coming up, we've got a heck of a test. Kansas, first home match. That will‑‑ that's a team that returns everybody but one starter from a top ten RPI team. We know we've got our hands full against a really good Kansas team. And Milwaukee on Saturday morning, they almost‑‑ they went head‑to‑head with a really good Creighton team, who I think is about 14th in the country or so, and almost up‑ended them. And then Bowling Green. Bowling Green is a lot better than what their record shows. They took out BYU in the opening weekend, and I think they were about 10th or 11th in the country. So we've got our hands full at home. We're excited to be back in front of our home crowd. Q. As you're trying to build something here, what's the significance and importance of beating a ranked team decisively? COACH SHEFFIELD: You know, it‑‑ we're going to take every win that we can get, but, you know, Louisville's a really good team. I felt we came ready to play. We executed the game plan. I think we want to be a team that just continues to climb, and that's‑‑ so it's‑‑ I think it's another thing to check off. We feel like‑‑ I think our players are believing more and more every time that we go out and we take the court, that we can be a really good team this year, and I think that's half the battle in athletics is you're trying to get your team to believe that they can accomplish things and maybe they're not quite sure. And I think, when you jump out as quick as what we did against that team‑‑ and we know that they're talented. Our players know the athletes on that side of the net‑‑ I think they're starting to believe. I think they're getting more and more excited because they see that things are‑‑ that their teammates next to them are willing to grind and when their backs are against the wall, and I think that makes it even more exciting. I think what they're really fired up about is getting in the gym because we've had so little bit of practice with our core group of players. I think the possibilities, I think, they're starting to see. You know, that was one of the things on our flight home that you're hearing the players talk, and just think what's going to happen once we get in the practice gym. I don't think I've ever been around a team that's more excited about practicing than what this group is right now. Q. Kelly, do you believe you inherited a mentally tough team, or do you believe that that's been cultivated here in the first couple of weeks‑‑ first couple months of your tenure? COACH SHEFFIELD: I think we've got a lot of players that are very mentally tough. I'm not sure they that were exactly all on the same page for whatever reason. I think they're getting to be a little bit more on the same page. As to mental toughness, we haven't had a choice. We've been so beaten up, so many players that have been out, is that sometimes that forces you to maybe be tougher. It certainly has in our case. We've talked about, since the first day we got here, is that I think great teams are teams that embrace adversity, and they don't run from it. Sometimes that's easy to talk about, especially if you're not‑‑ that adversity is not coming out in front of you, it's a nice slogan, but this team has really had‑‑ they've had it. So you have a choice right there. You either hit it head on, or you run away from it. I think we've gotten a little bit tougher as what we've gone, but I think they've done a really good job of‑‑ they've had each other's backs. They've been very open to the adjustments that we've had to make on the fly. I don't know. That's a tricky question. I just know that we're probably a little bit tougher than what we were a month ago, and we'd better be a whole lot tougher a month from now than what we are today. Q. This team hasn't won a match after losing the first two sets in ten years. How significant is that, and is that a scenario where you could see that being like a moment where the‑‑ you kind of flip the switch and say, And we can do just about anything? COACH SHEFFIELD: I think it's huge. I think it's huge because you're going to get‑‑ you're going to be in other matches down the road where you fall behind or you're facing somebody that is really hot early, and you have that confidence of knowing, all right, we've done this before, and we're able to do it again. That was big for that match, but the payoff down the road, we‑‑ you know, we're there between games two and three, and I'm talking to them as, all right‑‑ I didn't know how long it had been. I knew it had been five or six years. So that's what we said. Hey, when you're back's against the wall, when you're down 0‑2, I look at it as opportunity, and we have the opportunity of being able to really do something special here. When these players, they've never done it once, they're just kind of hanging on this thing that you're throwing out there, but now once you've proven that you've been able to do it against a quality opponent, now you've got real confidence that you've got some experience of, yes, I remember what that felt like. I remember every point and how the urgency that had to come through and how we had to kind of do stuff together. I think it's really important to be able to do that against a quality opponent. Q. Kelly, what do you want the home fans to notice most about your team? COACH SHEFFIELD: I want them to notice, so I hope we can fill the place. I think our team is playing with a lot of energy right now. I think we're playing together. I think we're scrapping like crazy. Defensively, we're playing really, really hard. I think they're going to notice that we're a work in progress. I mean, it's very, very clear. We're giving away points at times that just because the lack of familiarity. So I think people are going to come, and I think they're going to like how hard we're playing, but hopefully they're walking out saying this team's got potential to be a lot better once they get in the gym together. Q. Kelly, would you describe yourself as a hard‑nosed coach? COACH SHEFFIELD: That's probably a better question for my players. I don't know. It's‑‑ I think successful teams are teams that are disciplined, and they play together with enthusiasm. So if we're not doing that, I would say that, yeah, those teams and those players would say that I'm probably pretty tough to be around, and if we're doing those things at a very high level, then they probably feel like it's not that difficult. We talk about standards a lot. I don't want players to ever come into the gym and worry about what kind of mood I'm in. Too many players waste too much energy on that. The best thing I can do is come in with a consistency with how I go about things, and that standard or that bar be very high. It doesn't matter at the beginning of the season, end of the season, Monday, Thursday, whatever. But hopefully as we go through that season, that bar just keeps on rising. If your discipline is lacking, if your effort is lacking, if your enthusiasm and passion and your ability to work together as a team is lacking, then, yeah, I would say they would probably say that I'm probably pretty hard‑nosed. Q. Kelly, what kind of a fan experience did you leave to come here? What sort of atmosphere would you like to see, that you enjoy coaching in? COACH SHEFFIELD: I think we've got the potential of having‑‑ it's a good place here already. The Field House is known throughout the country as having an unbelievable fan base, probably a little bit more so five, six years ago. Hopefully, we can bring that back. But I know people are passionate about this sport around here. I want it to be the best in the country. I want that‑‑ I want the Field House rocking. I want it to be a place that's family friendly and get the students back here and get them rocking that place. Yeah, the place I left was‑‑ had a great student following, great community following. This is‑‑ the community here, it does not‑‑ it doesn't‑‑ it's second to none. They do a really, really good job. We'd like to get the students back here a little bit more, like that place to be loud. We need them. But, hopefully, we're playing a style of volleyball that the fans get excited about, that they want to cheer. THE MODERATOR: Anything else for Coach? Thanks, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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