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NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPDecember 12, 2018Kevin HamblyTami AladeMeghan McClureMinneapolis, Minnesota THE MODERATOR: At this time we welcome the Stanford Cardinal. We will start with opening comments from Coach. KEVIN HAMBLY: First, I want to congratulate all the teams that made it here. It's exciting. I think it's going to be great volleyball. There's four really good teams that have had great seasons. I think we're all excited to see how it plays out. From a Stanford standpoint, this is what we've been shooting for, fighting for since we lost our match last year in Kansas City. Always focused on trying to get back here and do it right. It's good we put ourselves in this position. We're excited to try to do it the right way this time. We're excited to playing BYU. We know it's going to be a great match, they have great players. We had a tough loss to them at their place earlier. I think we're looking forward to trying to make that right, as well. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes. Q. Meghan, can you talk a little bit about your development as a hitter before you came to Stanford and in the last year at Stanford. MEGHAN McCLURE: Before I was at Stanford, I faced a lot smaller blockers and people weren't nearly as athletic. So coming in my freshman year, it was a big change for me to be a bit of a smaller outside, which I hadn't experienced before, to be facing blockers that were super athletic, jumped really high, were much taller than me. But over the course of last year, especially during off-season, we worked a lot against our block, which is one of the best in the nation. We still had our 6'8" Merete Lutz practicing with us in the spring, Tami, Courtney, all our wonderful blockers. I worked on being smart with my shots, smarter not harder, focused on swinging high rather than down, because that's not going to work for me. It's a great thanks to my team, the teammates I have. Q. For both players. The last two years with Kevin, what is it that he brought that allowed this team to get back to this level both seasons? TAMI ALADE: Kevin is an incredible coach. I think he really emphasizes us being competitive always when we step into the gym, really working to compete. Then I think he also is really great at creating objectives, tangible goals that especially as student-athletes, students at Stanford, really type A, having the tangible things, tangible goals I think allows us to have something to work toward. This year a big thing we've been trying to focus on is really, really improving our pass-serve game, also working on defensive effort. I think constantly being in the gym and forcing us to think about those things, keeping our minds on track I think is really, really good. Then also because Kevin was a player himself, I learned this fun fact the other day, when he played, he was the number one blocker in the country. I think he brings that perspective, too. So when I'm not making a good blocking move, he knows as a blocker and player himself things that I need to change. He's able to explain it in a way that is really, really understandable. MEGHAN McCLURE: Kevin brings out the best in all of us. Since he's come to Stanford, I think all of us have improved tenfold. He's just really good at that. He also prepares us like no one else can for our matches. We know more about the opposing team than we might know about ourselves. He's very, very good at creating a game plan that will help us to win. Q. Tami, when you played BYU the first time, the match ended, what did you say to yourself in terms of, we should have done this or that, if we play them again, we're going to do this or that. TAMI ALADE: I think we weren't proud of the way we started that game. It is a crazy environment. We went into it knowing it would be crazy. But I think it intimidated us more than it should from the get-go. We played slow. We were making bad moves. With the block, we weren't pressing. We weren't closing the ways we wanted to. I think third and fourth sets we were able to make that switch, but it was a little too late. They had all that momentum from the start. I think one of our big things is those first five points come tomorrow just being ready from the get-go. Q. Tami, Meghan talked a little bit earlier about being a little bit on the small side in today's game. Can you talk about in this Final Four we have some different types with Kathryn being the biggest, Meghan maybe a little undersized, Roni being a little undersized. As a blocker, what is that like when you're facing those different types of hitters? TAMI ALADE: For sure. I think every hitter has their own specialty. Meghan, even though she's a little smaller, she's so fast. We set a faster ball to her, so it makes it difficult because of the speed, just trying to close. With Roni, she gets a faster set. Hitters have gotten really good at adjusting based on I wouldn't call them limitations, but based on what they have. As a blocker, it's just recognizing. So for Meghan, she's going to get a faster set, I have to be better about closing and read the setter so I can close those blocks. Bigger hitters like Plummer, I have to make sure I'm not reaching to the ball height, because it is a higher set, be good about preparation. I think that comes with the preparation Kevin gives us, seeing what each hitter brings to the table and adjusting the block for the specialty. Q. Meghan, the match you had against Penn State, it seemed like it was a little bit of a slow start, but then it seemed like things clicked. Can you reflect back on that, both for you individually and the team as a whole. MEGHAN McCLURE: Kevin talked before and during the game about are we going to be the attackers or are we going to be attacked. I think during the first game, even almost till the end of the second game, we were the ones being attacked. We weren't the ones putting pressure on Penn State in any way, whether it be serving, making smart shots defensively. At the end, towards the end of the second game, we turned it on and decided we need to be the attackers. I think that's where it changed. We didn't let fear dominate it any more, decided to put it on Penn State and make them earn it. Q. They have married players on BYU's team. Can you imagine yourselves being married and playing college volleyball right now? MEGHAN McCLURE: No (laughter). THE MODERATOR: Thank you to the student-athletes. We will continue with questions for Coach. Q. Coach, about Meghan's development as a hitter, talk about that. In some ways she balances what you do with Kathryn. KEVIN HAMBLY: I mean, she's totally different. So we have a completely different approach about how she attacks, going about it, even the way she looks at it. That's really a credit to Jenna, to be able to set a totally different ball. From in system to out of system, serve-receive, they're doing different things. Jenna is really good at managing that. From Meghan's standpoint, she had a lot of things technically that a lot of high school players have that were getting in her way. Two weeks before we start playing, she had to compete for us right away. It was nice to have that spring to work on -- winter and spring to work on the technical stuff. She was equipped to kind of make the changes we needed her to make. She embraced all that. The big motivator was last year, especially out of system, she really struggled. She didn't struggle against everybody, but she really struggled in the big matches. I thought she did a lot better job. She did a great job against Penn State, who is a great out-of-system blocking team. A credit to the hard work she's put in. Q. You came here with Illinois the first time, then came last year with Stanford. What have you personally learned, especially from last year to this year? KEVIN HAMBLY: I think the first time you come, you don't realize like this, that we're going to be on this tower looking down on you guys in this awkward space. You learn all the ESPN stuff. You just don't know any of that. It's a lot. To be totally honest, we were prepared up until the semifinal. I didn't feel like we were prepared for the final. I got the information about what would happen in the semi and I never followed through. We weren't ready as coaches. It's a big show. You don't really know what you're getting into until you're into it. The second time when I came last year, I was prepared for that. I think the difference is more about my knowledge of the players, my understanding of what these guys, what makes them tick. They're being more comfortable with me. This feels the same as it did last year. Q. When you left Illinois January 2017 for Stanford, have the two years there been what you thought they would be, what you expected, completely different? KEVIN HAMBLY: I mean, my expectations were that it would be a great program with great support, great staff, and the team was going to be a talented team that we'd be able to coach, all that. So, yeah, that's met my expectations. What's exceeded my expectation is living in Palo Alto, being on campus, what Stanford is, kind of the humility combined with the achievement that takes place there. It's really unique. There's these people doing these amazing things. They're just very humble. I'm not comparing it to anywhere else, but I wasn't sure if it would be some kind of high-brow, looking down people's noses at each other. You know it's kind of an Ivy League institution. It's completely the opposite of that, where it's this really humble, really casual, high-achieving place. I really didn't know what I was getting into there. I just love being there. I love being a part of the program. Q. When you played them the first time, they had Miller. Of course, she's not there now. What does the subsequent lineup changes do for you in terms of scouting? Are they that much different? KEVIN HAMBLY: Their system is the same. They use the players very similarly. They lose a little bit of depth on the right side because they would mix up the right side attack a little bit, at least earlier on in the season. I think the changes that Miller had some different tendencies than No. 3. I don't know her name, I'm sorry that I don't know her name. I haven't got to the name part of the scouting report yet. I know her tendencies. She has a few different tendencies. She has a little bit less size, but she's super dynamic. She scores. To me they haven't missed a beat, they side out the same, serve well, a well-coached volleyball team. I'm expecting the same kind of battle. Q. You recruited essentially the entire Illinois team. When you added Jordyn, Ali, Beth in 2015, was this what you envisioned? KEVIN HAMBLY: Yeah, we knew we'd have a couple years where we'd struggle. I talked to Josh about that when I got hired in '16. I thought they'd be back in the mix. It's not easy, because there's a lot that goes into that. Chris and his staff have done a great job. I only coached those kids for three semesters. I've known them since freshmen, recruited that group except for Fletcher. I know them well. I thought Chris has done a great job of maximizing their potential, getting the most out of those seniors especially. You hope it would get there. It's nice to see them here. I'm excited for them. Q. You mentioned how well-coached BYU is. Heather wasn't head coach, but a couple years ago made it to a final, has moved into the head coaching role. How well do you know her? How much do you chat? Your thoughts on what she's been able to do there? KEVIN HAMBLY: Yeah, I've known Heather for a long time, since she was a college player, right around that time. Her sister played at BYU when I was at BYU. I mean, her twin was dating my cousin for a while. So I've known her pretty well. She came out and hung out with us I think for a week at Illinois, and we talked volleyball. I was just super impressed with her. I mean, it's impressive and it's not surprising she's doing what she's doing there. She's curious, honest, she asks herself and staff great questions to try to get better. She's super committed, creates a great culture. This is no surprise she's doing what she's doing. I don't know, I'm a huge fan of Heather. I think she's going to have a brilliant career. Obviously it's four years and it's already a brilliant career. I'm looking forward to what she does with that program for a long, long time. As a former BYU player, I saw BYU what it was at its peak. When she went to the Final Four the first time, I was at school there. To see that program back, being competitive every year, it's good for the soul, good for my heart. I still love that place. Q. When you mentioned the atmosphere at Stanford being different than what you expected, did that make it more of a fit for you? KEVIN HAMBLY: I would want to think so. I don't know. I think for me, the decision was about a good move for my family, my wife, my kids. It wasn't just about, was it a good fit for me. I was hoping they would think I'm a good fit. You don't really know till you're in there. So far it feels like it is. The move, being in California, being back closer to my family, the schools are amazing in Palo Alto. A lot of things go into the decision that have nothing to do with the volleyball player and the volleyball. It has more to do with life, where we want to be. We loved Champaign. We loved it there. A really hard decision to leave. We felt like the right move for us at that time, especially with a child that has special needs, the support that we started to look deeper at the schools she would go to, all of a sudden that became kind of the clarifying thing and a no-brainer to leave. I don't think people think about that or talk about that when they talk about coaching moves. They think about how many matches can you win. There's a lot more that goes into it. I don't know if that was my decision. That was more Mary, This is too good to pass up, we got to go. Q. When you're looking at the bracket, I don't know if you look at this because you're focused on winning your regional, there was a thought this Final Four would have a hometown team. Does that change anything in terms of the dynamic of what you thought you might have to face or not something really in your mind? KEVIN HAMBLY: It wasn't the main focus. But to look at that and see what it was like in Omaha, when Nebraska was there, you know it would be similar to that, that the crowd would be here, it would be a great environment. You want great environments. You want to play in front of great environments. I think our team would be fired up if there were a bunch of Minnesota fans. I think the advantage would be if it was at the Pav. That would be different in front of five thousand. Here it's not going to feel like a home court to anybody. I think that makes it a little bit where it's not controversial to have the host team in the Final Four. Now if we played in the Pav, that would be a totally different deal, a nightmare. This feels like any other place. It feels like Kansas City or San Antonio or Louisville, whatever. I don't think it's that big of an advantage, except for the crowd, and that would be great. THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you. Good luck. KEVIN HAMBLY: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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