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NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

December 18, 2019

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

THE MODERATOR: I'd like to welcome the Baylor Bears, coach Ryan McGuyre and student-athletes Gia Milana, Yossiana Pressley, and Shelly Stafford.

RYAN McGUYRE: We're really excited, humbled, honored to be here in the Final Four. It's been a dream of us since way back in January and how we've worked.

At Baylor, we're a family, and we've just been trying to multiply the joy throughout each match and each week, and we're thankful for all the fans and the administration that supported us along the way.

We're trying to cherish each moment of this and are glad we've been able to make this season last as long as possible because we truly genuinely love one another and being together.

Q. This program just achieves first after first after first. Does it ever get old, just hearing the first semifinal appearance in Baylor history? And then kind of a follow-up, Shelly, you mentioned the buy-in comes from the top and there's a trickle-down. What's made it so easy to kind of buy into Coach Mac these past four or five years?
SHELLY STAFFORD: It never gets old hearing "first." And I hope this weekend we hear more, more firsts.

And then, yes, I definitely think it does start from the top, from the athletic director all the way down to Coach Mac, and then from us. He's truly been, like I said before, the greatest servant for all of us and truly represents servant leadership, I believe.

So just following his leadership and buying into his training and his coaching style and then the way he's been able to create the culture that he's created on this team is truly special. And if you talk to everyone on the team, they would all say the same things.

Q. Gia, can you tell me the process that you went through to transfer, like where the idea came to you? I assume after Steve took the other job. But then how you ended up at Baylor and go from there.
GIA MILANA: It's totally a God thing, because Baylor's not somewhere that I would have ever thought of going, honestly. I had never heard of Baylor, from Michigan. It's a really amazing school, big school. I had never heard of it.

So the fact that I was able to go there -- and it all kind of started with I was going through my recruiting process after I decided to open up communication. And my mom was like, Gia, you should really talk to this Baylor coach on the phone. I was like, Mom, like who is Baylor? I was like, Come on.

No offense.

But I got on the phone with Coach Mac, and he was quoting scripture and scripture that I had read the day before, just about how pain produces hope, hope produces character, just like these small things that were so huge to me.

And I just -- I needed to visit. I needed to see what his team was all about. And honestly the girls sold me completely, spending time with them. And Coach gave me to the girls all day, and just being around them, seeing how genuine they were with each other and how they loved each other so well.

And it's not just like they were just nice to each other, like, if they had a piece of ketchup on their mouth: Yo, fix that. Just little things that are special.

So that's what really, really sold me. It was like: I have to go here. I don't care if we win a national championship. I don't care if we make it to the Sweet 16. I need to go here just because I knew I would be loved and I would have a lot of fun.

RYAN McGUYRE: I knew Gia was a good fit because when she called to commit, she tried to set it up like let me down softly and played it off like: I had a horrible time. Wasn't good. Thanks, but no thanks. And I love that boldness and her ability to tease that way. It's pretty special there.

Q. Yossiana, the team has never been in this position before. Give me some thoughts on mindset going into something as big as this for the program?
YOSSIANA PRESSLEY: Honestly, I think we all feel the same about this. We've been playing many national championships all year, and we've approached every team the same, with respect, and just fighting hard for each point.

So I feel like we're prepared and we know what we have to do. So it doesn't feel necessarily different or, like Gia said, that we have to do more, because we've already been in situations like this before. And I feel like we have a great chance to show what we've got and just play for the Lord.

Q. Shelly, I know September's been a while ago, but you guys obviously faced Wisconsin and beat them in Madison. What do you remember from that match? I know both teams have obviously evolved a lot. What do you remember and what do you think you can take from that going into tomorrow night?
SHELLY STAFFORD: I remember that they're a physical team. They have a lot of offensive threats. I remember that Yossiana Pressley was jumping like she always does out of the gym. I don't know if you can consider it a jump or a fly.

And I just remember that we played really well as a team and made sure that we took care of the little things, passing where we want to pass, digging where we want to dig, serving tough.

And so I think that facing them again -- obviously they've definitely gotten better, so I think facing them again is going to be executing on the little things and just playing free and having fun.

Q. Yossi, this isn't meant to be a funny question.
YOSSIANA PRESSLEY: Okay. I won't laugh.

Q. You can. How did you get this good, and are you way better than you thought you would ever be?
YOSSIANA PRESSLEY: I should throw a laugh in there. I got good because I feel like my teammates challenged me. I feel like I wasn't truly good until probably this year, honestly. I felt like I was just stuck in my head my freshman and sophomore year, and plus leading up to college, of course. And I feel this year I've just grown so much and matured in many ways that I never thought I could.

Of course you have so many high expectations for yourself and you set these bars, and I feel like I didn't meet those until this year, even though I thought that I was way past that.

And that truly goes to just Coach Mac challenging me every day, my teammates challenging me every day to be a better person and not just a better player. So I feel like I have gotten a lot better and I feel like I can definitely grow more.

Q. Gia and Shelly, Shelly, you alluded to -- sometimes I feel like Yossiana floats. It's like she's in the air longer than anybody I see. As her teammates, especially just -- I think she's got to drive blockers crazy because she's up there, she's up there. Have you ever played with anybody who seems like they float in the air that long, and how big of a factor do you think that is and how successful she can be?
SHELLY STAFFORD: I've never seen it in my life. And seriously, I think it was last year at TCU, and she got set this ball, and she jumped, and like I was expecting her to come down, because gravity exists, but literally, like -- literally she kept going up and up, and I was like: When is she going to come down? And she snuck that thing at the line. I was like: Okay.

That was probably, like, the coolest volleyball moments ever. I was on the court, like, just watching you, and it was really, really fun. And also it hurts because she breaks your fingers. Like blocking her, if your hands are like this, she's like up here. She hits down on your fingers. So I'm like: Bro.

But I love you. Good job.

GIA MILANA: I would second that. I think Yossi is an incredible athlete. She knows the game so well. And so playing alongside of her is truly awesome. But playing against her is not as awesome. She's hard to reach.

She hits quick. Hits high. So she challenges me to max jump on everything to try to get a touch on it but still hits over me. So she definitely makes everyone around her better.

YOSSIANA PRESSLEY: Okay, you thought she was talking about me, but she was talking about herself. And Shelly is truly amazing and she literally does everything. She sets. She hits. She's a libero. And like she's just truly an all-around amazing player, and I look up to her every single day.

So all that you say about me, like I've seen that in you, and I try to do that. So you've been a great role model. I'm not just saying that because you're all here; I truly mean it.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach.

Q. You have no shortage of national championship experiences. I think you've won nine as a coach and then one as a player over at Biola. What have you learned throughout the years with each national championship, and how valuable is that with a team that hasn't been this far?
RYAN McGUYRE: I think, one, you can't take them for granted. They're very special. They're very hard to come by. And as much as I've been blessed to be a part of different ones, it's been a lot of firsts for each of those athletes that we've played with.

So it's honestly, for me, when I can look back on the first one as a player, how dear and special it was, I will get choked up when I think about the first one with the first women's team in doing that.

Those are the emotions, those are the feelings when I first started at Baylor, I wanted to be the greatest volleyball experience ever. Like part of that growth, that's what I want these athletes to be able to experience and for that to be part of their story and for them to be asked those questions, what was it like, because the lessons I've learned in those different moments have helped me, when my son almost lost his hand, when things are difficult at home or we're trying to help Shelly navigate the year that she's sitting out and doing those things.

But I also can think of the athletes and the teammates. It was just club for the national championship my senior year, but it was the devotion on the docks in Austin.

So for that reason I love playing at Texas. I know we've not won there yet as a program on Baylor's side, but to me it brings back great memories just for that alone.

So I want these athletes to have their own memories that are special and cherishable for them.

Q. What advice have you given the girls? Because they've never been in this situation before.
RYAN McGUYRE: Well, I think they addressed it. And we wanted to approach every match this year like a national championship. Courtney Thompson met with our setters a few years ago when we were doing a clinic on campus. She spoke to the setters about the hard work and relentlessness, but she also spoke to them just the first time Washington was here, their very first time in the Final Four and they did not play, they felt, to their abilities and they were kind of shocked by everything, new and different. And she went back her senior year, said: Hey, when we get here, we're going to have no regrets and be able to do that.

I've been so blessed to learn from Coach Chris Poole at Florida State, and he would probably agree that when Florida State made to it the Final Four their time there, it wasn't quite ready and they didn't show up the way they wanted to as well.

So to me a lot of that has resonated, and my hope is that we've approached every game with that type of atmosphere. It should not feel new for our athletes in this semifinal match because we've been dreaming about it. I've been trying to give them those same butterflies when we open the season at Nebraska against UCLA. The same thing when we're playing Texas at Texas, Texas at home, but also the same thing anybody else in our conference that we've played that, hey, here's how we can approach it.

So they know the pregame speech for tomorrow is going to be the same one they've heard every single time. So my hope is that it's not a new experience and they don't consider it a new experience. And like Yossi said, they've had 30 mini semifinals or Final Four-type matches going into this season.

I love the seniors so much. I don't want them to get here and realize, ah, if I only knew this we could pour this into next year in doing that. So, again, you don't know how many times you have these opportunities. So I'm trying to cherish it and be prepared for it.

Q. Just watching you guys practice, it was fun to see just how -- it's easy to see how close all the girls are, and in the press conference there, just singing "Jingle Bell Rock" and Yossi answering a question about herself, instead just complimenting Shelly the whole time. How do you foster that culture where it seems to be -- you mentioned joy a lot, and how valuable is that in the success of a team?
RYAN McGUYRE: I think it's huge because it's so closely tied to our identity. Our identity is not tied into our wins, it's not tied into our losses. It's not tied to our successes. It's not tied to our accolades.

It's what Baylor University is all about, preparing champions for life and committed to the mission of serving Jesus Christ, and He is the greatest example of being a servant leader.

And, again, we've had athletes from all different backgrounds, areas, and a big believer in diversity enhances excellence. So you want different perspectives.

And you can look at teams from all different areas of the world that I've coached in the past, but I think ultimately you attract people who are like minded. And so that's been part of the recruiting thread. It's probably scared off some really high-level athletes that just want to hear how nice our locker room is, or how quickly can we win national championships and am I going to be on TV and all these things.

And we've had those opportunities as we've been here now, but that's not on the forefront of it. So, as you listen to Gia, that's what brought her to Baylor. We weren't selling her on her success, but we were selling her on how much we're going to pour in to you. And, again, that goes back to Baylor we have departments dedicated that.

I love coaching college age. I think it's the age you define your identity, and at Baylor you're surrounded by so many people encouraging wise decisions in that.

So I think it's important at this age how you handle stress, and pressure can make or break you as you move into your career. As they're picking majors -- you've got Shelly married. We've got two girls engaged, picking spouses. I wish they'd hold off a little longer on that sometimes. But also like everybody in this tournament, where you're trying to win games and you're taking finals. And I'm yelling at them for two hours at practice and they're trying to study for an exam, getting ready to play Wisconsin, how do you handle that stuff?

That's why I love Baylor and the love that's poured into them. And as difficult as this season has been and as hopeful the triumphs are, we know that life brings its own challenges on us. And I feel very, very secure that whatever life brings this team down the road, that they're equipped to handle and know what it takes to get through that.

But more so, when they run into those people that are really impacted in such a way that they're going to be leaders and helping those people get through those times as well.

Q. The girls talked about Wisconsin a little bit, but I know it was a couple months ago that you saw them. Did you put any weight on that win early in this season, or at this point in the year is Baylor almost a completely new team from what you were in September? And is Wisconsin the same thing?
RYAN McGUYRE: It's a new match. And I think they have the advantage. You always learn more when you lose, I think, and rematches are tough. So we've learned so much in the loss from Texas that really launched us moving forward. And Coach Sheffield is such an amazing staff and coach there, I think that was maybe a disappointing weekend, but they learned so much from that, too.

So I think for both of us we scheduled the way we scheduled so we could learn things going through it. And Wisconsin has been hot. They've been pretty good ever since.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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