UofL volleyball beats Pitt in 5 sets, heads to NCAA Championship for first time ever (2024)

Okay, right. Yeah. Hi. Oh yeah, no, Like two hours passed. No, Yeah, no. Mhm anna claire Danny. That's cool. All right. Welcome to our press conference with Louisville. *** reminder everyone please. No video recording of press conferences and please silence your cell phones. Coach bus, boom kelly. If you would please start with an opening statement. Uh, clearly very proud of this team and um, historic moment for our program. Um, but man, you know, going into this match, we knew we were gonna have to work really hard pit is an incredibly hard team to beat. And even when you feel like you're, you have them beat, they will always find *** way back in the match. So I was just proud of how we came out in game five and um, finally we didn't let them back in that set. So, um, just really gritty performance by our players. We'll take questions now for coach and the student athletes, please raise your hand. If you have *** question, give your name, affiliation and direct your question. My name please Lincoln Omaha. And you're at the service line to start that fifth. What's going through your mind and as you keep serving, serving. How's it feeling back there? Um, I always think start strong first ones in and then getting my rhythm and um, just trusting my training, we serve every day. It's all mental and I knew if I could just be aggressive and get them out of system at the very beginning of that match, it would help us *** lot defensively and offensively. So I just really wanted to get *** nice serve going and just end up being more than I expected, but I'm okay with that steven johnson usa volleyball claire, uh you competed with the collegiate national team this summer. How did that experience prepare you for this moment and for this season while I was there on California, I learned *** lot, especially on the passing aspect. Um but the the coaches that were there just, I don't know, they just like taught me so much and with my passing, I do *** little like three step shuffle now, so I learned that and to just go after it like big moments, you just gotta go for it amy just Lincoln general star Danny, very emotional moment for everybody after this one. Um I mean, what does it mean to you to take this team to the final? Well, I mean it's something you hope you have the opportunity to do as *** coach. So you know, it's like we want to make *** difference in young women's lives and we want to compete to win and you hope that you're on this stage and just to be able to capitalize on the opportunity and to be able to take advantage of the moment is just incredibly special and we talk about, you know, out teaming out working everybody and in that game five, I just heard of saying we will not lose, we will out team um pit and it was definitely *** special moment. Yeah, I'm *** vocal at ESPN dot com coach um after that fourth set was anything you said, I mean it's just sort of incredible to go on the run you guys did in the fifth set and, and have you seen anything quite like that at *** match at this level? I don't, it wasn't anything that I said, honestly, we have some inside jokes on this team that will remain inside and we, we talked about that in game after game four and I just felt them all loosen up and I knew they were ready for for the moment and I've not seen that in *** match like this and you know, it felt like that we could have done that, but it's just again, so good, we could have went on runs in that match and thank God we finally did it in Game five Kendrick ask is waving Louisville and after falling in this exact round last year, where was this whole year like? And what's the, what's the feeling now after going through that for one year? We've been there before last year and we know that feeling and we know how hard, how hard it is to get there and how much it hurts after that loss. Um, so I think this whole year, that's been our goal and the team has been on the same page since the very beginning and made it known that we want to win *** national championship and it's gonna take *** lot of effort and *** lot of hard work to get there and just seeing the team come out tonight. Um It's one game at *** time. It's taken so many hard matches. We've had some adversity. We've had *** lot of this whole tournament and just to be able to take it one step further and be the first ***. C. C. School in the final. I mean I literally don't even know what to say. It's it's *** dream mike patterson, Omaha world herald, Danny talk about the block. That is *** P. K. Number 10 put up at the uh early on in that fifth sent yeah we were teasing her in the locker room and she tipped that ball behind herself. I was *** little worried how she would come out in *** game five but Um she just got her hands over. I mean she just trusted it and followed the scout perfectly and she executed so it was pretty incredible comeback after *** couple of really bonehead plays in game four. So um that's what *** great player does and somebody who's really confident and in themselves and um it was *** great moment for her. Um Ritchie Szymanowski for the pit news coach. Um I just want you to talk to the state of the ***. C. C. Obviously two consecutive years where two teams make it to the final four now. First team ever going to *** national championship. What does it say about the quality of the conference and do you think it's here to stay? Yeah. You know the ***. C. C. Keeps getting better and better and is attracting you know really great athletes and keeping really great coaches in the conference and um I think last year you know we hear all the noise that all the ***. C. C. Isn't as good and that was *** fluke and for us and pit to make it back again um is really impressive and of course I think it's here to stay and hopefully some other teams will keep getting better. Uh Dominic Campbell pistol sports now coach. I wanted to know what does this rivalry mean to you as *** head coach and what's your relationship like with dan fisher? He's told me before this is *** friendly rivalry. Would you agree with that? I would I always say I like dan *** lot off the court. I don't like coaching against him though. I think that's pretty friendly. But um no we we were texting *** little bit after pit beat Wisconsin and I I we just said congrats on the ***. C. C. And we I said you know what we call it, we call the absolutely crushed conference because us and pit we just go at it. We know both of us are gonna be swinging away. Um But this rivalry means *** lot and I think it's made both of our programs so much stronger and there's just *** lot of respect between our programs and that makes it fun. It's fun to know that we're gonna play them twice *** year and it's gonna be *** battle and we're gonna get pushed every time. Claire talk about the end of the third day, what happened there to allow you all to come back and kind of close that out and put you in *** position to eventually win the match in the third set. I feel like something that we don't talk about *** lot but is much appreciated and respected. Our team is the depth in our lineup. We can put anyone out there and I think having Aiden come in in big moments and rush without them. Like we wouldn't be in this position and also Elena and beer going on there runs with aces and everything like that. I think that's what helped push us to win kevin suits channel 10 and Lincoln Danny as expected. You guys had *** lot of the crowd behind your team tonight. What does it mean to you? All the love that was expressed towards you and your players tonight, especially in *** match that went five. It means *** lot and you know, I saw *** quote from somebody probably on twitter, I said, you know, Nebraska doesn't forget their own and um, I was hoping they'd be behind us and it just feels good to know that, um, it's not just the people of Louisville that love this team and we can go out of state and still gain *** lot of love. And I'm pretty excited because I will be really surprised if any nebraskans are cheering for texas on saturday time for *** few more questions, adding miners with w okay y in Louisville. Um, this is for you coach. I know that you have the potential to be the first woman to, you know, win, uh, coach to win national championship. So talk kind of about that, what that means to, you know, get that milestone and be able to have *** run at that obviously that extra added motivation for saturday, I'm gonna repeat *** little bit, you know, of what I said, and I've been asked this question *** lot and got asked *** lot last year and just, you know, last year I didn't really want to talk about it. I just wanted to be *** coach. You know, why are we talking about *** female coach? And then this year, I think my mindset has switched and it's like, yeah, why are we talking about *** female coach being the first one to win it? And that's got to change. And I think having *** kid and um, just doing this again and be able to be successful with the child. It just means, it means *** lot to me and what's really special is to see how supportive this team is. And so if I need to leave earlier than usual or if I have to give more load to my assistants, they understand and they are supportive of that. And I don't know, I set it to and there's plenty of love and time for these teams and my family. So, um, very means *** lot. One more question down here. Yeah. And on that same note, what does that mean to you and your team that you're playing for? *** female coach who has *** chance to make history? I mean, Danny has just done so much for this program and when I first committed to Louisville, um, under her, I trusted in her and knew that she could take this program to new heights. And just to see the growth that she's done and all she's done for us. Um she's *** badass. Somebody said it before and I'll say it again. Um she knows what she wants, She makes us work hard. We want to work hard for her and just to see um how well we're doing and we give credit to the coaches and her and um, it's gonna be special in that final and we want to do it for the coaches, do it for Danny and do it for each other. All right, thank you everybody. *** recording of this press conference will be available in the N. C. *** digital media hub. Transcripts are provided by ***. S. ***. P. And will be posted there shortly, Kourtney right here. Courtney is right here publish these are the final year. Is that the fighting the ultimate positive? Yes, we're joined now by Pittsburgh Coach fisher. If you would, please start with an opening statement, man, what *** game, what *** season these young women had. You know, we we weren't quite, you know, up to our standards offensively and you know, and our passing was streaky, so it was theirs, um, but I was just so, so proud of our heart in the fourth set. You know, we just uh we just hung in there and and found *** way to win and um, you know, it didn't go our way today, but just incredibly proud of of this group and okay, and especially the seniors, we'll take questions now for coach and the student athletes, please give your name affiliation and state your question is for hey dan, Noah Hiles, Pittsburgh post gazette, uh you know, *** common theme today was you guys would fall behind early time out would be taken and all of *** sudden *** run? What happened, I mean, what was discussed in those timeouts? It couldn't have been just all scheme, Was it, was it just more motivation? What what really happened there? I don't know if it was the time outside, we have *** tough team, um, you know, I saw certainly better to start *** set out in the lead and falling behind it and help us, but I just think, um, I just think we showed *** lot of heart and *** lot of ability to reset when things weren't going our way. Coach, Mike Patterson Omaha World herald, just uh, what didn't go right for the panthers in that fifth set? Well, you know, like I said that the surpass was streaky and you know, Louisville had *** very um aggressive slash risky serving plan and uh, you know, and it definitely worked in the fifth set and it'll be interesting to see, uh, you know, if they, if, if that works against texas, uh, this for Courtney Greg Echlin from W. E. S. *** in Pittsburgh in your one season with the panthers, what will you take away from this experience? I mean, it's crazy. I've only been here for seven months, it hasn't been *** whole year. Um, but I think I've learned so much volleyball wise about myself and just volleyball in general that I think I've grown as *** player to hopefully now have *** nice career professionally. Um, I guess that starts now. Um, but I think the biggest thing is just caring and yeah, caring for what I do and the people around me and how much that impacts me personally. And then the team in general question for both players here? Obviously there's *** sting that comes with losing and ending your season, but was your team able to appreciate the success that had this season and how far it got after the loss? Was there any talk about you know, pride in making it back to the final four? Yeah, we did just talk about how we are first stump was making it past the sweet 16 and now our new trial and there's making it past the final four. So that's like *** it's not like *** terrible problem to have. Obviously we're struggling to have perspective right now but we we do have some pride about what we did this year and last year, steve Berkowitz from USA today uh for the coach. Could you the way that Louisville seemed to come around in terms of blocking uh particularly in the last set and sort of back end of the fourth set. Um I'm just curious what you make of what they were doing, what you were doing, how that sort of unfolded in that fashion where they were blocking as many shots as they were. Yeah. I mean it starts with our passing game and We're *** team that takes big rips. But when they're when you're constantly swinging from 20 ft off the net, it's um it's *** challenge and and they got *** few in the 5th and it was, it didn't go our way anyone else have questions. Okay thank you everybody recording of this press conference will be available in the N. C. ***. Digital media hub transcripts are provided by ASAP and will be posted shortly.