NCAA First Round - Post-Match Quotes: Hawai‘i
Illinois 3, Hawai‘i 2
NCAA First Round - Post-Game Quotes
Head coach Robyn Ah Mow-Santos
Opening thoughts
I’m proud of my team for coming back down 2-0 and to keep fighting. Hats off to Illinois, good luck to them. They kept fighting as well. I said it in the locker room, but too bad we started off so tentatively in those first two sets. Maybe it would’ve been a different outcome. I’m proud of them the way they came back and fought all the way to the end.
Emotions
We talked in the locker room about the culture of the team. Changing the culture of the team to fighting. And that’s what we did this whole season. You can’t just take a light switch if you’re used to doing things a certain way. You have to really work. They did that this year. And that’s why I’m proud of them.
On McKenna Ross
Ross came in as a walk-on DS (defensive specialis). I don’t remember which game I told them, but I said to look at the lineup right now on the court. Your average is 5-9 and you’re playing against 6-3 girls. All you have to do is play defense. Pass, play some defense, touch some balls, tool the block, go around the block and you’re good. And that’s what she did. She went around, she tooled them, she played lights-out defense in the back. That’s this team. They are not going to give up. Our two outside hitters are 5-9 and still making plays. They came back from hitting negatives in the first two sets to positive numbers. That’s what I told them to take away from this game. Don’t take the loss away. I get that for the seniors it is hard, but we are building a foundation and a culture that is going to stand and is only going to get better.
On fan support
I think it’s awesome to see people from the states to come out to our games. They cheered us on from beginning to end. It’s just awesome to know we have a crowd and our support system is really big everywhere we go. A lot of people are talking about us and want to come watch us. I want to thank them for never giving up on us and for always pushing us and being there, whether or not we are at home.
Savanah Kahakai, Senior Libero
Defense
Defense was a big key. In our huddle, I told the team that what was going to separate us from Illinois was our defense. Everybody on the court played lights-out defense. It wasn’t just the back row. The front row got touches on the block, which made it a lot easier for us. That was the difference in the third and the fourth set. When the fifth set came, Illinois picked up their side.
Emily Maglio, Senior Middle Hitter
On a tough five-set loss
It definitely hurts more than other ones, especially being a senior and it being the last game. Obviously you want to go as far as you can, but it’s cut short and it hurts. But we put up a good fight all the way to the end, so I have to be happy about that.
McKenna Granato, Junior Outside Hitter
Set five
I still think we were fighting pretty well. They played well and we played well, but it just didn’t end in our favor.
On defense
Savanah and I talked before the game that if we just do well on defense, everything else will come easy, and I think she’s right. And the front part is defense too. Getting touches on the block are super money on the back row and that makes it easier.
Building for next season
Like coach said, this helps the culture. It’s crazy how different it is from last year to this year in a good way. We are going to carry it on from this year to next year.
