Dec. 14, 2008
Stanford Head Coach John Dunning
(On advancing to the Final Four) "It's an honor for our team to represent our school again in the NCAA Tournament and we would all like to congratulate Hawai'i for the great season they had. I think we're all very excited right now and ready to take it to the next step. It was fun for me tonight to watch as a coach; I thought we did a lot of things really well in the hard work areas, played great defense, blocked really well, and I think the whole thing started with passing and serving. Cynthia [Barboza], in particular, passed amazingly well tonight."
Outside Hitter Alix Klineman
(On the second set) "I felt that I could take them out of their system pretty well and I think our blockers handled them really well because Hawai'i is really good when they're in system and can get to their middle hitters. I think we made them a little more one-dimensional throughout the match."
(On expecting point runs) "I don't think you can actually expect runs, especially against a great team like Hawai'i. You expect them to come back after every point and I think part of it was luck and part of it was everything just falling together for our team. For a while we just couldn't do anything wrong, and it's always fun when you can play like that.
(On the level of play compared to the rest of the year) "We kind of have an issue with game two and that was definitely our best game two of the season. Usually we slack off a little and don't come out as hard, and I think we did a really good job of changing that this time."
(On getting back to the Final Four) "I think this year it feels a little more special. I think last year we knew we were going to get there because of how good we were and this year we've really had to work for it and everyone's on the same page, everyone's working together. We get along great as a team and I think that, along with what's going on on the court, is going to take us that much further this year."
(On the team being better than last year's) "I don't know if it's better, but it's definitely different. There's a different feeling on the court and I think we all enjoy playing a lot this year together."
Middle Blocker Foluke Akinradewo
(On getting a sense that Hawai'i could make a run) "Definitely. Hawaii is a great team but I thought we did a great job, like Alix [Klineman] said, controlling our side of the court, but it just seemed like everything was going in rhythm when we were out there. There was just great communication with everyone so when we were out there it was great. I was sitting on the bench for a while too just relaxing and enjoying myself just thinking `this is beautiful volleyball' just watching it."
(On getting back to the Final Four) "It feels great. It's been our goal, since last year when we lost to Penn State, to get back to the Final Four. We knew we had to take it one match at a time. We've played great teams to get to this point, but I'm really proud of everyone that we were able to get here and I'm really excited."
Outside Hitter Erin Waller
(On a sense of what they were feeling) "I think they were just trying to stay together. I looked over at a couple of the players and they were smiling, talking, just trying to fight through it I guess. I think we were all on the same page, throughout the entire match."
(On her match) "I just tried to be a voice on the court, to be there for my team and when I got set, tried to do what I could with the ball. I knew I was going up against some pretty good blockers and I tried to hit around them as best I could and to mix up where I hit the ball."
Hawai'i Head Coach Dave Shoji
(On team's performance against Stanford) "We're disappointed in our performance tonight; I don't think we ever got into our game. But you've got to give Stanford a lot of credit. They hit for a fantastic hitting percentage, they were balanced."
(On Stanford) "I've got to give John [Dunning] and his coaching staff credit for a good game plan and for preparing that team. They were the better team tonight no doubt about it.
(On Hawai'i's unforced errors) "We looked up at the scoreboard and we were four points behind, but they had three kills. All eight other points were our errors. We were kind of doing the right things to force them to hit into our defense, but we just couldn't convert. We were very tentative to start the match."
Outside Hitter Jamie Houston
(On facing a deficit against Stanford) "We've been down like that before. We just couldn't find our rhythm to get back into it. We just wanted to play the way we play all the way through."
Libero Tara Hittle
(On being down to Stanford) "It was weird because it felt like we couldn't get out of it. We knew that game two we weren't going to win because they were so far ahead. We couldn't get out of it and we started to give up a little bit."