Oct. 21, 2003
WACO, Texas - Three of Baylor's head coaches spoke to the media at Tuesday's press luncheon. Below are excerpts from their comments.
Head Volleyball Coach Brian Hosfeld:
On facing Texas A&M Wednesday:
"They are capable of playing really well, and they are capable of giving up a lot of points, just like any other team in the conference right now. We are focusing on a couple rotations right now that they think have been giving up points on the last few matches, to be able to take advantage of the situation."
On Baylor's play of late:
"With Tisha playing better, it's been taking some stress off our middles a bit. We have Desiree Guilliard-Young have probably a few of the best plays she's been able to put together against a quality team like Nebraska this past weekend, so hopefully she's going to be able to learn how to do that without so much time in between each play. Nicole LeBlanc continues to be pretty steady in the middle. Emily Huston, our setter, has changed the tempo of what we're delivering the ball at, so that's why we're begging to see a little faster paced play."
Head Soccer Coach George Van Linder:
On last weekend's tied at Oklahoma:
"Last week we were talking about how we were having trouble scoring goals, and that's something we've been working on. I think we were disappointed that we tied the game; ties are frustrating, but I think the positive thing for us is that we had 37 shots, the second most in Baylor history. So we think we are on the right path to scoring more goals and that's kind of what leads into this weekend."
On heading into the final stretch:
"This weekend, we need to win these games; it's our version of our own at-home Big 12 Tournament. Missouri and Iowa State, both being tied with us for eighth, it is quite a rivalry, and there are a lot of unique things with it."
On Friday's opponent, Missouri:
"With Missouri, they had a great result against Texas A&M this last weekend, winning in overtime so they are kind of peaking where they want to be, but the key in the Big 12 that we've noticed is that Missouri was at Missouri when they did that, and in our conference, much like the football, it is tough to win on the road. Missouri is also coached by Brian Blitz, which is somebody I used to work with and my assistant coach played for, so it is kind of a friendly rivalry. We've never faced each other so we are looking forward to that."
On Sunday's opponent, Iowa State:
"Iowa State is coached by Rebecca Hornbacher, who used to be a graduate assistant here at Baylor. So it's going to be an emotional weekend for all of us, in terms of wanting to win and a lot of friendly bets and things like that are on the lines. So we're looking forward to playing those people.
On the team's current state:
"We feel like we are exactly where we need to be. We didn't get the goals last week, but our shots and things like that have improved quite a bit, so we hope to have a breakout weekend. This is the weekend where we make some noise and score a lot of goals, and everything in terms of our stats this past week have kind of pointed to that. This is make or break, do or die and we have really just focused on that for this weekend ahead."
On improving their scoring chances:
"This was a short week for us, so we have focused on trying to improve our scoring. We spent two or three days on it last week, and we have added three forwards. We just have to continue to work on that, and the fact that you can't get that solved in two or three days. What we are excited the most about is having 37 shots against a team, at their place, on senior day, on the road; getting those kind of numbers, we felt we were a little bit unlucky, but the opportunities were there. We hope that this weekend we will be able to put those opportunities in the back of the net. The players really like this new system we're playing with three forwards, since it puts more pressure on the other team. Defensively, we are not the biggest or strongest team in the Big 12, so we are trying to be strong in numbers and that way we can be strong in results."
Head Football Coach Guy Morriss:
On continuing to draw too many penalties:
"Something's got to get stopped. It's got to sink in. We talked about it again Sunday; it all goes back to where we were the opening game. Its got to be important to these guys, because we've run miles and miles of sprints, thousands of up-downs and that kind of stuff, and it's obviously not working. It's got to be important to these guys to get it stopped because we've beaten ourselves with penalties, since the first game against UAB - penalties and turnovers."
On finding team leaders:
"I'm trying to get our seniors to step up and become better leaders, to provide leadership to younger players and try and set the standard. All the things you try and get your seniors to do for you, from a leadership standpoint, I want them to understand where I am at and how I feel about it."
On the team's reaction to losing a close game on the road:
"A feeling of disappointment. We had a couple of opportunities to win the game; we just didn't get it done, we didn't make enough plays, and I think the kids understand that. It's tough to travel in this conference, and when you have the game in your hand for the taking, you have to kick the door down and take it, and we didn't get that done. It's a hard thing to learn, but I guess it's something that has to be learned with experience before it really starts to sink in."
On facing Texas this week:
"We've watched tape on the Longhorns, and obviously they are very talented. They have talent everywhere and lots of depth. I would hope our kids would be excited about playing a team like that, I know I am, and our staff is. It's a great challenge for us. We have to start today and play our best game of the year, and play near perfect. Get after them from a physical standpoint, play hard, those things we've talked about all year, in order for us to have a chance to win, but I think our kids will be excited about the opportunity."
On trying to beat Texas:
"We are just trying to take this one day at a time. The thing that I am most concerned about is getting the penalties stopped and playing four hard quarters and not beating ourselves. Heck, I'll be happy if coming from the hotel to the stadium we don't get a personal foul."
