Post by nyline on Oct 7, 2016 14:32:56 GMT -5
We've posted a Q&A with Talking Head, after the big win over Minnesota Wednesday night. Click Here for the complete post.
Here's an excerpt:
DigNittany: We’re speaking with Talking Head, to get his thoughts after the great win over soon-not-to-be #1 Minnesota. So, in four words, sum up the match!
Talking Head: Boy, that was fun! But seriously, it was fun for the Penn State fans, it was fun for the parents of the players, and I think for the players, too. It was so nice to see that the sense of togetherness, and how tight-knit and driven this team was in the springtime, is showing up in matches. You see people like [6-1 Jr. OH] Simone Lee, and [5-7 So. DS Keeton Holcomb, to just name two, who are playing with a level of excellence pretty much every game. Simone was out of this world Wednesday night, for sure, but she’s been out-of-this-world every game that Penn State has played this year. Holcomb too. The savviness of Kendall White — remember folks, she’s a true freshman libero. Or another freshman (redshirt) in [6-2 MB] Tori Gorrell, who struggled early in that match, but then she just suddenly got going, and before you knew it, she had five blocks, and a couple of kills, and she forced a couple of overpasses. She may be the newbie on the team, but she’s seriously contributing. Those are all impressive parts of why the match was so much fun. But the most impressive thing for me, and my personal takeaway, is that these girls demonstrated the determination and grit, that seemed to be missing early in the season, and maybe even in some of the past years. This team seems to have the attitude that “Hey, we’re just playing, and we’re going to come at you, and we’re going to find a way to hang around, and then we’re going to put a couple of plays together, and before you know it, we’ll be tied, and then we’re going to take it from you.”
DigNittany: That really did stand out — particularly in Set 1, but also at other points in the match. It’s interesting to think back to what might have been in the North Carolina and Colorado matches early in the season.
Talking Head: Well, remember what people were saying and writing back then: “This team can’t close out games, just like last year; this team can’t win those big matches, just like last year; this team can’t come out and win in game 2; this team can’t finish in game 3.” There was alot of negativity from a segment of the fan base. But Wednesday night, it was just the opposite: as the match went on, Penn State got stronger, and more physical, and more determined. Did the team have some hiccups along the way? For sure. But to be down 13-4 in Set 1, and then outscore Minnesota 25 to 14 — that’s determination. And what was really great was that it wasn’t a Minnesota collapse, it was Penn State making volleyball plays — blocks, digs, really tough serving, winning rallies with clean, efficient individual and collective plays. To win that way was impressive. It was different than in game 4, when Minnesota collapsed, after having been up 7-2, to end up losing 25-14. But when you see a team surge like Penn State did in the first set, and just take the game from the opposing team, that is impressive. And that is something those girls will never forget, and can draw on down the line.
For the complete post, Click Here
Here's an excerpt:
DigNittany: We’re speaking with Talking Head, to get his thoughts after the great win over soon-not-to-be #1 Minnesota. So, in four words, sum up the match!
Talking Head: Boy, that was fun! But seriously, it was fun for the Penn State fans, it was fun for the parents of the players, and I think for the players, too. It was so nice to see that the sense of togetherness, and how tight-knit and driven this team was in the springtime, is showing up in matches. You see people like [6-1 Jr. OH] Simone Lee, and [5-7 So. DS Keeton Holcomb, to just name two, who are playing with a level of excellence pretty much every game. Simone was out of this world Wednesday night, for sure, but she’s been out-of-this-world every game that Penn State has played this year. Holcomb too. The savviness of Kendall White — remember folks, she’s a true freshman libero. Or another freshman (redshirt) in [6-2 MB] Tori Gorrell, who struggled early in that match, but then she just suddenly got going, and before you knew it, she had five blocks, and a couple of kills, and she forced a couple of overpasses. She may be the newbie on the team, but she’s seriously contributing. Those are all impressive parts of why the match was so much fun. But the most impressive thing for me, and my personal takeaway, is that these girls demonstrated the determination and grit, that seemed to be missing early in the season, and maybe even in some of the past years. This team seems to have the attitude that “Hey, we’re just playing, and we’re going to come at you, and we’re going to find a way to hang around, and then we’re going to put a couple of plays together, and before you know it, we’ll be tied, and then we’re going to take it from you.”
DigNittany: That really did stand out — particularly in Set 1, but also at other points in the match. It’s interesting to think back to what might have been in the North Carolina and Colorado matches early in the season.
Talking Head: Well, remember what people were saying and writing back then: “This team can’t close out games, just like last year; this team can’t win those big matches, just like last year; this team can’t come out and win in game 2; this team can’t finish in game 3.” There was alot of negativity from a segment of the fan base. But Wednesday night, it was just the opposite: as the match went on, Penn State got stronger, and more physical, and more determined. Did the team have some hiccups along the way? For sure. But to be down 13-4 in Set 1, and then outscore Minnesota 25 to 14 — that’s determination. And what was really great was that it wasn’t a Minnesota collapse, it was Penn State making volleyball plays — blocks, digs, really tough serving, winning rallies with clean, efficient individual and collective plays. To win that way was impressive. It was different than in game 4, when Minnesota collapsed, after having been up 7-2, to end up losing 25-14. But when you see a team surge like Penn State did in the first set, and just take the game from the opposing team, that is impressive. And that is something those girls will never forget, and can draw on down the line.
For the complete post, Click Here