Sept. 17, 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Head coach Josh Steinbach:
Overall thoughts...
"American is a good team and they win a lot of matches. It's a good win for our team against a squad with a lot of NCAA Experience. I thought we transitioned from defense to offense very well and got the middles involved. Allie DiBernardo set a good match. She's been improving, which has translated from practice to game."
On what needs to improve...
"We didn't serve receive well - we've done this most of the season. We need to pass much better tomorrow to have a chance against Missouri and Western Kentucky."
On what allowed us to beat American...
"Kim Maroon was a good defender and kept the ball off the floor. We blocked well tonight, Carly Edwards had a good match. Overall we generated a lot of positive touches."
Kim Maroon:
On what the team did well...
"We played really good defense and transitioned and found the middles well (something that we've been improving upon in practice). We could have serve-received a little better, but we made up for our faults there with solid offense, blocking and defense."
On changes to make in tomorrow's matches...
"Tomorrow, we need to be able to be in system to get more one-on-ones with the blockers and keep feeding Maggie Mergen - she played really well tonight."
Maggie Mergen:
Overall thoughts on the win...
"I am excited that we swept American because it's a big step for our team, especially being able to close out a close third set. As a team, we did well staying together, pushing for the next point. Our defense was really good, we improved upon a lot of things we don't normally do really well."
On things to change for tomorrows matches...
"I'm excited for tomorrow- it's going to be a challenge for us - but we're definitely ready for it. We're going to have to be smart players against more physical team. We need to play as a team and play to our strengths."
