Colorado State vs. Northern Colorado (10.07.08)

LYNDSEY BENSON
Head coach

“CSU is definitely a great defensive team. They’ve got size at every position and at times we struggled with that offensively. But we had a great blocking night, as well. We were well-prepared going into the match, knew what shots they were going to hit, so we got some big blocks early on. But we just couldn’t handle that when they had three options. That’s why they’re a great team. With three options, they’re a tough team to block.”

“CSU challenged us at the beginning of game two, and we took a step backward and didn’t push back. And that was the momentum shift in the match. That was disappointing to see on our side, because that was the first time I’ve seen us on defense take a step back and let them go on a big run. We came back, though, and that was a good sign on our side -- that we bounced back and didn’t just let them keep attacking us.”

“At times, when we could get them out of system with our serve -- when we served aggressively -- we could hang defensively. But when we didn’t serve aggressive, or had serving errors, we had a tough time defending them.”

On whether CSU was surprised by Northern Colorado’s quick start:
“I don’t know what they expected, coming in. It’s hard to tell with a nonconference opponent, when you haven’t played similar opponents. They didn’t know what to expect from us, we didn’t know what to expect from them. The first game is always a guessing game for both sides. We were tough to finish that game one, because they certainly had opportunities to win it. I loved how we battled in game one. That’s going to benefit us later on -- not to just compete with them, but to finish that game one was a huge confidence boost for our team.”

“We’re definitely not going to face a more powerful offensive team in the Big Sky or as strong of a blocking team. There are some great defensive teams in the Big Sky – there are some different defensive looks in our league – but we’re not going to face a blocking team like that.”

“Our hitters, at times, had success. Bre Williams really stepped up tonight as a freshman and played like a mature player. She had a great match for us. That was a huge step for our team: to know that Bre Williams can step up in a big situation and come up with big kills.”

ASHLEY LICHTENBERG
Sophomore outside hitter

On playing against All-American Mekena Barnes
“It’s always great to play against better competition. It can only make you better.”

“We stuck with a great team -- one of the best in the country – so I think we’re definitely ready to face Weber State and Idaho State.”

ALLISON RAGUSE
Junior middle blocker

“It’s really hard when you’re smaller -- sometimes you get stuck against some of their big defenders. It’s nice, though, when we’re able to move them around because I’m faster than them, but if we run something, and they know where we’re going, it’s obvious when the jump up for the block.”

“We just had nothing to lose. It’s so fun to go out there to see what we can do. It’s just, like, ‘OK, you guys are awesome, but let’s see what we can do.’ Just go out, and if you get blocked, it’s no big deal. They’re the No. 13 team in the country, so we just wanted to go out and have fun and see how we matched up.”

On the slow start in set two
“I think we all got a little scared there. It was, like, ‘Oh my gosh! We actually did well.’ So then all of a sudden there was something to lose. And maybe that’s what threw us off.”

TAYLOR SMITH
Junior middle blocker

On the quick start
“We’ve been preparing for this match for a long time, and got really pumped up and ready to go. And our adrenaline really propelled us in that first victory. But we didn’t have that in the second game, and we’re a steady team, and we’ve been able to do that in previous matches, but we gave so much in that first match tonight and it didn’t carry over as much as we expected.”

“Our big focus is Weber State right now. And that’s going to be huge on their home court. I think if we can get a few more wins on the road, we’ll be a lot more confident (heading down the Big Sky stretch).”