Dec. 6, 2008

Recap |  Box Score

#9 Illinois 3, Cincinnati
NCAA Tournament - Second Round
Champaign, Ill. // Huff Hall
December 6, 2008

Illinois head coach Don Hardin

Opening Statement...
"It goes down in the books as a 3-0 win, but I feel that it was an incredible battle by Cincinnati. They outperformed us in many categories for a majority of the match and it just came down to the stretch run of each set. We were able to keep our composure, which was a challenge at times. Abby Nelson tweaked her knee yesterday and we didn't know how much it would hamper her today, but it hurt her so much that she was unable to play tonight. I was impressed with how Nicole Kump came in and got some kills right away and did some smart things out there. Johannah Bangert was on fire for us tonight. She picked a good time to start ripping those slides and she made a statement with her play. She boosted our confidence out there quite a bit. Laura (DeBruler) with 43 attempts and a .350 hitting efficiency, everybody in the gym knew she was getting the game, point, set and they still couldn't do anything about it. I'm extremely impressed with Cincinnati, they played us as well as we've been played all season."

On not dropping a set in the first two rounds of the tournament...
"I'm really impressed with these two (Haen and DeBruler) they represent the sophomore class that's out there keeping incredible composure late in sets. Game after game all season and now in the NCAA Tournament. They all have the same ambitions where they're taking this program. This is just the beginning."

Illinois sophomore setter Hillary Haen on not dropping a set in the first two rounds...
"I think it says a lot about our team as a whole. These games have actually been close and we've been able to just go out there and keep our composure. We've been able to go after teams and not backed down. It definitely makes a statement to the teams that we are going to play this next weekend."

Illinois sophomore outside hitter Laura DeBruler on not dropping a set in the regional...
"Kayani Turner is our only teammate who has actually been in the tournament, so I think it shows a lot that we're still able to go out there and compete and not think about what's at stake. We're able to just go out there and stick with what we know."

DeBruler on making the Sweet 16...
"We have a whole week to get better in practice. We've been continuing on getting better in every match and I'm just glad that we have another week with this team. All the hard work that we've put in all season is finally paying off."

Haen on making the Sweet 16...
"It gives us another week to work together. We're trying to just take it one step at a time. This team hasn't been there in a really long time and to make it to the Sweet 16 as a sophomore is really cool."

Cincinnati Head Coach Reed Sunahara

On his team's performance...
"We lost to a really good team tonight. There is a reason why they are a top-20 team. I am extremely proud of our players. We fought and we never gave up. We played pretty good, but not good enough."

On the decisive factors in the result...
"I didn't think we handled the ball well. A play here or a play there could have changed the momentum. Illinois just kept coming at us and we didn't execute at a high level down the stretch."

On Illinois' attack...
"We got our hands on some balls but they just didn't land inbounds. We just didn't take care of it. They have a lot of weapons. DeBruler is unbelievable. Their outside hitters are their go to players and they did a good job tonight."