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Aug. 25, 2010

Head coach Jerritt Elliot
On the team overall: I am really pleased with our ball control right now in terms of defense. We are pretty far along in that right now. We are getting comfortable with our lineup. We had been kind of going back and forth some because of some injuries that we have had, so this will really be the first week that we are getting into a rhythm. Overall, we have some great experience, and the players are learning each day.

On the defense: I think our defense is stronger right now than it was last year. We are making good touches. We are scrapping pretty well. There are a lot of areas that we can still improve on, but overall, the defense is good.

On the advantages of playing at home: It is always great to be at home—to be able to sleep in your own bed and to have the crowd behind us. We are excited to come out and show our 2010 team after such a great season last year, and we hope the fans come out and support us.

On opening up the season at home: It is really nice. We are actually here the first two weekends, which I think is the first time I have ever done that and had that opportunity. With hosting a regional here, we want to get comfortable playing in our arena and get used to this atmosphere.

On expectations for the weekend: Our expectations are going to be to focus on our side of the net and trying to reach some of the numbers that we have been training for in our gym. It is more about composure, inner dynamics of the team and dealing with pressures that other teams are going to be able to impose on us. It will be fun to see how we react and get exposed to some of our weaknesses, so that we can continue to grow before a very tough weekend the following weekend.

Junior middle blocker Rachael Adams
On the impending season: I woke up this morning fired up because each day it is closer to playing someone besides ourselves. It is even better, since we have been in our gym for most of preseason versus last year when we traveled a lot.

On challenges the team will face this weekend: The teams coming in will all challenge us in different ways, but we need to work on our side of the court in communicating and coming together and facing the challenges that will be presented to us.

Freshman setter Hannah Allison
On this weekend’s opener: We are getting so excited each and every day. You can tell that there is an extra pep in our step in practice because there is a game coming up soon, so we have something in the near future we are working towards. It is really starting, and we are really excited.

On playing her first game in Gregory Gymnasium: It will be my first game at home in Gregory Gym, so I am definitely excited about that. Just to start off the year with our fans surrounding us will be great because not a lot of teams get to host a home tournament their first weekend. We get to stay here and build a foundation with our fans.

On playing several teams this weekend from the state of Texas: It is our goal to be number one in Texas, so it is good to start out with those close-to-home teams that will get the fans into it, and it is extra motivation, if we did not have enough already.

On the importance of getting a strong start to the season: It is very important to start strong. We know that the beginning is not always the prettiest, but it is about getting the nerves out and working out the little kinks that always happen at the beginning of the season, but it has to happen sometime, so we are going to get that going and get into our groove.