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Sept. 22, 2009

The second-ranked Texas volleyball team travels to Colorado on Wednesday, Sept. 23 and to No. 6 Nebraska on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
On the difficulty of the team’s upcoming road trip: It is going to be different scenery for us. It is going to be a big time challenge to play at Colorado and at Nebraska to kick off a very tough road trip. It will be a challenge, but we have already gone through that with our preseason and prepared the team for this with our scheduling.

On whether they have chosen to focus only on Colorado right now: Absolutely. That is the challenge of any coaching staff when you are playing teams like a Colorado and then a Nebraska, where there is so much hype. Colorado has upset Nebraska the last two years, so we have used that and the team understands that.

On whether this year’s team is better than past teams: I think that we are better. We will see how good we are once we face some adversity. That is what we are trying to get with the scheduling that we have. We want to play very good teams. We want to get in some adverse situations and see how our team responds. We are definitely going to get that at Nebraska with their crowd. It is obviously a big task, and they have a long winning streak in the Coliseum. 

On what he has seen from the Nebraska squad: I have not seen that much tape on them, but Nebraska is never weak. They always have players that can play very well and can beat anyone on any given night. They play with a lot of confidence at home. They will have a great crowd. It will be sold-out, and it will be very loud from the moment we step into that gym.

Senior libero Heather Kisner
On her feelings going into this road trip: We are excited. We have not been on the road since Hawaii. We are ready for a big road match first against Colorado and then against our big rival Nebraska.

On the team’s focus: We have to focus on one game at a time. Obviously Colorado is first, and they are our next opponent, so after that game, then we will worry about Nebraska.

On Nebraska: It is still Nebraska. It is still a huge rivalry. I think that they are ranked sixth right now, so we are ready to go up there for an exciting game and compete.

Senior setter Ashley Engle
On the difficulties that come with being on the road: It is difficult when we are on the road. With the travel, it makes you more tired, and you are missing class, so there is the added stress of that, but I think that our preseason prepared us for missing school. Being on the road is something that you have to get used to. It is a challenge, but at  the same time, it is something that we need to have and we need to be faced with because in the postseason we never know where we are going to be or who we are going to play.

On facing Colorado: Colorado is a dangerous team. They beat Nebraska the past two years at home.  I just know, personally, that the altitude really affects the way that you play. You will be playing and realize that you are a lot more tired than normal. That in itself is a threat, but they are also a great team, and any team on the road is going to be a challenge.

On playing at Nebraska: We have not beaten Nebraska at their place since 1988, but it is always a fun match. It is a fun environment. I love playing at Nebraska. We play at Colorado first, and hopefully after that we will have some momentum going into Nebraska.