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Nov. 5, 2010

Head coach Jerritt Elliott
On where the team is right now:  I think they’re a lot more confident in their preparation for games.  They are confident in their skill level.  Earlier in the year they didn’t have that.  We’ve been performing and the skill level is a lot better in terms of the numbers we’ve been putting up.  Also, they’ve bonded and they’ve worked really hard because of all the adversity they’ve had to face and that’s made us stronger.

On if the season is going as he expected it to after a rough start:  No, we obviously scheduled those matches thinking we would win those matches.  With the adversity we’ve had, we’ve never lost our confidence.  I think the whole message was that we can be really good by the end of the year if we just stick with it.  The instructions with the staff were just to remain calm during the struggles and we’d eventually be able to find our rhythm, and I think we did that.

On if the make-up of his team: People expected Juliann [Faucette] to be the only go-to player this season and we knew Rachael [Adams] could put up some numbers. More important than anything, Jen Doris’s game has been able to move to another level physically.  Amber Roberson has been, really good both in the front court and the back court, and it’s really given us some good balance. That is a key part to our team.  They’ve taken on those responsibilities in the practice gym and they have been training hard.  They’ve built up confidence and it has translated to playing at a high level on the court.

Senior outside hitter Juliann Faucette
On if being a senior automatically puts her in a leadership role on the team:  Yeah, I think that over the years, I’ve established a leadership role, and I’ve definitely taken it upon myself to take that responsibility.

Senior middle blocker Jennifer Doris
On her thoughts about playing OU this weekend:  We’re very anxious to play.  We’re looking forward to Saturday.  It’s weird just having one game this week because it makes for five days of practice.  We’re still working very hard.  OU is a great team, it’s another great rivalry that we have.  We’re just fired up to play them.

On where the team is at this point in the season compared to seasons past:  I think our team this year is definitely a lot different than last year’s, just in terms of we had three solid go-to players that were able to put the ball away.  This year, we’ve all had to step up and contribute in different ways. We don’t have just one player that can take over.  I say we embrace each win and it makes each victory a lot sweeter because we’ve had to fight and grovel a lot harder than we have in the past.  With the injuries and stuff that we have right now, it’s made the team a lot closer, a lot closer knit.  It’s a lot of fun to be a part of.

On what it’s like being on a winning streak:  It’s just a testament to how hard and committed our team is to winning and being a lot better. When we were struggling earlier on, we couldn’t really figure out what exactly the problem was and now the different areas of people’s games have improved, I think it’s just helped us all.  We’re loving it right now.  Beating Nebraska was huge.  I think it definitely boosted our confidence and we’re taking each game one at a time and trying to finish out the Big 12 strong.