Huskers Meet the Media

University of Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook met with the media Tuesday afternoon to discuss the top-ranked Huskers' NCAA Regional match-up with Louisville. The Huskers and Cardinals will meet at 6 p.m. with the winner advancing to the regional finals, which will be carried nationally on College Sports Television (CSTV).

Nebraska Head Coach John Cook
How much have you seen of Louisville and please talk about the matchup:
They are taller than us, and they have two really nice players, No. 11 (Anastasia Yartseva) and No. 5 (Lena Ustymenko) who are both Russians and play all the way around. They are good passers and defensive players. One is a middle and one is on the left side, so it is pretty impressive to see two 6-foot-4 players playing all the way around. I think the key to their team is their right-side player (Bing Sun). She probably will get the most sets and have a big impact on the match with passing, serving and attacking.

Does their height negate your physical advantage:
There are two ways of looking at it. First, it presents geometry angles on attacks. The ball is going to be hit at different angles then if they are 5-foot-10, but quickness is a big factor. Everybody would always like tall, quick athletes. Hopefully, we will be able to out-quick them in some areas, but it will be interesting to see. They have not played a team like us either with our size. It will be interesting to see how a player like Jennnifer Saleaumua does against their big block and Bing Sun against out block. It will be a great match-up.

Do you think that Louisville will be the tougher of the two opponents because you are playing on their home court:
Certainly playing on their home court is difficult. There are two ways to look at that. I know how much pressure we felt last year playing at home. There is a lot of pressure playing in a regional at home. They have not played in this place, so it is not their home gym, but it is their home city and they will have lots of fans cheering for them. I think our fans will also make an impression by how many we will have there. We’re in the final 16 and everything gets tougher as you keep playing.

If the players have losing in the Sweet 16 last year in the back of their minds:
I don’t think this team has even gone there. They are excited about playing. They have a lot of confidence and I think they have their sights on winning four more matches. I think that is where their focus has been. They have done a great job with that.

Can you talk about the type of year that Melissa Elmer has had:
She had a lot of expectations about being a returning All-American, and she has lived up to those expectations. She leads the nation in blocks. She is an emotional leader of our team even though she is not very vocal. She competes at a level that infects our other players on how competitive we are going to be. She works harder than anyone else in our program, and she has excelled as a blocker and attacker this year.

Can you compare Melissa to players such as Stephanie Thater and Virginia Stahr (two previous Husker All-American middle blockers):
To average two blocks a game, that is more than many teams average in a game. She has to be considered one of the best blockers in the history of this program. Attack-wise, she is up there with the people you mentioned and you have to throw Amber Holmquist in there as well, because she led the nation in blocking one year. We have a great tradition of middles here, and Melissa honors that tradition with how well she’s played.

Can you talk about Jennifer Saleaumua, who is six digs away from the career record:
That is a pretty remarkable accomplishment. Some people may say that rally scoring has changed it, but is has shortened the number of games she has played or the number of opportunities. If you look at our season, it is a lot shorter than it was in the past, so I think that is a very remarkable accomplishment by her, and it shows how great of a defensive player she is.

Do you worry about the youth of this team:
It doesn’t feel like a young team to me. I think we are experienced. We gained a lot of experience last year and I think (Tracy) Stalls and (Sarah) Pavan have experience in big matches. It doesn’t feel young to me.