UCF Head Coach Todd Dagenais
On Jordan Thompson…
I don’t know that in my coaching career I’ve ever seen a player take 102 swings. Jordan Thompson is one of the greatest competitors I’ve ever coached against. She is the heart and soul of that team, I think she’s a first team All-American. There’s nothing more I can say about Jordan, she’s unbelievable. She’s so fun to compete against because she’s so tough.
On Kristina Fisher’s play…
I was really proud of Kristina today. To go out there and hit .300 with missing a lot of practice this week was phenomenal. And maybe it was just one of those deals where just a couple days of rest was what she needed because she had been struggling the last couple matches and I thought she was just outstanding tonight.
On the win…
I still consider them the best team in the conference. It just so happens that we have two wins over them. I still love our team, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. Gutsy, tough, resilient, and I thought when it was really on the line, I thought we were composed. I just thought we were steady and composed, and we made plays and just chalked away. And I thought that was the difference in the match.
On the flow of the game…
I thought at the beginning, the difference was the serve and pass game. I thought they served us off the floor the first set. Second set, offensively, we took it to them. Third set, I didn’t think we played well at all, they played well enough to win. Fourth set, we played well enough to win. And then in that fifth set I think it was just about composure and execution. And I thought that we just had it better. That’s all it was.
On countering Cincinnati
It was a complete chess match the whole time with matchups and lineups and switch-blocking. This is stuff you don’t see in normal matches. We did a lot of things out there that we hadn’t done all year because we’re trying to match up to what they’re doing, and trying to counter it.