Head Coach Russ Rose

Opening Statement:

"It's nice to be here. I'd like to thank the administration for their support of this event as well as the other opportunities that they have showed to support the women's volleyball program. I think it's important, I think it's exciting to have this event here with the teams that we have. Everybody is going to say that they think their Regional is the strongest Regional, but I think we have four very strong teams here. And I hope that the weather permits us to have a terrific fan following."

On overcoming beating yourself in NCAA Regional matches:

"We certainly remember that from last year. But it depends on the type of team that you have. The team that is very cohesive and the kids really respect and enjoy each other's company, they're going to be a lot more committed to not making some of those foolish errors that they can attribute to being in the moment instead of just recognizing that they just have to better the ball and give their teammates an opportunity to help them."

On Tennessee:

"From a limited amount of time that I've had to watch the film, I think they are a real scrappy team. They depend on specifically the offense of their two left-handed outside hitters, which is something that not only have we not seen much of, but we don't have anybody in the gym to replicate it. So it will take us some time to get accustomed to the offense and how they're taking swings. [Kristen] Andre is a very good middle, she hits the ball quick. They're a good team. They beat Minnesota last weekend and we know how tough it is to beat Minnesota. Minnesota was last year's national finalist. So they don't have to do much to get our attention. That and the fact that they beat Notre Dame at Notre Dame two weeks ago and beat Florida a couple weeks before that. Tennessee is a good opponent and we'll have to play well. You have to expect to be in that position to play well to advance."

On the little things that effect the outcome of the match:

"You certainly want to be focused on ball-handling and not so much on the various matchups that may occur. You don't want to get into coaching until your players have demonstrated that they can execute the fundamentals at a high enough level of efficiency to get you into the match."

On Hawaii's head coach, Dave Shoji:

"Dave and I have been good friends for a long time. In all the years we advanced to the final four, every year I would get a phone call from Dave, just wishing us luck and congratulating us. There was no reason for that other than that we're good friends. It's nice and I'm glad they're here. I'm not sure I'll say that if we're lucky enough to be playing them [on Saturday], but he's been a great role model for a lot of coaches. When I first got into coaching, I loved the way his teams played. His teams are a little different now because the game has changed. Back then he always had a large number of girls from the islands and they played great defense and it was in a traditional scoring-era. And I'd like to point out again that that's real volleyball. It was the way I liked to see the game played. They played hard, they tried to outlast you and they had one or two key hitters that they could get the ball to, and that's how they won."

On Sam Tortorello and Kaleena Walters' contributions to the team over the last four years:

"A lot of people talk about what they are going to accomplish. These two worked hard. It was never easy for them because I never let them off the hook. They paid the price. They stayed here over the summers, they kept the pressure on the players to do certain things, and that's why you recruit certain individuals and that's why you hate to see them go when their careers are over. You've got some kids, you can't wait to see them go, and some people like these two that you wish you could coach for your entire lifetime."

On if he compares this team to the teams he had in the 1990s:

"Only when other people make comparisons. This team went 20-0 in the Big Ten and the last team to do that was the 1999 team. But [Hawaii's] Dave Shoji can talk about five national championship teams and I'm not going to talk about the one that we had. This team is different but they've accomplished a lot in this season as well as their careers up to this point in time. The young people like Christa [Harmotto] and Nicole and Laura [Holloway] have learned a great lesson from them as leaders and I think the program is in good hands and hopefully it will continue to be that way."

On adjustments with the loss of Christa Harmotto:

"We've been going for the last three weeks since she injured her knee, worrying about trying to get the team better and better. She's there to be as supportive as she possibly can be. We had to make some personnel changes, we had to make some defensive changes but that's what coaches do and that's when players have great opportunities to step up and demonstrate that they're ready to go."

On the return of Tennessee's Amy Morris to Penn State after she transferred following her freshman season:

"I recruited Amy Morris, I like Amy Morris, I have no problems with Amy Morris. She's had a good season, she's had a good career. She wasn't happy at Penn State and I'm very comfortable with seeing Amy and wishing her luck."

On the Sport Court that is covering Rec Hall's wood floor for the NCAA Regional:

"It is different. It's a disappointment, but obviously somebody signed a contract and that's what we have to play on. There are a lot of schools that have put a lot of investment into making their facilities volleyball-specific and it's unfortunate that you have to put a court down and change it. The benefit of playing on a wood floor has been demonstrated over the years from people being healthy. All of us coaches, when we go to these club tournaments and stand on cement for 15 and 16 hours a day, you can hardly walk, you can't understand how these kids can play on it for their whole careers. It shouldn't have any bearing on a couple of matches, but certainly given the choice, we opted to go the other direction. It's just something you deal with, it's not a big factor."

Senior setter Sam Tortorello

On how previous Regional experience has helped prepare the team:

"Our sophomore year we had the opportunity to play in the elite eight and last year was the sweet 16, so we've had both cases in losing and winning the first match. So I think it's extra motivation that we haven't sealed the deal yet. Along with [senior libero Kaleena Walters], we have the experience in the Regional, hopefully that will bring us help tomorrow and confidence in the situation."

On if there is added pressure because Penn State is hosting:

"I think we take it as an honor. It's motivation for us to win in front of our home crowd and play tough. It's exciting for us to be playing in front of our fans at Rec Hall, it's a great place to play."

On how the program has progressed during her time at Penn State:

"Kaleena and I came in here, and we didn't plan on losing our freshman year in the second round. It has been our goal each year to get better and better. Winning the last three Big Ten Championships and going further in the tournament and trying to get the program back to where it was when they won the national championship, that's always been our goal."

On the matchup with Tennessee's setter, Julie Knytych:

"I've been playing against Julie since I was little. We've played a lot of matches against each other. I think she's a good setter and she has a lot of options, as do I, so we'll see what happens tomorrow."

On her good friend, Hawaii's Cayley Thurlby, being at Penn State for the Regional:

"It's great. Cayley is one of my best friends and she's one of the people that I have kept in touch with. It was nice being out in Hawaii for a week [at the beginning of September] and being able to hang out with her. Our parents are going to be able to see each other this weekend. Cayley and I have already had lunch a couple times this week, just catching up on friendship more than talking about volleyball."

On playing on the Sport Court that is covering the wood floor at Rec Hall:

"It's a lot different. We have a really nice wood floor and I don't know if we all necessarily like playing on Sport Court, but we all grew up playing on it in club tournaments. We know what it feels like, but we wish we could have the 'real' Rec Hall with our own floor."

Senior libero Kaleena Walters

On how previous Regional experience has helped prepare the team:

"We found out what it's like to look forward. I think last year we kind of, not really overlooked UCLA, but we were looking to go to the final four and I think this year we are obviously hoping to go there, but we're spending more time on being in the moment and playing Tennessee tomorrow."

Freshman outside hitter Nicole Fawcett

On how she's feeling heading into Regionals:

"There was a certain point in the season where I was feeling a little bit tired. But I got past that point and I'm feeling good and ready to play some more games. With finals, it affects me, but right now I focus on working hard in practice and then working hard at the books afterwards."

On the senior leadership:

"They have helped me tremendously. Going in right away, it was intimidating, especially when you wished you could have played better than you did. But they were there to encourage me and help me work past that frustration."