Quotes for U.S. Girls' Youth Olympic Team vs Belgium

U.S. Girls' Youth Olympic Team Seter Micha Hancock (Edmond, Okla.):

We bonded really well off the court, and that always helps with chemistry. We were really fired up. We wanted to win this game.

I think they were one of the toughest teams, but we have to keep our heads straight, because different players, different game. We have to keep our heads straight.

It’s very fun, because we’re all used to playing high level ball, so we push each other, and it’s good.

U.s. Girls' Youth Olympic Team Head Coach Rod Wilde Coach:

We’re just a young team and a new team and we haven’t had a chance to really figure out how to play together all the time. We play really well in spurts, but we don’t play as well as we can over a long period of time. That’s what it takes to beat a team like this. They (Belgium) did some incredible digging, blocking balls, keeping the ball in play. That’s what a good team does. They make you make a lot of good plays in order to win.

On Belgium: They’ve been together for about 2.5 years, and we met our players in the airport and introduced ourselves in the airport.

On new roster: I think this group is trying to play for that group that qualified. They have a little bit of extra burden on their shoulders, because they are not the ones that qualified. And they still have to go and represent USA and try to win a gold medal.

What did well: We just battled when we really got down there. People start making aggressive plays. And that’s what made the different over the 2 and 4 sets is we got a little tentative. People were not as aggressive, and then all of the sudden they would make a more aggressive play and we wouldn’t. That’s what made the difference.

What it will take to win: Playing a better match every time on the court. That’s our goal. Play better each match, and practice better every time on the court.

U.s. Girls' Youth Olympic Team Middle Blocker and Captain Sam Cash (San Diego, Calif.):

This was a big high point. This whole time, we’ve been almost training for that match. We’ve got to move on, but it’s pretty big.

It definitely gives me confidence (moving forward), but it still shows me that we still need to work hard in order to beat other teams, because that wasn’t our best. I know we can do better. We need to make sure that we stay as a tight knit group, that we keep pushing. That we keep on training hard.

On 2 and 4 Sets: I feel like somehow we got a bit too confident, and then when we got on the court and they got those runs, it just kind of broke us a bit. After going through that, we’re going to need to be able to push through it with some tougher games coming up. You have to be able to lose games, and then come back and win it in the end. That will really make us stronger.

On what it will take to win gold: A lot of energy. A lot of skill. A lot of focus on technique and making sure that everything is done in the way that you want it to be done.

Tags: 2010 U.S. Girls' Youth Olympic Team, 2010 Youth Olympic Games, Micha Hancock, Rod Wilde, Samantha Cash, YOG, youth, Youth Olympic Games, Youth Olympics