Editor’s note: The following is a partial transcript from an Illini Drive interview with Illinois volleyball head coach Kevin Hambly and sophomore Julia Conard.

Illini Drive: You guys played on a Wednesday-Sunday split this past week. Wednesday didn’t go so well against Northwestern. Then you came back and upset Wisconsin on Sunday. For the match on Sunday, what was kinda going well for you guys? What did you guys think you did well.

Julia Conard: I think we had a really good first two (sets) of the game. The third really didn’t go our way, and it started off pretty rough, and we decided to place in a couple of new players. And we decided to set the tone for the third (set) after it hadn’t started off so well. We pulled it off in the fourth match, and it was a solid, solid day.

ID: Coach, want to break down (the game) against Wisconsin and even the whole week?

Kevin Hambly: I think with Northwestern, we came out and controlled them in the first two sets and really dominated them in a little ways and let up a little bit, and they got hot, and we couldn’t turn the tide after that. We ended up losing in five, which was a real tough one because we sweeped that weekend — we felt we had a good shot against Wisconsin, to be honest. We thought we could beat them. — because if we sweep that weekend, all of a sudden, we’re eligible for the tournament. If we split the rest of the way, we’re in. … It was what it was. The girls did a good job of letting go of that, I thought. 

We came out and did the same thing against Wisconsin. We came out the first two sets, played hot and kinda willed ourself to a win. Third set, we relaxed a little bit, and I pulled everybody legitimately except Lex (Alexis Viliunas) and J-Bo (Jennifer Beltran) and just regrouped. … Then we played great in the fourth, and we were in control of the whole fourth set, and I felt like were gonna win the match. All in all, it’s a big win against on the road a team that just beat Minnesota. It was a top-10 team two nights beforehand.

ID: You’ve alternated wins, went 1-1 every week in conference.

KH: It’s amazing. We’ve lost to a team that wasn’t ranked and beat a team that was a ranked. We’re struggling to find that fight and consistency. I feel like we’re getting closer and closer every time. … In this next turn, we could go 7-3 or 8-2, we have the ability to do that. If you ask the girls, how many wins we should have? We should have at least seven wins or eight wins on this turn.

ID: You have been impressed by the team’s defense ,,, 

KH: I think we’re getting better. We’ve had a pretty good defensive team. We look like Illinois volleyball at times, when it’s really hard to score.

ID: Julia, what’s your assessment of how you guys have played defensively so far?

JC: I think we have a lot of depth in defense, and we have a lot of players that can go out and make plays, and I have all the confidence in the world in the next girl that gets put up there. I think we have a lot of depth out there. 

KH: Julia came off the bench and did a great job; she made some great plays, especially in the fourth set at the end of it to give us a chance to win. She had a couple of crazy plays, a lot of diving, but she can do that. Talk about kids making plays, she’s one of the few that can make crazy plays.

ID: How are you feeling on the floor personally?

JC: We’ve been working really hard since this past spring and all throughout the summer, and I definitely feel really comfortable with the girls, and it’s a fun atmosphere.

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