Carlo Parisi
Czech Republic’s coach Carlo Parisi: “I’m not happy with the result or with the way the team played. We didn’t make a good correlation between the defence and the block and we also made a lot of bad mistakes, especially at important moments in the match. USA played well but weren’t pushed much or put under pressure.”
Czech Republic captain Aneta Havlickova: “We didn’t start so bad, but we made some awful mistakes and the USA did what they had to to win. For us, it was very good playing in the World Grand Prix because we are a young team and to play against teams like USA, China and others helps us to know what we need to work on.”
USA captain Kristin Hildebrand: “First, congratulations to the Czech Republic team. They played well and pushed us, especially in the third set. I’m proud of Team USA as we battled through difficult moments and didn’t play perfect volleyball but we battled to get the win.”
(Re. coach Karch Kiraly): “Karch is a remarkable person and coach and is a great teacher. I’m very thankful and our team is very thankful to play and compete for him.”
USA coach Karch Kiraly: “As coaches, one of our biggest jobs is to be good teachers and we are trying to teach the athletes to make good decisions and good actions on court. Sometimes they happen and sometimes they don’t. You see a number of young players from Brazil, USA and Japan as we try to give them more tools to be good over the next three years. It’s also a good year for some people who played a lot to get a little more rest, so those things work together.”
(Re. playing in Japan and Sendai following the 2011 earthquake): “I have wonderful memories of competing here in Japan. This is a fantastic volleyball country with a great history, so I love to be here. Also I like to be here (in Sendai); it’s a special place that is still trying to rebuild and it’s nice that we can bring something that perhaps can give the people a little extra good cheer.”
For more information related to this competition, read World Grand Prix 2013.
