Providence: Today was not our day Subject:* A friend wanted you to see this item from High School OT: https://wr.al/1Jlkb Providence dropped the 4A state championship to Cardinal Gibbons in straight sets, but the Panthers said one game will not define the team this season. Show Transcript This will be one of the more unique press conferences we have ever done at the state championship. And I've said that every time today, but I truly mean it today. Um, Coach Malone from Providence. Their head coach is unfortunately not able to be here with us today. I'm feeling a little under the weather, Coach. We hope you're get feeling better quickly. Way hate. Hate that you missed it today. But I'll give you an opportunity to share some opening thoughts and then your assistant as well. And then just introduce your two players that you've got sitting here. Maybe you can make him out through the masks on, uh and then we'll open it up the question eso Hello. I'm Maggie Malone. Yes. I could not make it there today. I am so unbelievably proud of my team, especially the two girls sitting there at that table. We have Katie. Crews are setter, um, the one that has led us to a lot of our wins this year. And then also her right hand Gail Madison, Cal, who has also been a big part of our season this year. Um, I just can't speak highly enough about my team. Um, we have been thrown obstacle after obstacle after obstacle at us all season long, and they are kids and took it with grace and resilience and did everything they were supposed to dio eso with that. I'm just so grateful and thankful. I'm so proud. Um, they have made me so proud. I mean, it's not easy as I'm screaming at my TV, um, that I know that they were feeling me, um, there today, but just very proud of how we came out all season long with every obstacle that has been thrown at us and very proud of the two girls, especially that are sitting right there. And I obviously couldn't have done it without my assistant, Clark. Everything I appreciate you s o e couldn't have done without you. You wanna Yeah, I've said this a million times to the team. Um, I I wouldn't want to be anywhere else with any other team. Um, you know, win or lose. Today we We went through a lot of obstacles this season and we came out a better team in the end. And today's game was not a reflection of who we are. Andi. It was unfortunate that it was today. But I am still so, so incredibly proud of them. And like I said, I wouldn't want to be a part of any other team. And they're like, this team is just truly special. And I mean, I'm even feeling that right now I'll go ahead and let you ask any questions you got. Steve, I see you on there. We'll get to you in just a second, okay? Your coach alluded to some obstacles that you guys have faced. Aziz players. Obviously, this is a really unique here. What was it like? Kind of from your perspective, having shit, adjusting these new protocols and then ultimately overcoming them and then going on, Um, I feel like we all have so much trust in each other that when we were like, Oh, this person can't come to this game. We have another person that we trust to go in. That was a big thing as a center. Trusting your hitters is a huge is a huge aspect, and I would trust any single person on our team that would go into the court. I think of the fact that, like not everybody was here all the time. Just made us all want to get better and, like, play for each other and step up. Andi, I think that was really important in our last match with people missing. Um, but yeah. What was the kind of the playoff from experience as a whole life? You guys go 18. Before today, you knocked out the reigning four time state champions in the regional final. How is this whole experience, then? What kind of memories are you going to take before? Honestly, like, this whole experience is one of the best things that could have ever experienced. We That was so much adversity. Like we said before and like every game we brought all like, we brought everything we had. Even though this game wasn't our best, we still brought everything we could in the moment. Like I'm so proud of the season we beat teams that people would not have expected us to be, which is all I could ask for. Yeah, I'm just really happy that this is like the season that I'm ending on. I know prior to this year we obviously have as much trouble without co vid. But I'm just really proud of power team came together through all the adversity and Caymus Faras we did coach alone. Anything from you there? Yeah. I mean, I just totally agree with everything they're saying, Um, the playoff run. I think that we were not dealt an easy hand. I think we took it with Grace. Every bus ride we got in over two hours from Charlotte. We we started. We said from the beginning, um, we're here to play volleyball, and that's what we're going to do. So it doesn't matter where we're gonna play, we're gonna play volleyball. And that's exactly what I think we did throughout, um, throughout the whole playoff run, our game Tuesday, I think, was the best we have played yet. I'm so proud of how they played. I mean, Green hopes a great team. Cardinal Gibbons was lights out today. I mean, they were good in every single area. Um, so I mean, I just I'm just so proud of them and especially what they've done to finish out this season. Mhm. The last one for me, you know, today is not the outcome. You want it done. But you got a lot of fight a couple of runs there as the sets were getting late toe to kind of keep it alive and get into it. What were they doing that was making it so tough for you guys? And kind of what was the mindset that you guys have to keep fighting and trying to get back into the set? I feel like we haven't come across a team that was just so good at blocking. Like that team was so good at blocking. And, like, we haven't come across somewhere like with every single like hitter is strong, like every single hitter on that team could put the ball down. So, like, that was something we had to adjust to. And I think we didn't adjust early enough for E. I agree. I think that Cardinal Gibbons also did a really good job of taking out like, uh, they were always there on the block, which it was really hard, because we usually try and run like a bunch of different stuff trying to switch things up. But they didn't really go Good job walking. Uh, took Yeah, we definitely saw in offense today. That was different from any offense that we've you know, competed against the whole season. And I think their ability thio, um, convert on free ball place was pretty good as well. And we were able to go on runs and we were able to make some big plays, but they were they were just consistent and a lot of areas, and they played really scrappy defense. Um, everything we threw at them, you know, they handled so, um, just all around. Pretty consistent. Just unlike any team that we've seen this year. Um, but we still played. We played our hearts out. It was just a matter of, you know, not getting enough big plays, Um, and stuff like that in the consistency. Yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah. I think one of our big things that all year long is serving past. And I think today we really did not serve and pass well on our side. I mean, Cardinal Gibbons tourists apart in terms of passing, we know that our first touch is so important. A big part of our offense is the middle's. Usually our middles have a lot of kills today. Not so much. Um, the big player on their side that we tried that was our main goal are focused to stop had more kills than our whole team s. Oh, that's right. There kind of hurts a little bit, but we know that that's all based off that first touch and things that we knew all season long, what we had to do. And today we just a little short. Mhm, Steve. And I know you're on if you want to open up your mic and ask any questions that you have from over there in Charlotte. Hi there. I've just got one for coach. When? When you lost the first set. You've had that problem before. You mentioned to me kind of getting off the bus and and, yeah, just wanted sitting there watching it on TV. Did you have a feeling that? Okay, maybe we're gonna recover. And it's gonna be OK after all. Yeah. I had a watch a game with my fiancee, which is pretty interesting, both of us watching a game together. Um, and I kind of thought to myself. Okay, we could do this. We're just getting warmed up. We got a little bit of a run there. We can We can figure this out. I definitely thought that they were gonna pull through. I always believed in that 100% of the time, so totally thought that they would pull through and dropping the first set. I was like, All right, this is nothing new. Let's just figure this out from here. Um, but I mean, we were just a little I mean, it just wasn't our day today and we've had a lot of days and I'm so proud of all the other days we had. And one day does not define anything, um, in terms of our season and who our team is. So I will contact my team after this and tell them the same exact thing that I just told you all is. One game does not define who we are, And I'm just so proud of the way we took this season and finish it out. I have one of the questions personal one for you is I talked to Ron Sanchez, who's the men's basketball coach at U N. C. C. And he was in a situation where he wasn't able to be with his team during a game this year because he was being he was, uh, quarantine and he said that his wife told him that she would never sit next to him during a game again. Uh, you could tell me what was like. It was vice versa for us. My fiance was often moving and I was the calm one trying to figure things out on my end, trying to have a clear mind as he was kind of next to me. I needed a clear mind to kind of figure out a Zai was watching the game. Um, yeah, we're both athletes. Hey, played college football s. So there's a lot of things we won't be watching together, uh, way like Panther football together. And that's good enough for me? Yeah, thank you. If that's every all the questions I have one more for the girls. High school athletics is about learning. So my question is very simple for you. What have you learned you found this year and throughout your high school career? E think this year especially. I learned that I learned that we could do anything that we put our mind to, because I mean, playing Green Hope was one of the hardest games I personally have ever played in. Like and we all are. Mindset was so good we didn't like we went in thinking that we could win, but we didn't go into confident and we play the lights out in that game and that just shows me that mindset is really important. And I also have learned that you can't take anything for granted like this season, especially like we almost didn't have a season. And I'm so beyond thankful that we do have a season. But I definitely am gonna learn to. Just like like I said, Don't take things for granted. I say the same thing. My never matter when we all work together and we're focusing on ourselves to play so well, Um, and because we know that we can do anything that the other the other side could do, we just need to be focused on ourselves and that's why we won our last game because we were just a lot more in it. I think today I will close it up with that thank you guys for sharing your thoughts and coach good luck to get the feeling better. We hope you get feeling better soon. Uh and then I will just close by saying this. You guys have been through a lot this year. You could really focus in on the negative things right now. Or you could remember the positives and all that you guys have accomplished this season. And it's my hope that you will do that. Aziz. Go on top of your teammates. Just kind of enjoy what you've accomplished together. So congratulations on a great season, E s.