The following is a post-game interview the Observer had with Head Coach Tanner Siegal about the up-coming season.

On Playing Pre-Season Games

Playing a team like Alemany gives us a good opportunity to get better in the pre-season. We know we're a team that when we are keeping the ball in play and shifting defensively and playing at a quick pace--we're a tough team to beat. We can definitely put the ball away on offense, so, for us, winning will come down to how well we play on defense.

I give credit to Alemany. They had some big hitters that were able to put away balls from the back line and front row. They did a really good job in winning game three and putting the pressure back on us.

On Going Deep Into the Playoffs:

We need to be efficient on our passing, be efficient on our blocking and not miss our serves. That is one thing early in the season that you want to figure out is how to keep our serving up at around ninety-percent and keep a lot of pressure on our opponents.

About Team Leadership:

This year, we have a team full of championship pedigrees. We have players who have been there and seen it before. So it's not situation, where, as a coach, you are just looking for one or two players to step up and lead. These are athletes who have been in the program four-years as varsity players. They were there for the first CIF championship. When you have players like this, you are looking for everybody to be on the same page and to lead by example.

George Laase

Senior outside hitter, Lauren Tishkoff spikes through the defenders' block.

On League Competition:

It's another year where Santa Monica is the team to beat. El Segundo will be another good team. But, we feel confident that if we play the game like we want to play it, keeping the pressure on our opponents, we feel like we will come out on top.

Self-Applied Pressure

The pressure is for us to play up to our capabilities. We must remain humble at practice and remain humble throughout the competitive season. We must keep our hard-work mentality in practice and stay in a good mindset. Then, maybe this year, we'll achieve that something special.