Nov. 25, 2006
Game 5
MVC Tournament
#3 Missouri State vs. #1 Northern Iowa
Missouri State quotes
November 25, 2006
Missouri State head coach Melissa Stokes
Opening Statement...
"Coming into tonight, my biggest concern was how much energy we would have after playing eight games yesterday. I thought Northern Iowa was great (tonight) and they looked fresh. They had everything going their way and they played an unbelievable match. We looked a half step slow and half step off our game. If you saw us play last night, you saw us play like champions. We are championship team. Unfortunately today we were not able to repeat yesterday's performances. I am very proud of my team. The bottom line is that this tournament is meant to showcase our student-athletes and to get multiple teams into the NCAA tournament and I hope that's what turns out."
On MSU's inability to capitalize on errors...
"It definitely hurt. We were off our game tonight. We were a half step slow on defense and serve receive. The breaks weren't going our ways at times. Our jump serves were just out of bounds at times, but it wasn't because of a lack of effort. I think we gave Northern Iowa everything we had. They were great tonight."
Senior Erin O'Connor
ON MSU's troubles sustaining leads...
"They (UNI) went on some point runs that really hurt us. They had a few five point runs that took us off our game a little bit."
On tonight's loss...
"We had some bad breaks throughout the match. I don't think it hurt us in terms of helping them come back and tie the game (game 3), but some more breaks our way would have helped us in the match."
Game 5
MVC Tournament
#3 Missouri State vs. # 1 Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa quotes
November 25, 2006
Northern Iowa head coach Bobbi Petersen
Opening Statement...
"I'm so excited and happy for this team because they have worked so hard since the beginning of last spring to get to this point. We beat a very good Missouri State team (tonight). They deserve to get into the NCAA tournament just as much as we do, and I hope that is what happens."
On earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament...
"It's a huge relief. Going into the weekend, we as coaches had every scenario planned out whether we lost our first game and won it all. It's an absolute relief to know we'll be watching the selection show tomorrow and seeing our name. I'll be anxious to see if Missouri State makes it (to the tournament) because I think they deserve it."
On the match up against Missouri State...
"I know everyone hears it's hard to beat a team three times in the same season and, as coaches, we know that. I really like our match-up against Missouri State. Our kids play very well against Missouri State, so I wasn't leery going into this match. I knew if we came out and played hard it would be a good night."
Junior Kristin Belzung
On her blocking...
"Before the match we all went around as a team and talked about what we wanted to do out on the court to help the team win. That (blocking) is something I wanted to do. I wanted to be a force at the net because that can help your team win."
On the team heading into the NCAA Tournament...
"We are playing our best ball right now and that give us a lot of confidence. All areas of our game are firing on all cylinders. Our defense is playing awesome right now and we are doing a great job at the net. Our passing has been really good and I'm really excited about our future."
