Nov. 25, 2005

Illinois State head coach Sharon Dingman

"I thought we just battled as hard as we could. Our ball control had to be great against a great blocking team like Missouri State and sometimes it wasn't. It's how this team has played all year, though. We fought hard."

On the return of Kari Staehlin:

"We didn't ask Kari to get 16 kills and six blocks or anything like that (she had 13 kills and two blocks), but she was incredible considering she had been spending 20 hours a day in bed. Her play gave us a lift that we needed. As we said before the match, 'Toughness isn't in the muscles, it's in the mind and heart.' She showed that today."

On playing two matches in one day:

"This is something I feel needs to be addressed. It's hard to ask teams to play twice in one day in such important circumstances. I don't know if it was physical fatigue as much as mental fatigue. But it's tough (to play two in one day) at this time of the year with so much on the line."