Dec. 5, 2008

Final Stats

WESTERN MICHIGAN HEAD COACH COLLEEN MUNSON
"We're excited to be a part of this tournament and we're excited to get our first win."

"They took us out of what we were trying to do. They're a great team. A good team is able to do that with their serves and able to block our strengths. We battled back and we have a very balanced attack and did not have to rely on one player to be successful. Jillian (Mitchell) did a really great job running our system and our passers gathered themselves and composed themselves."

On Dayton's comeback in the fourth set
"The magnitude of the tournament is amazing and we're flattered to be here. We put a lot of hard work into the season. Dayton has an amazing environment. Their game atmosphere is really exciting and fun. We were starting to channel that energy for us. We were tense but once we calmed down and played our system we were successful. Just chalk it up to the environment and a great Dayton team across the nets from us."

On facing Tulane
"We're going to enjoy this moment. We will prepare for Tulane tonight and show the girls film tomorrow."

WESTERN MICHIGAN JUNIOR SETTER JILLIAN MITCHELL

On mixing up the offense
"It came know that Ally (Allyson Doyle) wasn't getting the ball as much and we knew that she would definitely be able to put the ball against this team. She did a great job out there. Overall, our offense was completely balanced and Dayton did not know what to do."

On Dayton keying on Michelle Moore
"Usually she just swings away. I think that it's key to keep going back at her. She's going to be able to find a way and she did around the block a few times. I just put my trust in her again and again as she is going to be able to put the ball down."

On having no seniors
"We know that we're going to be the same team next year but we don't have it in our heads that we have another year to win a MAC championship and making the NCAA tournament. We just play our heart out every game and that's how we do well."

WESTERN MICHIGAN JUNIOR ALLYSON DOYLE

On what she was seeing during the game
"I have to say great job to Jill (Jillian Mitchell). That was the best she has ever mixed it up this season. Ebs (Katie Eberling) was putting everything away."

WESTERN MICHIGAN JUNIOR KATIE EBERLING

On reading the Dayton blockers
"In the beginning of the match I was a little jumpy. The coaches just said to relax and see things. Once I slowed things down we were able to read their offense pretty well."

Kelly Sheffield - Dayton Head Coach

"I'm proud of our team, in a bigger sense, of our ability to stay together throughout the course of the season and get better and put ourselves in this situation to play here. I think that shows an awful lot about the character of our team, and I think that it's something that we're all pretty proud of."

"It was a match of runs and at the end of the games... we errored ourselves out of game two and we errored ourselves out of game four."

"That's kind of what we thought as the match was going on was whichever team was going to have that last run was going to win, and unfortunately they had about an eight point run there at the end, and that was it."

"When the games were on the line, they did not make errors. They kept the ball off the floor and we got in some pretty good rallies there, but we were ending the plays. And unfortunately when the games were on the line, we were ending them negatively for us."

"In game two, we were right there with a chance to go into the locker room 2-0 and we lost that."

"Our team was pretty jacked up, they didn't want to hear anything from me. They just went on out there to the floor without waiting for me. Sometimes that's a good sign, but we jumped out there kind of quick in game four or set four, whatever they're calling those things now. And we had ourselves a lead at the end of game four, I didn't get the feeling that we had lost air whatsoever going into game four."

"I thought we had a team that was in the right frame of mind, I thought we had a team that believe we could win this match, and I actually felt we had a team that thought they were probably the better team out there, but we were the team that just made too many errors in this given match."

Senior Mandy Robbe

"It was frustrating, no question about that. Like coach said, it was a game of runs. We'd get on a run and then we'd make a mistake, and I believe our errors came at critical times."

"I think, as a team, we had a great week of practice and we really played together. And even despite all those errors, it was an honor to play in front of crowd and in front of our fans and to get to play in the NCAA Tournament. It was an honor, and no question we played hard and no question we made those errors at those moments but it was still a great time out and there and we still fought hard."

Redshirt Senior Bethany Akerhielm

"I think we kind of knew what to expect going in, we did a lot of scouting, watched a lot of video but I think it was hard at those times to figure out who was going to do what."

Redshirt Sophomore Lindsay Fletemier

"They have a bunch of good players, and when their offense is that spread it's kind of hard to key on that person because then they can just go to someone else. We worked hard, we tried our best."

"It's always good to play in front of the home crowd. To have the tournament here again was a blessing, everyone was so excited.

"It was an amazing atmosphere to play in, once again, like always. You just can't get better than playing on your home court."