Colorado State Coach Tom Hilbert:
I know there are a lot questions about game one ... The first game was not
indicative of how the match was ... We had some momentum, but BYU was able
to make a run ... In game three they got the upper hand ... Our goal in game
three was to score some points and gain some momentum and get back into
rhythm ... We did that, and then we won game four and we thought we would
win the fifth game ... I'm proud of how we fought tonight.
Blocking was the reason BYU was better than us tonight ...BYU blocked
exceptionally well throughout the tournament ... BYU did what we did to
them last year (winning the tournament on the road as a No. 2 seed) ...
BYU was tremendously balanced tonight--they all played well ... We have to
get ready to play better teams.
Soraya Santos, Colorado State Junior:
We really wanted to play them (BYU) again after they beat us there (in
Provo) ... This was our chance to to win ... I was playing my heart out, but
it just didn't go our way.
Angela Knopf, Colorado State Junior:
We're not done ... We have to work even harder ... Every loss hurts, but we
have more matches to play ... We have to come back from this ... BYU taught
us something tonight ... We have to learn from this ... There are still big
opponents ahead.
Courtney Cox, Colorado State Junior:
Our goal is not to lose for the same reason twice ... We'll learn from
this and this will help us in the future.
BYU Coach Elaine Michaelis:
First I want to complement Colorado State ... They did a fabulous job with
this tournament, they have great fans that are supportive ... They did a
great job and I want to thank them ... I also want to complement their
(Colorado State) team ... This was two good teams slugging it out ...
Whoever had the momentum, whoever served well enough was going to come
out on top ... I'm pleased with our team as a whole ... Karina (Puikkonen)
set a good match, Kalani (Tonga) played a great match, and Nina
(Puikkonen) was outstanding through the whole tournament--she earned that
award (Tournament MVP) ... The blocking was really what carried us in the
tournament.
Nina Puikkonen, BYU Junior:
We really wanted this tournament championship ... We came in with that
goal, and we didn't want to settle for less.
Kalani Tonga, BYU Junior (on blocking):
We have been a consistent blocking team all season ... That's a strength
of ours ... We just continued doing what we hade been doing all season and
in practice.
