Nov. 23, 2008
Recap |
Final Stats
TULANE HEAD COACH Liz Kritza
Overall thoughts on the match
"There really are not words to describe how I feel, how my assistants feel or how my players feel right now, because this has been a long time coming. This is the eventual outcome of what we committed to do four years ago. We committed to going into the gym every single day and giving everything we had, and this is the eventual outcome. We knew this was going to happen. The question was when it was going to happen. I could not be happier for a group of people who are so different in so many different ways to come together, focus on a common goal and do everything in their powers to achieve it. Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they do not. This group has faced more adversity than most people. Forget about them being college athletes. This group has seen and had to do more things than most people will ever do in their lives. To have this the outcome after a four-year journey - especially for the seniors - is a very fitting ending and a really good example of how strong the human spirit is."
On UAB coming back in the fourth set
"We have seen this UAB team do exactly what they did today in set four. At their place, we had a convincing win to take the fourth set and they came out on fire in the fifth set. We had to come out and be ready to answer. This is a team that is well coached, they have good players who play at a high level and they simply do not go away. They are very tough-minded and that is why they find success. This is a very significant win for us because it is against UAB. I have the utmost respect for head coach Kerry Messersmith and the program she has built. This match today helps both of us prepare to go on to the NCAA Tournament and represent Conference USA the way that we should."
On if the win was sweeter after losing to UAB in the previous two C-USA Tournaments
"There was obviously some extra motivation because of the history. Every team except one or two at the end, end the season with a loss. It just so happened that we were losing out to a very good team for the last couple of years and we have been progressively improving in our conference tournament performances. To get the win over UAB kind of rectifies things in our head and gave us a good sense of where the program has come from, where it is now, and more importantly, how much better we can get."
On if this is the end of Tulane's goals list for 2008
"Absolutely not. What I told the team in the huddle after all the initial celebration is this is just the beginning. This is one thing on our checklist that we checked off. It is just the beginning because I firmly believe that this group can go on to a much higher level and I fully expect them to. The best thing is, they expect it more than I do."
On the performance of Tournament MVP Sara Radosevic
"Sara has grown a ton in her time here - not just as a player, but more importantly for me, as a person. She came to me after the match and said, `Coach, those two aces at the end were for you.' She has been a player that has tested me more than any other player, but it is such a sweet thing to see when one of your toughest challenges is also one of your most rewarding victories. Sara did a fantastic job in leading the team and staying focused. She is an elite player. She cemented herself in that category in the NCAA. I know she is going to go on to a great (professional) career, and we are expecting her to continue leading this program in postseason play. Probably one of the best things I saw was in the middle of all the celebration, everyone was huddled around the team trophy. I looked over and I saw her tournament MVP trophy was on the floor next to the bench. To me as a coach, that is a sure sign that everybody - including your most recognized player - is going for a team goal and not anything individual. Really good things happen when you are in that place."
On today's win being a complete-team effort
"We knew coming into this that we were not going to rely on one or two hitters or one libero. We were not going to rely on just one or two players because every single person involved in our program had a hand in this today. I cannot find a better group of coaches or players who are willing to do whatever it takes to find success for the overall group. That is a pretty special thing. I am young in coaching, but I realize what I have. It is a very special group. I give credit to my assistants. They make adjustments, they are able to see the game in a different way and they have enough confidence to call me and question me when they think I am making some missteps. I think it is that type of dynamic, along with players who trust and believe in what we are doing, that led us to this conference tournament championship today and will continue to lead us to success."
On what the difference was in today's win after losing to the Blazers earlier in the year
"UAB has the firepower to be able to score at the same pace we do point for point. Our secret to success had to be to take them out of system and had to slow their offense down. We had to stop them from scoring at such a high clip because we needed our offense to be an advantage for us. We had to serve tougher, focus on our blocking, make sure that we play much more aggressively on defense, covering more of the court and making sure some of those balls came up, because that was our advantage. We could not lose that advantage because if we did, it would have been so hard to play UAB and come out on top."
On if the team plans on adding to its goals list for the season
"Actually, we have an addendum to our list and it has been sitting there for a while. We started realizing how probably this day was going to be. This group talked about this before we got into the last phase of the conference regular season. We talked about how the worst thing we could do was have low expectations for ourselves and be selfish. We had to understand that we have to expect more than anyone else expects from us and everyone has to be willing to go outside of themselves for the overall cause. Because of that, we added a couple of things to our checklist and we will let you know when we check them off."
C-USA TOURNAMENT MVP Sara Radosevic
On today's win
"Everything happens for a reason. I said it yesterday, `Guys, the first team beats the fourth, second team beats the third and now the first is going to beat the second. It had to happen. It was the third time we met in the C-USA Tournament, today it was in the finals, and we had a chance to prove today who was better."
On her service aces late in the match
"I just had a feeling that I was going to ace it. In all honesty, I had a feeling about it. Coach Sinisa (Momic) came over to me and said, `Now, we need your serve. Now, you're going to toss it right. We need your serve now. Don't miss it.' I just had a feeling even before I tossed it that I was going to ace it. I have to finish this for my team."
On the complete team effort in today's win
"It was completely a 100 percent team effort. There is absolutely no one person who did this. Whenever we play for each other, this is what happens."
UAB HEAD COACH KERRY MESSERSMITH
Opening statement
"I think anytime the two of us step on the floor it is going to be a battle and it has been in the three years that I've been here. We just didn't get a lot of offensive productivity out of our players so we struggled in that way. Tulane is a great team and you have to play great to beat a great team."
Thoughts on getting an at large NCAA Tournament bid
"Well, nothing is a given. We've seen the selection committee do some really odd things. We have a tough match ahead of us on Friday we play Cincinnati. They're playing to get into the NCAA tournament because they got upset in their conference tournament. I'm sure they feel like if they get a win they have a good chance to get in. I think this conference deserves two if not three. We've made a huge leap as a whole and hopefully the selection committee will reward our conference."
On her feelings of the players on her team
"I couldn't be more proud of our kids. For whatever reason, it wasn't our night tonight. We had a good weekend. These seniors have accomplished so much. I think we're the only team in the conference that has come home with a trophy for the last three years. We were champions in 2006 and you want to talk about a group of seniors that has accomplished a lot in their time here. They won one championship and have been runner up in two. I just can't say enough about how proud I am of these kids. That's one thing we just told them is hopefully we're not done. We're not done making noise. If we get into the tournament, hopefully, we can get beyond that first game and have a good showing."
On the consistent solid tournament performances by UAB over the last three years
"It was hugely exciting for all of us. You just have to give a lot of credit to all of our seniors because they are obviously the ones that have led us here all three years. I know they were a little disappointed, because you want to win your conference championship, but the thing we told them was that there's nothing to be ashamed of. We have three trophies to prove it and we're hopefully not done yet."
