Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery

2016 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship
Arlington, Texas -- College Park Center
Nov. 18, 2016
Georgia State vs. Arkansas State
Post-Game Quotes

Arkansas State Head Coach David Rehr

Opening statement …
"Cliché as it could be, got to get the first one out of the way I didn't think we played particularly well in the first two sets, but we picked it up in the third. Have to give a lot of credit to Georgia State, they were really loose, really, really loose playing in the match and I think that helped them get through. I don't believe we were tight but we haven't competed in over a week, our last match was Friday at 3:30pm of last week. We just had to get the fires going and we know it's a long weekend but we just got to put our best foot forward and hope we can bounce back tomorrow with the winner of Arlington or Little Rock."

On getting past the first round …
"We've got great kids, you know. We've don't get all the individual awards we've received, if we don't have great players and you know I challenged them in the third set to not look back. I'm not mad about it because I'm not going to get on to them right then and there and we're still winning, but I just challenged them to just play well. We just went on to a run and started playing Arkansas State volleyball after that. Hopefully we can kind of start with that tomorrow."

On Mallory Warrington's 32 assists on the night …
"Yeah, it's a norm these days. She's one of those special talents and I know it's funny when the referees asked if we were going to sub her out when she comes in the back row when they try to plan their…and I'm like 'nope, nope that little 5-foot-7 wonder is going to do her thing,' and she does. I mean she's a little baller and like I've said in the past, as she goes, we go. She definitely guns our offense and we have that great counterpart with (Markie) Schaedig on our defense so we've got a great two headed monster that kinda runs us, so as they go, we go."

On a preview for tomorrow night …
"We just faced Little Rock last week, they've got great size in the front row with two monster middles that can block and I think they lead the conference in blocks. You've got to get them through the front row. UTA has a nice balanced attack. (Qiana) Canete and (Zhanelle) Gheathers in the middle. Really good setter and really good pieces that they have. It's one of these things where you can't wish for one or the other, they both have different things that are really good about each team. You know, hopefully they can go five. It's all you can ask."

On claiming win number 500 in his head coaching career …
"This has been a year of little small milestones. Program (win) No. 1,000 we had this year, Arkansas State win No. 100 for me and career No. 500 win for me. I didn't know how we were going to do it. How you wanted to celebrate the conference tournament? It's not at home and it's not something so I appreciate the Sun Belt, I had a ball that I can take home with me and that's what you want to kind of cherish these moments. I'm really proud of this. It's not about me, it's about the team because I didn't win any game at all. They did all the work, I just kind of sit there and try not to look mad."

Georgia State Head Coach Sally Polhamus

Opening statement …
"So proud of how we came out in the first two sets and played. We played with great heart and energy and really relentless volleyball. It was nice to see some of our players who had been hurt back in the lineup. They really worked hard and played for our seniors, which is really special."

On a pair of key contributing seniors in the lineup …
"You can't ask for two stronger seniors as leadership, people and character on and off the court. Kristina Stinson had one of her best matches of the year and she's been injured and really pushed past it and played a heck of a game. Eliza Zachary has been our go-to player all season. Everyone knows that they are going to come in on Eliza and she still finds ways to get it done and provide points for the team. So proud of those seniors and how they represent Georgia State."

On several underclassmen who have been vital in the 2016 season …
"They need to feel the pain of losing in the first round. The excitement of making the tournament but the goals have to be higher and higher each year. So many of our freshmen and sophomores have gotten playing time so I'm excited for the future and really in them growing their games and understanding what it is going to take to win a conference tournament."