Montana seeking to end streak at PSU/EWU this weekend
10/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The University of Montana volleyball team will wrap up the first half of its Big Sky Conference schedule this weekend when the Grizzlies play at Portland State and Eastern Washington. Montana (3-12, 0-5 BSC) will face the Vikings (8-8, 2-3 BSC) on Friday night at 7 p.m. in Portland, Ore., and the Eagles on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Cheney, Wash.
The Grizzlies will be attempting to snap a Big Sky Conference road losing streak that reached 24 matches when UM lost at Idaho State on Sept. 25. When Montana plays at Portland State on Friday, it will be returning to the site of its last league road victory, a 3-1 win on Nov. 9, 2000.
Last weekend the Grizzlies dropped to 0-5 in league play with a 3-0 home loss to Montana State.
About Portland State: The Vikings, who host Western Oregon on Tuesday, are currently 8-8 overall and tied for fifth in the Big Sky Conference with a 2-3 league mark. After sweeping both Idaho State and Weber State at home two weekends ago, Portland State lost twice on the road last weekend, falling in three games at Sacramento State and in five games at Northern Arizona.
PSU, which was picked for fifth in the BSC preseason poll, returned five starters from last year's team that went 14-14 and finished in sixth place in the league with a 3-11 record.
The Vikings are led offensively by sophomore outside hitter Jessica Brodie and freshman outside hitter Melissa Osterloh. Brodie averages a team-high 4.29 kills per game and had a match-high 24 kills in Saturday night's loss at NAU. Osterloh averages 3.74 kills per game but had a rough road trip last weekend, totaling just six kills on 40 attempts over the two matches.
Senior middle blocker Lisa Thomas averages 2.85 kills per game and is hitting a team-best .341. She also leads the team in blocking, at 1.00 block per game.
Sophomore setter Rachel Stevens averages 13.29 assists per game and Brodie leads the team in digs at 3.84 per game.
Portland State is coached by Jeff Mozzochi, who is 323-127 in his 12th year at PSU.
Montana-Portland State Series Record: The Vikings lead the all-time series against the Grizzlies, 31-13, including a streak of three straight victories. PSU won in four games at Missoula in 2004 and won in three games in the matchup at Portland.
Montana coach Nikki Best is 4-4 in her career against the Vikings.
About Eastern Washington: The Eagles, who play at Gonzaga on Tuesday, are currently 9-6 overall and tied for first in the Big Sky Conference with Sacramento State and Montana State. All three teams sport a similar 4-1 league record.
After opening conference play with four straight victories, Eastern Washington lost in three games at Sacramento State on Saturday afternoon, despite out-hitting the Hornets for the match.
EWU, which was picked for third in the BSC preseason poll (but with two first-place votes), went 22-8 a year ago and rampaged through the league with a near-perfect 13-1 mark. Nine of those 13 Big Sky Conference wins came in three games.
Offensively the Eagles are led by junior outside hitter Lizzy Mellor and senior outside hitter Keva Sonderen. Mellor is averaging a team-high 3.18 kills per game and recorded 13 in the Eagles' loss at Sacramento State. Sonderen averages 3.00 kills per game and had a team-best 18 kills in EWU's win at Northern Arizona, hitting a team-high .533.
Junior setter Christina Albers averages 11.27 assists per game, junior libero Andrea Verdoljak averages 4.67 digs per game and junior middle blocker Ashley Jensen averages 1.06 blocks per game.
Eastern Washington is coached by Wade Jensen, who is 100-33 in his fifth season.
Montana-Eastern Washington Series Record: The Grizzlies lead the all-time series with Eastern Washington, 37-22, but the Eagles have won nine straight and 15 of the last 16 meetings. UM's lone win during that stretch was a 3-2 home victory in 1999. EWU has won eight straight matchups with Montana at Cheney, Wash.
Griz coach Nikki Best is 0-9 in her career against the Eagles.
Montana State 3, Montana 0: Montana State swept to a 3-0 victory over Montana in a Big Sky Conference volleyball match at Missoula on Friday night, 30-25, 30-28, 30-20. The Grizzlies dropped to 3-12 overall, 0-5 in league play with the loss.
Montana did not hold the lead in any of the three games played in front of a season-high 555 fans.
Game one was tight early on and tied at 6-6 after a Bobcat attack error, but MSU scored five straight points to go up 11-6. The Grizzlies closed to within four points eight different times down the stretch, but could not get any closer, losing the opener, 30-25.
In game two Montana fell behind 7-1, but would not go away. The Grizzlies rallied throughout the game and finally tied it for the first time at 28-28 on a sophomore EvaLyn Whitehead kill. But the Bobcats got two quick kills from Kim Stonehouse and Meggie Malyurek to end the rally and win 30-28.
Game three followed a similar pattern with MSU jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead. Montana came back to close to within two at 18-16, but the Bobcats scored six of the next seven points to go ahead 24-17 and would go on to a 30-20 victory.
Montana State hit .240 for the match to Montana's .115. One area where the Grizzlies had the upper hand was in blocking. The Bobcats entered the game ranked No. 2 in the Big Sky Conference in that category, but UM totaled 11.0 total team blocks to MSU's 8.0.
Individually sophomore Claudia Houle was the lone Grizzly to reach double figures in kills. The 5-10 outside hitter had 13 kills and hit a team-high .290. Junior Audrey Jensen and Whitehead both had six kills.
Junior Diana Thompson had 29 assists and freshman Jackie White a match-high 15 digs. Houle added 14 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Thompson had 11 digs for her sixth season double-double.
Jensen and Whitehead both had six blocks for Montana. Thompson and freshman Jessica Petersen both had three.
Montana Tops BSC in Blocks: After three weekends of Big Sky Conference play, the Grizzly volleyball team ranks No. 1 in the league in blocks. Montana is averaging 2.84 blocks per game, ranking slightly ahead of Weber State's 2.74 blocks per game.
This represents a large improvement from last year when the Griz finished in sixth in blocks at 2.12 blocks per game.
Despite leading the conference in blocks, UM has out-blocked just two of its five league opponents to date. The Grizzlies had 14.0 blocks to Idaho State's 7.0 blocks and last Friday out-blocked Montana State, 11.0 to 8.0.
Weber State, Northern Arizona and Sacramento State all out-blocked the Griz in head-to-head meetings.
Around the Big Sky Conference: There is a logjam atop the league standings as Eastern Washington, Montana State and Sacramento State all stand at 4-1 after the Hornets' 3-0 victory over the previously unbeaten Eagles Saturday afternoon at Sacramento.
Idaho State moved into fourth place by itself at 3-2 with a road victory at Weber State last weekend.
Portland State and Northern Arizona are tied for fifth with 2-3 marks, Weber State is in seventh place at 1-4 and Montana stands at 0-5.
The last weekend of the first round of league play is full of important matches. Montana State plays at Eastern Washington on Friday night with first place on the line. Idaho State, which was picked by the league's coaches for a second-place finish in the preseason poll, hosts NAU and Sacramento State as the Bengals attempt to get themselves back in the league race.
Grizzlies and Lumberjacks Set BSC Record: When the dust had finally settled after Montana and Northern Arizona wrapped up their opening game on Oct. 1, a new Big Sky Conference record had been established. NAU's 42-40 victory, in which it saved eight game points, becomes the most points scored in a single game in league history since the NCAA moved to rally scoring prior to the 2001 season.
Houle Posts 25 Kills Again: When sophomore Claudia Houle finished with 25 kills against Carroll on Tuesday, Sept. 28, it marked the third time this season the 5-10 outside hitter has totaled at least 25 kills in a single match. Houle had 26 kills against New Mexico and 25 at Weber State.
Grizzlies in the Big Sky Rankings: Sophomore Claudia Houle ranks fourth in the Big Sky Conference in kills (4.11 kpg), junior Diana Thompson ranks fifth in assists (10.04 apg) and junior Audrey Jensen ranks sixth in blocks (1.10 bpg) and seventh in hitting percentage (.268).
Houle has totaled five 20+ kill matches in '04, a league high. Also, Houle's 26 kills at New Mexico on Sept. 4 remain the most recorded by a league player this season.
Thompson and Jensen Among Career Leaders: Juniors Diana Thompson and Audrey Jensen both rank in the Montana career top 10 in assists and hitting percentage, respectively.
Thompson has 1,523 career assists and recently passed Mari Brown to take over eighth place on that list. Brown collected 1,355 assists while playing from 1986-89.
In seventh place on the career assists list is Michele Hall, who had 1,697 while setting from 1985-86.
Jensen currently has a .245 hitting percentage for her career, tying her with Mary Klueber (1980-83) for fourth on the UM career list. Montana's top career hitter was Karen Goff-Downs, who hit .294 while playing from 1991-94.
The Grizzlies will be attempting to snap a Big Sky Conference road losing streak that reached 24 matches when UM lost at Idaho State on Sept. 25. When Montana plays at Portland State on Friday, it will be returning to the site of its last league road victory, a 3-1 win on Nov. 9, 2000.
Last weekend the Grizzlies dropped to 0-5 in league play with a 3-0 home loss to Montana State.
About Portland State: The Vikings, who host Western Oregon on Tuesday, are currently 8-8 overall and tied for fifth in the Big Sky Conference with a 2-3 league mark. After sweeping both Idaho State and Weber State at home two weekends ago, Portland State lost twice on the road last weekend, falling in three games at Sacramento State and in five games at Northern Arizona.
PSU, which was picked for fifth in the BSC preseason poll, returned five starters from last year's team that went 14-14 and finished in sixth place in the league with a 3-11 record.
The Vikings are led offensively by sophomore outside hitter Jessica Brodie and freshman outside hitter Melissa Osterloh. Brodie averages a team-high 4.29 kills per game and had a match-high 24 kills in Saturday night's loss at NAU. Osterloh averages 3.74 kills per game but had a rough road trip last weekend, totaling just six kills on 40 attempts over the two matches.
Senior middle blocker Lisa Thomas averages 2.85 kills per game and is hitting a team-best .341. She also leads the team in blocking, at 1.00 block per game.
Sophomore setter Rachel Stevens averages 13.29 assists per game and Brodie leads the team in digs at 3.84 per game.
Portland State is coached by Jeff Mozzochi, who is 323-127 in his 12th year at PSU.
Montana-Portland State Series Record: The Vikings lead the all-time series against the Grizzlies, 31-13, including a streak of three straight victories. PSU won in four games at Missoula in 2004 and won in three games in the matchup at Portland.
Montana coach Nikki Best is 4-4 in her career against the Vikings.
About Eastern Washington: The Eagles, who play at Gonzaga on Tuesday, are currently 9-6 overall and tied for first in the Big Sky Conference with Sacramento State and Montana State. All three teams sport a similar 4-1 league record.
After opening conference play with four straight victories, Eastern Washington lost in three games at Sacramento State on Saturday afternoon, despite out-hitting the Hornets for the match.
EWU, which was picked for third in the BSC preseason poll (but with two first-place votes), went 22-8 a year ago and rampaged through the league with a near-perfect 13-1 mark. Nine of those 13 Big Sky Conference wins came in three games.
Offensively the Eagles are led by junior outside hitter Lizzy Mellor and senior outside hitter Keva Sonderen. Mellor is averaging a team-high 3.18 kills per game and recorded 13 in the Eagles' loss at Sacramento State. Sonderen averages 3.00 kills per game and had a team-best 18 kills in EWU's win at Northern Arizona, hitting a team-high .533.
Junior setter Christina Albers averages 11.27 assists per game, junior libero Andrea Verdoljak averages 4.67 digs per game and junior middle blocker Ashley Jensen averages 1.06 blocks per game.
Eastern Washington is coached by Wade Jensen, who is 100-33 in his fifth season.
Montana-Eastern Washington Series Record: The Grizzlies lead the all-time series with Eastern Washington, 37-22, but the Eagles have won nine straight and 15 of the last 16 meetings. UM's lone win during that stretch was a 3-2 home victory in 1999. EWU has won eight straight matchups with Montana at Cheney, Wash.
Griz coach Nikki Best is 0-9 in her career against the Eagles.
Montana State 3, Montana 0: Montana State swept to a 3-0 victory over Montana in a Big Sky Conference volleyball match at Missoula on Friday night, 30-25, 30-28, 30-20. The Grizzlies dropped to 3-12 overall, 0-5 in league play with the loss.
Montana did not hold the lead in any of the three games played in front of a season-high 555 fans.
Game one was tight early on and tied at 6-6 after a Bobcat attack error, but MSU scored five straight points to go up 11-6. The Grizzlies closed to within four points eight different times down the stretch, but could not get any closer, losing the opener, 30-25.
In game two Montana fell behind 7-1, but would not go away. The Grizzlies rallied throughout the game and finally tied it for the first time at 28-28 on a sophomore EvaLyn Whitehead kill. But the Bobcats got two quick kills from Kim Stonehouse and Meggie Malyurek to end the rally and win 30-28.
Game three followed a similar pattern with MSU jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead. Montana came back to close to within two at 18-16, but the Bobcats scored six of the next seven points to go ahead 24-17 and would go on to a 30-20 victory.
Montana State hit .240 for the match to Montana's .115. One area where the Grizzlies had the upper hand was in blocking. The Bobcats entered the game ranked No. 2 in the Big Sky Conference in that category, but UM totaled 11.0 total team blocks to MSU's 8.0.
Individually sophomore Claudia Houle was the lone Grizzly to reach double figures in kills. The 5-10 outside hitter had 13 kills and hit a team-high .290. Junior Audrey Jensen and Whitehead both had six kills.
Junior Diana Thompson had 29 assists and freshman Jackie White a match-high 15 digs. Houle added 14 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Thompson had 11 digs for her sixth season double-double.
Jensen and Whitehead both had six blocks for Montana. Thompson and freshman Jessica Petersen both had three.
Montana Tops BSC in Blocks: After three weekends of Big Sky Conference play, the Grizzly volleyball team ranks No. 1 in the league in blocks. Montana is averaging 2.84 blocks per game, ranking slightly ahead of Weber State's 2.74 blocks per game.
This represents a large improvement from last year when the Griz finished in sixth in blocks at 2.12 blocks per game.
Despite leading the conference in blocks, UM has out-blocked just two of its five league opponents to date. The Grizzlies had 14.0 blocks to Idaho State's 7.0 blocks and last Friday out-blocked Montana State, 11.0 to 8.0.
Weber State, Northern Arizona and Sacramento State all out-blocked the Griz in head-to-head meetings.
Around the Big Sky Conference: There is a logjam atop the league standings as Eastern Washington, Montana State and Sacramento State all stand at 4-1 after the Hornets' 3-0 victory over the previously unbeaten Eagles Saturday afternoon at Sacramento.
Idaho State moved into fourth place by itself at 3-2 with a road victory at Weber State last weekend.
Portland State and Northern Arizona are tied for fifth with 2-3 marks, Weber State is in seventh place at 1-4 and Montana stands at 0-5.
The last weekend of the first round of league play is full of important matches. Montana State plays at Eastern Washington on Friday night with first place on the line. Idaho State, which was picked by the league's coaches for a second-place finish in the preseason poll, hosts NAU and Sacramento State as the Bengals attempt to get themselves back in the league race.
Grizzlies and Lumberjacks Set BSC Record: When the dust had finally settled after Montana and Northern Arizona wrapped up their opening game on Oct. 1, a new Big Sky Conference record had been established. NAU's 42-40 victory, in which it saved eight game points, becomes the most points scored in a single game in league history since the NCAA moved to rally scoring prior to the 2001 season.
Houle Posts 25 Kills Again: When sophomore Claudia Houle finished with 25 kills against Carroll on Tuesday, Sept. 28, it marked the third time this season the 5-10 outside hitter has totaled at least 25 kills in a single match. Houle had 26 kills against New Mexico and 25 at Weber State.
Grizzlies in the Big Sky Rankings: Sophomore Claudia Houle ranks fourth in the Big Sky Conference in kills (4.11 kpg), junior Diana Thompson ranks fifth in assists (10.04 apg) and junior Audrey Jensen ranks sixth in blocks (1.10 bpg) and seventh in hitting percentage (.268).
Houle has totaled five 20+ kill matches in '04, a league high. Also, Houle's 26 kills at New Mexico on Sept. 4 remain the most recorded by a league player this season.
Thompson and Jensen Among Career Leaders: Juniors Diana Thompson and Audrey Jensen both rank in the Montana career top 10 in assists and hitting percentage, respectively.
Thompson has 1,523 career assists and recently passed Mari Brown to take over eighth place on that list. Brown collected 1,355 assists while playing from 1986-89.
In seventh place on the career assists list is Michele Hall, who had 1,697 while setting from 1985-86.
Jensen currently has a .245 hitting percentage for her career, tying her with Mary Klueber (1980-83) for fourth on the UM career list. Montana's top career hitter was Karen Goff-Downs, who hit .294 while playing from 1991-94.
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