Carroll kicks off four-match homestand for Griz volleyball
9/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
After starting the season with 10 of its first 11 matches on the road, the University of Montana volleyball team will be home for its next four, starting with Tuesday's match against Carroll (13-3). The Grizzlies (2-9, 0-2 BSC) will open their Big Sky Conference home schedule this weekend when Montana hosts Northern Arizona (2-9, 0-1 BSC) on Friday and Sacramento State (11-4, 1-0 BSC) on Saturday.
All three matches will begin at 7 p.m. in the West Auxiliary Gym in the Adams Center.
Montana opened its 2004 league schedule last weekend at Weber State and Idaho State. UM dropped both matches, falling in five games to the Wildcats and in four games to the Bengals.
Griz Volleyball Live on the Web: Montana volleyball fans who cannot make the Grizzlies' 2004 home matches can follow all the action as it happens by keeping tabs of the live match stats at MontanaGrizzlies.com. Tuesday's match against Carroll and Friday's match against Northern Arizona will also be broadcast over the web site, with UM assistant sports information director Chris Geraghty on the play-by-play.
About Carroll: The Fighting Saints are off to a 13-3 start in 2004 and have moved up to No. 17 in the most recent NAIA national poll. Carroll won two Frontier Conference road matches last weekend, defeating Montana-Western in four games (27-30, 30-16, 30-25, 30-17) and coming back from a 2-0 deficit to upend Westminster in five games (22-30, 26-30, 30-23, 30-19, 15-3).
The Saints went 24-11 last year and finished second in the Frontier Conference regular-season standings before going on to win their third straight conference tournament title. By winning the league tournament championship, Carroll advanced to the NAIA Pacific Northwest Regional.
The Fighting Saints are coached by Amy Heuiser, who is 161-85 in her eighth year. She has led Carroll to five straight 20-win seasons.
Carroll-Montana Series Record: The Grizzlies lead the all-time series with the Fighting Saints, 6-0. Montana has won 16 of the 17 games played in those six matches, going 5-0 against CC at Missoula and 1-0 at a tournament in Moscow, Idaho. The two teams have not faced each other since the 1987 season.
About Northern Arizona: The Lumberjacks are currently 2-9 overall and 0-1 in league play after losing in three games at home last weekend to Sacramento State, 18-30, 20-30, 17-30. NAU's two wins this season have come at home against Rider, 3-0, and on a neutral floor against Butler, 3-0.
The Lumberjacks went 13-16 in 2003 and advanced to the Big Sky Conference tournament after finishing in a tie for fourth with a 7-7 mark. After the season NAU lost its coach, who was let go, and one of its top players, Nikki Randall, the 2003 league outstanding freshman who transferred to Idaho State.
Northern Arizona is led offensively by junior outside hitter Ellie Butterfield, who averages 4.10 kills per game and totaled 15 kills on Saturday against Sacramento State. Junior outside hitter Katy Knowlton averages 2.89 kills per game and freshman outside hitter Kailee Savage averages 2.74 kills per game.
Freshman setter Kelly Verboom leads the Lumberjacks with 8.33 assists per game, junior libero Marie Pastores averages 4.58 digs per game and junior middle blocker Renee Lathrop has totaled a team-high 46 blocks.
NAU is coached by Chris Campbell, who is in his first season.
Northern Arizona-Montana Series Record: Montana leads the all-time series with Northern Arizona, 21-18, but that record is not indicative of the most recent results. The Lumberjacks have won 10 straight against the Grizzlies and 15 of the last 16 matchups and have a four-match winning streak at Missoula.
About Sacramento State: The Hornets are showing every indication that they are the team to beat in the Big Sky Conference this season, as the league's coaches predicted in their preseason poll. Sac State is 11-4 on the season and opened its league schedule last weekend with a solid 3-0 win at Northern Arizona.
The Hornets have won five of their last six, with all five wins coming in 3-0 sweeps.
Sac State's losses this season have come to Santa Clara, which is currently ranked No. 13 in the nation, Notre Dame, Nevada and St. Mary's, which is among the teams receiving votes in this week's poll.
The Hornets went 23-12 last year and finished second in the league during the regular season with a 12-2 mark. They went on to win the conference tournament title at Eastern Washington and advanced to the NCAA tournament, losing in three tight games at Stanford in the first round.
Senior outside hitter Sandra Bandimere averages 4.10 kills per game, senior setter Stephanie Gamst averages 11.54 assists per game, sophomore libero Kristin Lutes averages 4.31 digs per game and senior middle blocker Emily Wilson averages 1.53 blocks per game.
Sac State is coached by Debby Colberg, who is 729-265 in her 29th year. She has been named the Big Sky Conference coach of the year six of the last seven years.
Sacramento State-Montana Series Record: The Hornets lead the all-time series with the Grizzlies, 15-4. Sac State has gone 15-2 against UM since both have been members of the Big Sky Conference.
The Hornets have won the last nine matchups in the series and have a perfect 8-0 record at Missoula.
Griz Unable to End League Road Struggles: Montana's losing streak in Big Sky Conference road matches reached 24 last weekend when the Grizzlies lost at Weber State and Idaho State. The Griz went winless in Big Sky Conference road matches in 2003 (0-7), 2002 (0-7) and 2001 (0-7) and lost their final league road match of the 2000 season.
UM's last league road victory came at Portland State, 3-1, on Nov. 9, 2000.
Weber State 3, Montana 2: Despite holding the advantage in nearly every statistical category, Montana opened its 2004 league schedule on Friday night with a 30-21, 30-32, 26-30, 30-22, 10-15 loss at Weber State. Montana had 21 more kills in the match than the Wildcats and out-hit WSU .206 to .160.
Sophomore Claudia Houle had a match-high 25 kills to lead Montana. Freshman Micaela Parker added 17, junior Audrey Jensen 15 and senior Alice Myers 12.
Junior Diana Thompson had career highs in both assists (65) and digs (18), Jensen had a team-high nine blocks and Houle led the team with a season-high 21 digs.
The Griz hit .419 in their game one victory and .255 in game four, but struggled in game five's loss, hitting -.067.
Idaho State 3, Montana 1: As they did the previous night, the Grizzlies opened strong in game one against the Bengals, hitting .256 to take game one, 30-26. But it would be their last win of the night, falling in four games.
Sophomore Claudia Houle had 17 kills, sophomore EvaLyn Whitehead 13 and freshman Micaela Parker 12. Junior Diana Thompson had 44 assists and freshman Jackie White added a team-high 23 digs.
Montana had a season-high 14.0 total team blocks (to ISU's 7.0) and five different players recorded at least three blocks in the match. Jensen had a team-best eight blocks, with two solo and six block assists. Whitehead had six, with one solo and five assists.
Montana Goes 0-2 While Out-Hitting Opponents: The Grizzlies lost both of their matches last weekend at Weber State and Idaho State and did so while out-hitting their opponents. Montana hit .198 over the nine games, while holding its opponents to a .181 hitting percentage.
Grizzlies in the Big Sky Rankings: Sophomore Claudia Houle ranks fourth in the Big Sky Conference in kills (3.98 kpg) and ninth in hitting percentage (.240), junior Diana Thompson ranks fifth in assists (9.80 apg) and junior Audrey Jensen ranks ninth in blocks (1.07 bpg).
Houle's 26 kills against New Mexico on Sept. 4 and 25 kills versus Weber State on Sept. 24 are the top two single-match kill totals in the league this season.
Houle has also totaled four 20+ kill matches in '04, also a league high.
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 1,373 career assists and last week 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 .231 hitting percentage for her career, ranking her eighth on the UM career list. Montana's top career hitter was Karen Goff-Downs, who hit .294 while playing from 1991-94.
Griz Picked for Eighth in Big Sky: After finishing in eighth place in the league standings in 2003, Montana was picked by the Big Sky's coaches for an eighth-place finish in 2004.
Sacramento State picked up three first-place votes and 45 total points to finish atop the poll. The Hornets were followed by Idaho State (three first-place votes, 42 points), Eastern Washington (two first-place votes, 39 points), Montana State (34), Portland State (22), Weber State (17), Northern Arizona (15) and Montana (8).
All three matches will begin at 7 p.m. in the West Auxiliary Gym in the Adams Center.
Montana opened its 2004 league schedule last weekend at Weber State and Idaho State. UM dropped both matches, falling in five games to the Wildcats and in four games to the Bengals.
Griz Volleyball Live on the Web: Montana volleyball fans who cannot make the Grizzlies' 2004 home matches can follow all the action as it happens by keeping tabs of the live match stats at MontanaGrizzlies.com. Tuesday's match against Carroll and Friday's match against Northern Arizona will also be broadcast over the web site, with UM assistant sports information director Chris Geraghty on the play-by-play.
About Carroll: The Fighting Saints are off to a 13-3 start in 2004 and have moved up to No. 17 in the most recent NAIA national poll. Carroll won two Frontier Conference road matches last weekend, defeating Montana-Western in four games (27-30, 30-16, 30-25, 30-17) and coming back from a 2-0 deficit to upend Westminster in five games (22-30, 26-30, 30-23, 30-19, 15-3).
The Saints went 24-11 last year and finished second in the Frontier Conference regular-season standings before going on to win their third straight conference tournament title. By winning the league tournament championship, Carroll advanced to the NAIA Pacific Northwest Regional.
The Fighting Saints are coached by Amy Heuiser, who is 161-85 in her eighth year. She has led Carroll to five straight 20-win seasons.
Carroll-Montana Series Record: The Grizzlies lead the all-time series with the Fighting Saints, 6-0. Montana has won 16 of the 17 games played in those six matches, going 5-0 against CC at Missoula and 1-0 at a tournament in Moscow, Idaho. The two teams have not faced each other since the 1987 season.
About Northern Arizona: The Lumberjacks are currently 2-9 overall and 0-1 in league play after losing in three games at home last weekend to Sacramento State, 18-30, 20-30, 17-30. NAU's two wins this season have come at home against Rider, 3-0, and on a neutral floor against Butler, 3-0.
The Lumberjacks went 13-16 in 2003 and advanced to the Big Sky Conference tournament after finishing in a tie for fourth with a 7-7 mark. After the season NAU lost its coach, who was let go, and one of its top players, Nikki Randall, the 2003 league outstanding freshman who transferred to Idaho State.
Northern Arizona is led offensively by junior outside hitter Ellie Butterfield, who averages 4.10 kills per game and totaled 15 kills on Saturday against Sacramento State. Junior outside hitter Katy Knowlton averages 2.89 kills per game and freshman outside hitter Kailee Savage averages 2.74 kills per game.
Freshman setter Kelly Verboom leads the Lumberjacks with 8.33 assists per game, junior libero Marie Pastores averages 4.58 digs per game and junior middle blocker Renee Lathrop has totaled a team-high 46 blocks.
NAU is coached by Chris Campbell, who is in his first season.
Northern Arizona-Montana Series Record: Montana leads the all-time series with Northern Arizona, 21-18, but that record is not indicative of the most recent results. The Lumberjacks have won 10 straight against the Grizzlies and 15 of the last 16 matchups and have a four-match winning streak at Missoula.
About Sacramento State: The Hornets are showing every indication that they are the team to beat in the Big Sky Conference this season, as the league's coaches predicted in their preseason poll. Sac State is 11-4 on the season and opened its league schedule last weekend with a solid 3-0 win at Northern Arizona.
The Hornets have won five of their last six, with all five wins coming in 3-0 sweeps.
Sac State's losses this season have come to Santa Clara, which is currently ranked No. 13 in the nation, Notre Dame, Nevada and St. Mary's, which is among the teams receiving votes in this week's poll.
The Hornets went 23-12 last year and finished second in the league during the regular season with a 12-2 mark. They went on to win the conference tournament title at Eastern Washington and advanced to the NCAA tournament, losing in three tight games at Stanford in the first round.
Senior outside hitter Sandra Bandimere averages 4.10 kills per game, senior setter Stephanie Gamst averages 11.54 assists per game, sophomore libero Kristin Lutes averages 4.31 digs per game and senior middle blocker Emily Wilson averages 1.53 blocks per game.
Sac State is coached by Debby Colberg, who is 729-265 in her 29th year. She has been named the Big Sky Conference coach of the year six of the last seven years.
Sacramento State-Montana Series Record: The Hornets lead the all-time series with the Grizzlies, 15-4. Sac State has gone 15-2 against UM since both have been members of the Big Sky Conference.
The Hornets have won the last nine matchups in the series and have a perfect 8-0 record at Missoula.
Griz Unable to End League Road Struggles: Montana's losing streak in Big Sky Conference road matches reached 24 last weekend when the Grizzlies lost at Weber State and Idaho State. The Griz went winless in Big Sky Conference road matches in 2003 (0-7), 2002 (0-7) and 2001 (0-7) and lost their final league road match of the 2000 season.
UM's last league road victory came at Portland State, 3-1, on Nov. 9, 2000.
Weber State 3, Montana 2: Despite holding the advantage in nearly every statistical category, Montana opened its 2004 league schedule on Friday night with a 30-21, 30-32, 26-30, 30-22, 10-15 loss at Weber State. Montana had 21 more kills in the match than the Wildcats and out-hit WSU .206 to .160.
Sophomore Claudia Houle had a match-high 25 kills to lead Montana. Freshman Micaela Parker added 17, junior Audrey Jensen 15 and senior Alice Myers 12.
Junior Diana Thompson had career highs in both assists (65) and digs (18), Jensen had a team-high nine blocks and Houle led the team with a season-high 21 digs.
The Griz hit .419 in their game one victory and .255 in game four, but struggled in game five's loss, hitting -.067.
Idaho State 3, Montana 1: As they did the previous night, the Grizzlies opened strong in game one against the Bengals, hitting .256 to take game one, 30-26. But it would be their last win of the night, falling in four games.
Sophomore Claudia Houle had 17 kills, sophomore EvaLyn Whitehead 13 and freshman Micaela Parker 12. Junior Diana Thompson had 44 assists and freshman Jackie White added a team-high 23 digs.
Montana had a season-high 14.0 total team blocks (to ISU's 7.0) and five different players recorded at least three blocks in the match. Jensen had a team-best eight blocks, with two solo and six block assists. Whitehead had six, with one solo and five assists.
Montana Goes 0-2 While Out-Hitting Opponents: The Grizzlies lost both of their matches last weekend at Weber State and Idaho State and did so while out-hitting their opponents. Montana hit .198 over the nine games, while holding its opponents to a .181 hitting percentage.
Grizzlies in the Big Sky Rankings: Sophomore Claudia Houle ranks fourth in the Big Sky Conference in kills (3.98 kpg) and ninth in hitting percentage (.240), junior Diana Thompson ranks fifth in assists (9.80 apg) and junior Audrey Jensen ranks ninth in blocks (1.07 bpg).
Houle's 26 kills against New Mexico on Sept. 4 and 25 kills versus Weber State on Sept. 24 are the top two single-match kill totals in the league this season.
Houle has also totaled four 20+ kill matches in '04, also a league high.
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 1,373 career assists and last week 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 .231 hitting percentage for her career, ranking her eighth on the UM career list. Montana's top career hitter was Karen Goff-Downs, who hit .294 while playing from 1991-94.
Griz Picked for Eighth in Big Sky: After finishing in eighth place in the league standings in 2003, Montana was picked by the Big Sky's coaches for an eighth-place finish in 2004.
Sacramento State picked up three first-place votes and 45 total points to finish atop the poll. The Hornets were followed by Idaho State (three first-place votes, 42 points), Eastern Washington (two first-place votes, 39 points), Montana State (34), Portland State (22), Weber State (17), Northern Arizona (15) and Montana (8).
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