Montana remains at home for Bobcats, Bison
10/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The University of Montana volleyball team will be at home for the second consecutive weekend when the Grizzlies host Montana State and North Dakota State this week. Montana (12-11, 2-7 BSC) will host the Bobcats (10-12, 4-5 BSC) Thursday at 7 p.m. and the Bison (1-24) Friday at 7 p.m. Both matches will be played at UM's West Auxiliary Gym.
The Griz play four of their final six matches at home, with three of five of those being conference matchups.
Thursday's contest with Montana State will be preceded by the 5:30 p.m. women's basketball Maroon and Silver scrimmage.
Last weekend Montana split at home against Sacramento State and Northern Arizona. After dropping a 22-30, 23-30, 24-30 decision to the Hornets Friday night, the Grizzlies rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Lumberjacks in four games Saturday night and climb into a tie for sixth place in the Big Sky Conference standings with NAU and Idaho State.
The top six teams in the final regular-season standings will advance to the 2005 Big Sky Conference tournament, which will be hosted by the regular-season champion.
MontanaGrizzlies.com Coverage: MontanaGrizzlies.com will be providing live stats and a live broadcast of both of this week's matches. The broadcast team will be UM assistant sports information director Chris Geraghty on the play-by-play and former Griz volleyball standout Claire Thompson on the color. Coverage will commence each night a few minutes prior to the start of the match.
Thompson Passes 3,000: Senior setter Diana Thompson recorded her 3,000th career assist in the fourth and final game against Northern Arizona Saturday night. Thompson had 635 assists as a freshman, 336 as a sophomore, 1,072 as a junior and has 963 this season for a career total of 3,006. That ranks third on the UM career list (see page three for complete list).
White Cracks NCAA List: Sophomore libero Jackie White moved onto the list of NCAA digs leaders last week when her average of 5.19 digs per game ranked 30th in the nation (the final spot recognized).
After last weekend's matches against Sacramento State and Northern Arizona, White dipped to 5.15 digs per game, which still ranks second in the Big Sky Conference behind Sac State's Kristin Lutes.
White's average of 6.58 digs per game in league play are more than one dig per game better than anyone else in the league.
Houle Double-Doubles Way to Top: Junior Claudia Houle recorded two more double-doubles last weekend (10 kills, 15 digs against the Hornets, 16 kills, 21 digs against the Lumberjacks), her team leading 17th and 18th double-doubles of the season.
Houle is now tied with Idaho State's Felice Yocopis for the league lead in that category.
Houle Moving Up Kills List: Junior Claudia Houle has 359 kills on the season, which rank 20th on the UM single-season list, and Montana still has six matches yet to play. With average production over the final three weekends, Houle should finish with a season kill total that ranks in UM's top five all-time.
Three Weekends Remain in Race for BSC Tournament: All eight Big Sky Conference teams have played nine league matches to this point, with just five matches remaining to determine the six participants for the 2005 conference tournament.
Sacramento State (8-1 BSC) won twice on the road and Portland State (7-2) won twice at home last weekend to maintain their one-two ranking atop the BSC standings. With a victory last weekend over Northern Arizona, the Grizzlies moved into a tie for sixth.
Montana is seeking its first league tournament appearance since the 2000 season.
"I'm comfortable with where we stand right now," assistant head coach Dave Best said Monday. "We've been getting better every week and we're posting a lot of good numbers. Last weekend we had several players have top performances, like we were getting early in the season.
"Our conference is very strong, just like it always is. There isn't that big a gap between (the top and the bottom). In terms of preparation, I think anybody can be beat at any given time. That being said, I think we need to keep focusing on what we're doing on our side of the net and continue to get better and put up solid numbers to ensure that we do get in the conference tournament."
About Montana State: The Bobcats (10-12, 4-5 BSC) are currently in fifth place in the Big Sky Conference, one game behind Weber State (5-4 BSC) and two games ahead of Montana, Idaho State and Northern Arizona (all 2-7 BSC). Since losing three straight five-game matches to Eastern Washington, Portland State and Weber State, MSU has won two of three. The Bobcats lost their last match to Sacramento State in three games, 15-30, 19-30, 17-30, hitting just .066 in the loss.
Junior middle blocker Kim Stonehouse averages 3.37 kills per game, freshman setter Brittni Sesler averages 8.64 assists per game, junior libero Kandice Kelly averages 4.30 digs per game and senior middle blocker Megan Zanto averages 1.32 blocks per game.
Montana State is coached by Miya Malauulu.
"I feel that we are on our second surge right now," Best said. "We obviously had a lull at the start of conference (when we faced Montana State the first time) after we had been a real solid team coming out of preseason. I think we're getting back to where we are getting refocused. We know every match we have from here on out is going to be tough competition."
The Last Time: Montana State hit .278 and out-blocked the Grizzlies 10.0 to 1.0 to win in three games, 30-24, 30-19, 30-27, at Bozeman Sept. 30. Junior Claudia Houle had 14 kills for Montana, which hit .123 in the loss.
About North Dakota State: The Bison are 1-24 on the season. After a long history of national success at the NCAA Division II level, including a runnerup finish at the 1998 national tournament, NDSU is in its second year as an NCAA Division I independent.
Freshman outside hitter Kelly Lopez averages 2.81 kills per game, junior setter Sheila Parrish averages 5.04 assists per game, sophomore libero Kari Fagnan averages 3.23 digs per game and junior middle hitter Lindsay Shockman averages 0.98 blocks per game.
The Bison are coached by Zaundra Bina.
Griz Split at Home Against Sac State, NAU: Montana dropped its opener on the weekend to Sacramento State, 22-30, 23-30, 24-30. The Hornets hit .304 in the match and out-blocked the Grizzlies 8.0 to 4.0. Junior Claudia Houle had 10 kills and 15 digs to lead Montana. Sophomore Jackie White added 17 digs, and senior Diana Thompson had 33 assists.
The Grizzlies have allowed three opponents to hit better than .300 in a match this season. The Hornets hit .324 in their win against UM at Sacramento and .304 Friday. (Eastern Washington hit .306 in its victory at Missoula Oct. 8).
Saturday the Grizzlies bounced back to defeat Northern Arizona in four games, 26-30, 30-27, 33-31, 30-23. After hitting just .073 (and allowing the Lumberjacks to hit .206) in dropping game one, Montana started dominating play at the net. NAU was limited to .200, .156 and -.022 hitting in games two, three and four and the Griz finished with a season-high 14.0 total team blocks.
Juniors Claudia Houle and Emily Sakis both had 16 kills. Houle added a team-high 21 digs, while Sakis hit a team-best and season-high.481.
Sophomore Jessica Petersen matched a career high with nine blocks, and five UM players had at least three blocks.
"We blocked 14 balls against Northern Arizona and that's a tremendous statistic since the night before we didn't necessarily have such a great blocking effort (totaling four blocks) against Sac State," Best said. "The best thing Sac State does is not allow you to do certain things. Their outside hitters made us play defense. They didn't hit into the block. They knew we were going to block some balls, so they didn't allow us that.
"Northern Arizona's approach was 'We're going to keep coming at you the whole time and hit the ball very aggressively.'
"It didn't work out for them, but I thought both plans were pretty good. It just depends what kind of team you have. Northern Arizona hit the ball as hard as any team in the conference, and they tested our block. They didn't win that matchup, but it was a very aggressive way to come at us.
"This time of year the ball-handling by almost every team is very good, so it's really about who can make runs of points and who can then hold on to those leads. Against Sac State, we were able to make runs of points, but then we allowed them back in the match.
"Against NAU on Saturday night, we were able to make runs of points and we were then able to hold those defensively."
Montana Enjoys Successful Pre-League Schedule:Montana went 10-4 in its pre-Big Sky Conference matches, the Grizzlies' best start since the 1999 season.
Montana played in four pre-league tournaments, taking first at Maine's tournament with a 3-0 record, second at the Montana Invitational (2-1) and Denver's tournament (2-1) and third at Iowa State's tournament (2-2).
The Griz also had a non-conference win over Carroll.
Grizzlies Pick Up Individual Accolades: Junior Claudia Houle started the 2005 season with a flourish, earning Collegiate Volleyball Update's National Player of the Week (8/30) honor after leading Montana to the championship at Maine's tournament. She was also named to the Maine all-tournament team and was the Big Sky Player of the Week (8/29).
She followed that up with an all-tournament selection at Iowa State's tournament and another Big Sky Player of the Week (9/5) award.
Senior Diana Thompson was named to the all-tournament team at Montana's tournament, junior Emily Sakis was named all-tournament at both Montana's and Denver's tournaments and senior Audrey Jensen was named all-tournament at Denver's tournament.
The Griz play four of their final six matches at home, with three of five of those being conference matchups.
Thursday's contest with Montana State will be preceded by the 5:30 p.m. women's basketball Maroon and Silver scrimmage.
Last weekend Montana split at home against Sacramento State and Northern Arizona. After dropping a 22-30, 23-30, 24-30 decision to the Hornets Friday night, the Grizzlies rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Lumberjacks in four games Saturday night and climb into a tie for sixth place in the Big Sky Conference standings with NAU and Idaho State.
The top six teams in the final regular-season standings will advance to the 2005 Big Sky Conference tournament, which will be hosted by the regular-season champion.
MontanaGrizzlies.com Coverage: MontanaGrizzlies.com will be providing live stats and a live broadcast of both of this week's matches. The broadcast team will be UM assistant sports information director Chris Geraghty on the play-by-play and former Griz volleyball standout Claire Thompson on the color. Coverage will commence each night a few minutes prior to the start of the match.
Thompson Passes 3,000: Senior setter Diana Thompson recorded her 3,000th career assist in the fourth and final game against Northern Arizona Saturday night. Thompson had 635 assists as a freshman, 336 as a sophomore, 1,072 as a junior and has 963 this season for a career total of 3,006. That ranks third on the UM career list (see page three for complete list).
White Cracks NCAA List: Sophomore libero Jackie White moved onto the list of NCAA digs leaders last week when her average of 5.19 digs per game ranked 30th in the nation (the final spot recognized).
After last weekend's matches against Sacramento State and Northern Arizona, White dipped to 5.15 digs per game, which still ranks second in the Big Sky Conference behind Sac State's Kristin Lutes.
White's average of 6.58 digs per game in league play are more than one dig per game better than anyone else in the league.
Houle Double-Doubles Way to Top: Junior Claudia Houle recorded two more double-doubles last weekend (10 kills, 15 digs against the Hornets, 16 kills, 21 digs against the Lumberjacks), her team leading 17th and 18th double-doubles of the season.
Houle is now tied with Idaho State's Felice Yocopis for the league lead in that category.
Houle Moving Up Kills List: Junior Claudia Houle has 359 kills on the season, which rank 20th on the UM single-season list, and Montana still has six matches yet to play. With average production over the final three weekends, Houle should finish with a season kill total that ranks in UM's top five all-time.
Three Weekends Remain in Race for BSC Tournament: All eight Big Sky Conference teams have played nine league matches to this point, with just five matches remaining to determine the six participants for the 2005 conference tournament.
Sacramento State (8-1 BSC) won twice on the road and Portland State (7-2) won twice at home last weekend to maintain their one-two ranking atop the BSC standings. With a victory last weekend over Northern Arizona, the Grizzlies moved into a tie for sixth.
Montana is seeking its first league tournament appearance since the 2000 season.
"I'm comfortable with where we stand right now," assistant head coach Dave Best said Monday. "We've been getting better every week and we're posting a lot of good numbers. Last weekend we had several players have top performances, like we were getting early in the season.
"Our conference is very strong, just like it always is. There isn't that big a gap between (the top and the bottom). In terms of preparation, I think anybody can be beat at any given time. That being said, I think we need to keep focusing on what we're doing on our side of the net and continue to get better and put up solid numbers to ensure that we do get in the conference tournament."
About Montana State: The Bobcats (10-12, 4-5 BSC) are currently in fifth place in the Big Sky Conference, one game behind Weber State (5-4 BSC) and two games ahead of Montana, Idaho State and Northern Arizona (all 2-7 BSC). Since losing three straight five-game matches to Eastern Washington, Portland State and Weber State, MSU has won two of three. The Bobcats lost their last match to Sacramento State in three games, 15-30, 19-30, 17-30, hitting just .066 in the loss.
Junior middle blocker Kim Stonehouse averages 3.37 kills per game, freshman setter Brittni Sesler averages 8.64 assists per game, junior libero Kandice Kelly averages 4.30 digs per game and senior middle blocker Megan Zanto averages 1.32 blocks per game.
Montana State is coached by Miya Malauulu.
"I feel that we are on our second surge right now," Best said. "We obviously had a lull at the start of conference (when we faced Montana State the first time) after we had been a real solid team coming out of preseason. I think we're getting back to where we are getting refocused. We know every match we have from here on out is going to be tough competition."
The Last Time: Montana State hit .278 and out-blocked the Grizzlies 10.0 to 1.0 to win in three games, 30-24, 30-19, 30-27, at Bozeman Sept. 30. Junior Claudia Houle had 14 kills for Montana, which hit .123 in the loss.
About North Dakota State: The Bison are 1-24 on the season. After a long history of national success at the NCAA Division II level, including a runnerup finish at the 1998 national tournament, NDSU is in its second year as an NCAA Division I independent.
Freshman outside hitter Kelly Lopez averages 2.81 kills per game, junior setter Sheila Parrish averages 5.04 assists per game, sophomore libero Kari Fagnan averages 3.23 digs per game and junior middle hitter Lindsay Shockman averages 0.98 blocks per game.
The Bison are coached by Zaundra Bina.
Griz Split at Home Against Sac State, NAU: Montana dropped its opener on the weekend to Sacramento State, 22-30, 23-30, 24-30. The Hornets hit .304 in the match and out-blocked the Grizzlies 8.0 to 4.0. Junior Claudia Houle had 10 kills and 15 digs to lead Montana. Sophomore Jackie White added 17 digs, and senior Diana Thompson had 33 assists.
The Grizzlies have allowed three opponents to hit better than .300 in a match this season. The Hornets hit .324 in their win against UM at Sacramento and .304 Friday. (Eastern Washington hit .306 in its victory at Missoula Oct. 8).
Saturday the Grizzlies bounced back to defeat Northern Arizona in four games, 26-30, 30-27, 33-31, 30-23. After hitting just .073 (and allowing the Lumberjacks to hit .206) in dropping game one, Montana started dominating play at the net. NAU was limited to .200, .156 and -.022 hitting in games two, three and four and the Griz finished with a season-high 14.0 total team blocks.
Juniors Claudia Houle and Emily Sakis both had 16 kills. Houle added a team-high 21 digs, while Sakis hit a team-best and season-high.481.
Sophomore Jessica Petersen matched a career high with nine blocks, and five UM players had at least three blocks.
"We blocked 14 balls against Northern Arizona and that's a tremendous statistic since the night before we didn't necessarily have such a great blocking effort (totaling four blocks) against Sac State," Best said. "The best thing Sac State does is not allow you to do certain things. Their outside hitters made us play defense. They didn't hit into the block. They knew we were going to block some balls, so they didn't allow us that.
"Northern Arizona's approach was 'We're going to keep coming at you the whole time and hit the ball very aggressively.'
"It didn't work out for them, but I thought both plans were pretty good. It just depends what kind of team you have. Northern Arizona hit the ball as hard as any team in the conference, and they tested our block. They didn't win that matchup, but it was a very aggressive way to come at us.
"This time of year the ball-handling by almost every team is very good, so it's really about who can make runs of points and who can then hold on to those leads. Against Sac State, we were able to make runs of points, but then we allowed them back in the match.
"Against NAU on Saturday night, we were able to make runs of points and we were then able to hold those defensively."
Montana Enjoys Successful Pre-League Schedule:Montana went 10-4 in its pre-Big Sky Conference matches, the Grizzlies' best start since the 1999 season.
Montana played in four pre-league tournaments, taking first at Maine's tournament with a 3-0 record, second at the Montana Invitational (2-1) and Denver's tournament (2-1) and third at Iowa State's tournament (2-2).
The Griz also had a non-conference win over Carroll.
Grizzlies Pick Up Individual Accolades: Junior Claudia Houle started the 2005 season with a flourish, earning Collegiate Volleyball Update's National Player of the Week (8/30) honor after leading Montana to the championship at Maine's tournament. She was also named to the Maine all-tournament team and was the Big Sky Player of the Week (8/29).
She followed that up with an all-tournament selection at Iowa State's tournament and another Big Sky Player of the Week (9/5) award.
Senior Diana Thompson was named to the all-tournament team at Montana's tournament, junior Emily Sakis was named all-tournament at both Montana's and Denver's tournaments and senior Audrey Jensen was named all-tournament at Denver's tournament.
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