Griz inch closer to tournament bid with sweep of Bobcats
11/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The University of Montana volleyball team swept Montana State Friday night, 30-18, 30-16, 30-18, at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, Mont. It was the fourth straight win for the Grizzlies over the Bobcats and just their second sweep of MSU since 1996.
Montana improved to 9-14 with the victory, 5-8 in Big Sky Conference play. With the win, the Grizzlies pulled within a half game of Northern Arizona (5-7 BSC) for sixth place in the league standings. The Lumberjacks host second-place Portland State Saturday night.
The top six teams in the Big Sky's regular-season standings advance to the 2007 Big Sky Conference Tournament, which will be held Nov. 23-24 at Sacramento, Calif. Montana owns the tie-breaker over NAU.
Montana State dropped to 1-24 with the loss, 0-13 in league matches.
The Grizzlies had a dominant offensive night, hitting .376, their second-best performance of the season. Five of UM's six starters hit over .400 for the match.
Freshman Amy Roberts led the attack with 18 kills on .480 hitting. Senior Jessica Petersen had 13 kills on .429 hitting, while junior Lauren Gustafson and freshman Jaimie Thibeault both had nine kills on .412 hitting.
Sophomore Taryn Wright had another efficient night, posting six kills and no errors in seven attacks to hit .857. She also finished with more than three times as many assists as the entire Montana State team (16), finishing with 49.
Junior Jade Roskam posted the match's only double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs.
Thibeault finished with a match-high four blocks, though MSU held an 8.0 to 5.0 total team blocks advantage.
Nicole Grypiuk had a team-high four kills for the Bobcats, who hit just .056 in the loss. Sarah Allen had 16 assists and seven digs, both team highs, while three players finished with three blocks each.
Montana only trailed for three points the entire night: three early points in game three.
The Grizzlies play at Big Sky leader Sacramento State next Saturday, then close out their regular season Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16-17, with home matches against Weber State and Idaho State.
Montana improved to 9-14 with the victory, 5-8 in Big Sky Conference play. With the win, the Grizzlies pulled within a half game of Northern Arizona (5-7 BSC) for sixth place in the league standings. The Lumberjacks host second-place Portland State Saturday night.
The top six teams in the Big Sky's regular-season standings advance to the 2007 Big Sky Conference Tournament, which will be held Nov. 23-24 at Sacramento, Calif. Montana owns the tie-breaker over NAU.
Montana State dropped to 1-24 with the loss, 0-13 in league matches.
The Grizzlies had a dominant offensive night, hitting .376, their second-best performance of the season. Five of UM's six starters hit over .400 for the match.
Freshman Amy Roberts led the attack with 18 kills on .480 hitting. Senior Jessica Petersen had 13 kills on .429 hitting, while junior Lauren Gustafson and freshman Jaimie Thibeault both had nine kills on .412 hitting.
Sophomore Taryn Wright had another efficient night, posting six kills and no errors in seven attacks to hit .857. She also finished with more than three times as many assists as the entire Montana State team (16), finishing with 49.
Junior Jade Roskam posted the match's only double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs.
Thibeault finished with a match-high four blocks, though MSU held an 8.0 to 5.0 total team blocks advantage.
Nicole Grypiuk had a team-high four kills for the Bobcats, who hit just .056 in the loss. Sarah Allen had 16 assists and seven digs, both team highs, while three players finished with three blocks each.
Montana only trailed for three points the entire night: three early points in game three.
The Grizzlies play at Big Sky leader Sacramento State next Saturday, then close out their regular season Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16-17, with home matches against Weber State and Idaho State.
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