Season on the line for Griz this weekend
11/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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The University of Montana volleyball team will close out its regular season this weekend with a pair of home matches against Weber State and Idaho State. The Grizzlies (11-14, 7-7 BSC) will host the Wildcats (3-25, 1-13 BSC) Friday and the Bengals (17-11, 8-6 BSC) Saturday.
Both matches start at 7 p.m. at the West Auxiliary Gym.
Idaho State will open the weekend with a match at Montana State Friday night. Weber State will be at MSU Saturday night.
Live coverage: Both matches this weekend will have live video coverage (through America One) and live stats. Links to both services are available through the volleyball schedule/stats page at MontanaGrizzlies.com. Handling the video broadcast will be the Big Sky???s top broadcasting team, Shaun Radley and Nate Michael.
What???s at stake: Montana???s season is only likely to continue beyond around 9 p.m. Saturday if the Grizzlies come up with two victories. Montana also needs some help, particularly from Portland State and Eastern Washington, which host Sacramento State Friday and Saturday night.
The Grizzlies will also be quietly cheering for Montana State to knock off Idaho State Friday night, though none of the players or coaches would go on record to admit as much (especially this week).
Tournament breakdown (or more accurately titled, ???Three teams hoping, but only two spots remain???): Northern Colorado (22-6, 13-2 BSC) and Portland State (18-8, 13-2 BSC) are locked into the four-team Big Sky tournament, which will be held Friday and Saturday, Nov. 26-27, at Portland, Ore.
Only Idaho State and Sacramento State (15-15, 8-6 BSC), which are tied for third, one game up on Montana, and the Grizzlies have a chance at filling the final two spots.
Montana???s clearest route to the tournament is to win twice and hope the Hornets or Bengals lose twice, which would vault the Grizzlies into the top four and onto a plane next week bound for Portland.
If Montana and Sacramento State end up in a two-way tie for fourth at 8-8, the Hornets hold the tiebreaker (see below).
If Montana, Idaho State and Sacramento State all end up in a tie for third at 8-8 or 9-7, the matter won???t be resolved until the set scores and point totals from the Grizzlies-Bengals match are factored in.
The Big Sky Conference???s tiebreaker system:
1. Results of head-to-head competition between/among teams tied.
2. Percent of total sets won between/among teams tied (sets won divided by total sets).
3. Scoring margin of sets between/among teams tied (offensive points minus defensive points divided by total sets played).
4. Results of competition against the other conference teams in descending order, from first place down.
5. RPI rating the last week prior to championship.
The previous results between UM, ISU and SAC:
Oct. 1 :: ISU over UM, 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-18)
Oct. 8 :: SAC over ISU, 3-2 (25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 24-26, 15-7)
Oct. 16 :: UM over SAC, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-22)
Nov. 6 :: ISU over SAC, 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 25-16)
Nov. 12 :: SAC over UM, 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-21)
The good news for Montana: Sacramento State is 1-5 on the road in Big Sky Conference matches, with only a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over last-place Weber State to its credit. ... With a victory Friday night over the Hornets, Portland State would clinch at least a share of the regular-season championship and wrap up hosting rights to the 2011 postseason tournament (assuming the league coaches vote to keep the same predetermined-host system in place for next season). ... Eastern Washington will be holding its Senior Night Saturday when the Eagles host the Hornets.
The bad news for Montana: If Montana wins Friday against Weber State, the Grizzlies will face an Idaho State team that has won seven of its last nine matches entering the weekend and had little trouble defeating Montana in four sets when the teams met in Pocatello, Idaho, last month. The Grizzlies won the opening set, 25-21, but the Bengals hit .412 the final three sets for 25-21, 25-15, 25-18 wins. ... Montana will be relying on a shorthanded Eastern Washington team to knock off Sacramento State Saturday. The Eagles have lost three straight matches and are playing the rest of the season without senior middle blocker Chenoa Coviare, who injured her knee two weekends ago against Portland State. Coviare, a first-team all-conference selection last fall, was leading the Big Sky in blocks and ranked fourth in hitting percentage. ... Montana is 1-4 its last five matches.
???The team knows our situation and what???s at stake, and we will not get ahead of ourselves,??? UM coach Jerry Wagner said.
???Our effort, attitude and quality of play have to be on full display starting Friday against Weber State. Our caliber of play for the weekend needs to be set in that match if we are going to have a shot at continuing our season.
???Everything is riding on these two matches. I???m confident that we???ll respond with our best effort.???
Around the Big Sky Conference: Eastern Washington lost at Northern Colorado in three sets and at Northern Arizona in five sets last weekend to play its way out of tournament contention. The Eagles join NAU, Montana State and Weber State as the four teams out of the running for a tournament spot.
Final weekend schedule
Northern Colorado (13-2 BSC): at NAU (11.20)
Portland State (13-2 BSC): SAC (11.19)
Idaho State (8-6 BSC): at MSU (11.19), at UM (11.20)
Sacramento State (8-6 BSC): at PSU (11.19), at EWU (11.20)
Montana (7-7 BSC): WSU (11.19), ISU (11.20)
Northern Arizona (6-9 BSC): UNC (11.20)
Eastern Washington (6-9 BSC): SAC (11.20)
Montana State (3-11 BSC): ISU (11.19), WSU (11.20)
Weber State (1-13 BSC): at UM (11.19), at MSU (11.20)
Special nights this weekend: Friday night???s match against Weber State will be WSU coach Al Givens??? final appearance in Missoula. Givens is stepping down after his team???s match at Montana State Saturday night, ending his 19-year run in Ogden, Utah.
Givens is currently the longest-tenured coach in the Big Sky and is the career leader in wins at Weber State. (Note: Northern Colorado coach Lyndsey Benson, who is in her sixth season at UNC, becomes the new dean of coaches Sunday morning, though there is some dispute on this since the Bears joined the conference in 2006, making this her fifth season as a league coach, the same as Wagner. Wagner also contends that he was hired in May 2006 and the Bears did not officially join the Big Sky until July 1 of that year, making him the new dean of coaches.)
Saturday will be Senior Night for Brittney Brown, Jaimie Thibeault and Stephanie Turner.
Brown, who transferred to Montana after one season at St. Edward???s University in Austin, Texas, is finishing her third season with the Grizzlies. She was voted the Big Sky Conference???s Top Newcomer in 2008 and the league???s Libero of the Year in 2009.
Brown ranks second in Montana history in career digs with 1,376.
Thibeault was voted the Big Sky???s Outstanding Freshman in 2007 as well as second-team All-Big Sky. She earned first-team All-Big Sky honors as a sophomore and junior.
Thibeault???s career hitting percentage of .291 would rank second in UM history. She currently ranks third in total blocks with 516.
Wagner is in his fifth year in the program, but Turner has been a part of the program longer. She signed her National Letter of Intent with the former coaching staff.
Turner redshirted in 2006, then suffered a year-ending injury in preseason practices leading up to the start of the 2007 season.
Playing the last three seasons, Turner has totaled 501 digs (2.08/s), 223 kills and 57 blocks.
???Brittney, Jaimie and Steph have put their stamp on this program in a number of different ways,??? Wagner said.
???Brittney was meant to be here for a reason, I???m certain, because she pestered the heck out of us to stay on her and bring her in (from St. Edward???s). We are glad we did, because has that ever paid dividends.
???Steph actually signed on before I did. She???s been good in so many areas and a stabilizing factor in ways that don???t always get recognized. She???s been good on and off the court for us. Her name doesn???t always get called, but she has had a lot to say in how things have gone for us over the last five years.
???For the four years Jaimie???s been here, she???s been the face of the program and has changed the program???s atmosphere with her personality. She put a mark on this program not only because she???s one of the best players to ever play in this conference but because of her unmatched passion and enthusiasm.???
Weekend recap: Montana could have done itself a huge favor with a victory at Sacramento State last Friday, but the Hornets hit .388 to win the match handily in three sets, 25-17, 25-15, 25-21.
Freshman outside hitter Kayla Reno had 11 kills, and junior middle blocker Brittany Quick added six kills on match-high .545 hitting for the Grizzlies.
The first round (vs. Weber State): The Wildcats were winless in Big Sky play when they hosted the Grizzlies Oct. 2. They appeared poised and ready to pick up their first win when they whipped Montana 25-12 in the opening set, but the Grizzlies quickly turned things around and won three straight, 25-15, 25-11, 25-17.
The Grizzlies hit .308 the final three sets after hitting -.143 in the opener.
Reno had 14 kills on .345 hitting. Brown finished with 17 digs, Thibeault and Quick both had six blocks.
Series history: Montana leads the all-time series against Weber State, 41-26, with wins in the last three meetings. The Grizzlies have a 23-7 advantage over the Wildcats at home.
The first round (vs. Idaho State): Mentioned previously, the Bengals rallied from down a set to win 3-1 in Pocatello on Oct. 1. Senior outside hitter Haylee Thompson-Brock had 17 kills on .400 hitting, senior middle blocker Britta Bartschi-Rhodehouse had 15 kills on .379 hitting, and junior outside hitter Jaclyn Hone had 13 kills on .286 hitting for ISU.
Junior Amy Roberts led Montana with 13 kills. Thibeault led both teams with eight blocks.
Series history: Montana leads the all-time series against Idaho State, 39-27, with a 20-9 edge in matches at Missoula. The Grizzlies won eight of nine between 2004 and ???08. The Bengals have won two of three since.
In the teams??? meeting last year in Missoula, it played out very similarly to this year???s match in Pocatello. Montana won the opening set, 25-21, then ISU rolled to 25-20, 25-16, 25-16 victories.
Notes: Thibeault, with 1,062 for her career, is one kill from cracking Montana???s top 10 list. ... Turner had her 500th career dig in Friday???s loss at Sacramento State. ... Quick has hit .483 the last two matches, with 16 kills and two errors in 29 attacks. ... Freshman setter Kortney James has 878 assists this season. Ann Schwenke holds the program record for assists by a freshman of 879, which she set in 1988. ... Sacramento State???s .388 hitting percentage Friday was the highest by a Montana opponent this season. ... The Grizzlies have had eight services aces their last five matches. Their opponents have had 29.
Seniors career record watch
Hitting percentage (min. 1,500 attempts)
1. .294?? ...?? Karen Goff (1991-94)
2. .291?? ...?? Jaimie Thibeault (2007-present)
3. .260?? ...?? Cindy Pitzinger (1984-87)
4. .254?? ...?? Audrey Jensen (2002-05)
5. .246?? ...?? Mary Klueber (1980-83)
Digs
1. 1,847?? ...?? Jackie White (2004-07)
2. 1,376?? ...?? Brittney Brown (2008-present)
3. 1,301?? ...?? Erin Adams (1996, 98-00)
4. 1,270?? ...?? Angie Bellinger (1988-91)
5. 1,226?? ...?? Mari Brown (1986-89)
Block assists
1. 443?? ...?? Karen Goff (1991-94)
2. 421?? ...?? Jaimie Thibeault (2007-present)
3. 419?? ...?? Heidi Williams (1991-94)
4. 395?? ...?? Dana Bennish (1993-97)
5. 307?? ...?? Kodi Taylor (1997-00)
Total blocks
1. 532?? ...?? Cindy Pitzinger (1984-87)
2. 530?? ...?? Karen Goff (1991-94)
3. 516?? ...?? Jaimie Thibeault (2007-present)
4. 498?? ...?? Dana Bennish (1993-97)
5. 490?? ...?? Heidi Williams (1991-94)
Blocks per set (min. 200 blocks)
1. 1.59?? ...?? Dana Bennish (1993-97)
2. 1.42?? ...?? Karen Goff (1991-94)
3. 1.32?? ...?? Jaimie Thibeault (2007-present)
4. 1.28?? ...?? Cindy Pitzinger (1984-87)
5. 1.16?? ...?? Heidi Williams (1991-94)
