Griz open second half on the road

The Montana volleyball team will open the back half of its Big Sky Conference schedule with four straight road matches, starting this week at Portland State and Sacramento State. The Grizzlies will face the Vikings on Thursday at 8 p.m. (MT) and the Hornets on Saturday at 2 p.m. (MT).

Montana will play at Eastern Washington and Idaho next week, then close the regular season with three of its final four matches at the West Auxiliary Gym.

Where they stand: Montana (5-15, 1-7 BSC) is tied for fifth in the Big Sky Conference North Division (tied for 10th overall) but is trending up after a near win against Idaho on Thursday and a breakthrough five-set victory against North Division leader Eastern Washington on Saturday.

The Grizzlies' record may not show it, and three of four road matches against teams that are likely going to be playing in the Big Sky tournament may not allow it to continue, but they are playing pretty well.

"Our mindset going into the second half is that we've got to keeping pushing," said first-year coach Brian Doyon. "We've got two hard weeks on the road with some very good teams. Let's keep working hard and doing the things we're doing, because we're getting better results."

Portland State (6-14, 2-6 BSC), which has lost four of its last five, would be on the outside looking in if the cut to make the eight-team Big Sky tournament had to be made today. Five of its next six are at the Stott Center, so if PSU is going to make a move, it needs to start Thursday.

Sacramento State (18-5, 5-3 BSC), which won 12 straight matches during its nonconference schedule, looked like it was going to be the team to beat after defeating Northern Arizona the opening weekend of league to improve to 2-0, but the Hornets went 1-3 while playing four straight on the road, with losses at Idaho State, Eastern Washington and Idaho. Sac State bounced back last week with a pair of home wins, 3-1 over Northern Colorado, 3-0 against Portland State.

History: Has not been kind to Montana in its series against Portland State. The Vikings own a 56-15 advantage and are 28-4 against the Grizzlies in Portland. Montana has lost 15 straight at PSU and has not won on the road against Portland State since 2000. ... The Grizzlies defeated the Vikings in five sets last season in Missoula to snap a 21-match losing streak against PSU.

Back in 2008, Montana was 4-24 against Sacramento State. Since then the Grizzlies have gone 9-3 against the Hornets, leaving the series 27-13. Montana is 4-14 on the road against Sac State.

Three Montana questions:

1. Can the Grizzlies make the eight-team Big Sky Conference tournament? It's mathematically possible, but after going 1-7 through the first half of the schedule and facing four straight on the road, where they'll be the decided underdog in all four, it's not likely.

At a minimum Montana would have to go 3-5 and hope one of the 4-4 teams (North Dakota, Northern Colorado) goes winless through its last eight. That's not happening. Best, then, to focus on the smaller picture.

"You can what-if things to death, but I'm looking at it from the perspective of, here's what we have to do to be better and continue improving," said Doyon. "Let's keep doing the things we're doing and focusing on the things that are getting us better every day.

"What really matters to me is, how are we improving? How is the culture changing? We could finish out the season and not get another win, but if we continue to make the improvements we're seeing, I'm going to be very happy with the team."

2. Can Hannah Sackett get any better? The senior outside hitter had 19 kills on .275 hitting in Montana's five-set loss to Idaho on Thursday. Ho hum. On Saturday she had 31 kills -- 30 is the gold standard for outside hitters -- on .351 hitting in the Grizzlies' five-set win over Eastern Washington.

Sackett had seven kills on .375 hitting in the fifth set to help Montana rally from a 13-9 deficit and win 20-18.

Her 31 kills are the most in the Big Sky Conference this season and are tied for the 11th-best performance in the nation. They are the most for the Grizzlies since the start of 25-point matches and rally scoring, and tied for the fourth-most in program history.

And a belated congratulations to Sackett for reaching 1,000 career kills earlier this season. She had 770 in three seasons at West Virginia and has 335 this season at Montana. She reached 1,000 with her second kill at Northern Colorado.

3. What's gotten into Montana? To anyone watching Saturday's match against Eastern Washington, it sure didn't feel like a big upset, like it normally would when a 0-7 team knocks off a 7-0 team. The Grizzlies looked just as good as the Eagles and more poised when set five reached its highest pressure.

Had Montana held on for a win Thursday against Idaho -- the Grizzlies led 12-10 in the fifth set -- we would be talking about a two-match winning streak for the first time since August.

"The battle that the athletes have been showing has been phenomenal," said Doyon. "A couple of weeks ago we were saying we were in contention in all of our matches and that it would take just some little tweaks here and there.

"That's what we're starting to get. It's not so much a lineup change. It's more the athletes' mindset. They were hungry for a win last weekend."

Midseason breakdown: The Big Sky Conference has reached the midpoint of its schedule -- every team has played eight matches, everyone has eight to go -- and the eight-team tournament field is already taking shape.

Tournament locks:

1. Northern Arizona (17-4, 7-1 BSC): The Lumberjacks, who play five of their last eight at home, beat Idaho State in four sets last Saturday in Flagstaff in the first of two matchups between the two best teams in the Big Sky.

2. Idaho State (15-7, 7-1 BSC): Plays its next four at home, including a match against North Division leader Eastern Washington on Thursday and a rematch with Northern Arizona a week from Thursday.

3. Eastern Washington (12-7, 7-1 BSC): Not at the same level as the two other teams that went through the first half of the league schedule 7-1, but the Eagles have already done enough to be a lock.

Should sleep well:

4. Sacramento State (18-5, 5-3 BSC): Off to a 2-0 start on a four-match home stand, with Montana State and Montana traveling to California this week.

5. Northern Colorado (8-13, 4-4 BSC): The Bears are on their usual late-season surge under head coach Lyndsey Oates. UNC smoked North Dakota last Saturday, 25-16, 25-16, 25-19.

Not as good as the elite teams but in solid tournament position:

6. Idaho (8-12, 5-3 BSC): The Vandals have won four straight matches but won just one set when they faced Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington earlier this season.

7. Southern Utah (13-8, 4-4 BSC): The Thunderbirds have won three of four and own 3-0 sweeps over Portland State and Montana, two possible late-season challengers for a tournament spot.

One word: Floundering:

8. North Dakota (16-9, 4-4 BSC): The North Dakota of a few weeks ago is nowhere to be seen. UND is 0-3 in its last three Big Sky matches. All three have been 3-0 sweeps.

The outlier Nos. 1-8 are keeping an eye on:

9. Portland State (6-14, 2-6 BSC): The Vikings, who play five of their next six at home, are five-set road losses at Idaho State and Idaho away from being in a much better position.

The rest:

10. Montana (5-15, 1-7 BSC): It would be tempting to put the Grizzlies in the above category, but the schedule is brutal. Four straight on the road, plus a November road match at Idaho State.

11/12. Weber State (5-14, 1-7 BSC)/Montana State (3-13, 1-7 BSC): Neither has won since the opening weekend of league, when both defeated Montana. Neither has shown much life since.

Midseason MVP: Northern Arizona senior outside hitter Janae Vander Ploeg, the best player on the team of the first half.

Midseason Coach of the Year: Too tough to call. In contention: Sacramento State's Ruben Volta (holding), Eastern Washington's Michael King (trending down), Idaho State's Rick Reynolds (holding), Northern Arizona's Ken Murphy (trending up).

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Players Mentioned

Hannah Sackett

University of Montana Athletics