Friday, September 11
Philadelphia, Pa.
4:00 PM (MT)
Montana
at
Temple
Griz in Philadelphia, not packing brotherly love
9/10/2015 6:34:00 PM | Volleyball
Montana to face Temple, Duquesne and Binghamton
The Montana volleyball team is in Philadelphia and will play three matches this week at Temple's Hilton Penns Landing Cherry and White Challenge. The Grizzlies will face the host Owls on Friday at 4 p.m. (MT) and Duquesne at 8 a.m. (MT) and Binghamton at 1:30 p.m. (MT) on Saturday.
It's the third of four pre-Big Sky Conference tournaments for Montana, which to date has competed at Air Force, going 2-1, and Gonzaga, finishing 0-3. The Grizzlies will play at Denver's tournament next week, then open Big Sky play at home against Weber State on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
Coverage: OwlSports.com will have video and live stats options for Montana's match against Temple on Friday and live stats coverage of the Grizzlies' two matches on Saturday.
Where they stand: Montana is 2-4. Since opening the season with wins over Air Force and Northeastern, the Grizzlies have dropped four straight, including matches against Utah, Gonzaga and Wyoming last weekend in Spokane against a loaded tournament field.
Temple is 4-2, with 2-1 finishes at its own tournament to open the season and last weekend at Seton Hall. ... Duquesne is 4-4 and has won three of its last four. The Dukes went 2-1 to finish second at their shared tournament with Pittsburgh last weekend. ... Binghamton is 1-6. The Bearcats' lone win was a five-setter over Stetson.
Temple at a glance: The Owls returned six starters and their libero from last year's team that went 24-8 and tied for second in the American Athletic Conference at 15-5. ... Temple was picked third in this year's AAC preseason coaches' poll, receiving one first-place vote. ... Senior Sandra Sydlik was last year's AAC Setter of the Year, sophomore outside hitter Dara Peric was the AAC Freshman of the Year.
Duquesne at a glance: The Dukes lost a pair of starters and their libero from the 2014 team that went 16-12 and tied for third in the Atlantic-10 with a 9-5 mark. ... Duquesne lost in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament. ... The Dukes made the NCAA tournament in 2013 as the Atlantic-10 champions, their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. ... Duquesne was picked sixth in the A-10 preseason poll.
Binghamton at a glance: The Bearcats returned five starters from a team that went 9-20 a year ago and finished fourth in the America East Conference at 7-5. ... Binghamton lost in the quarterfinals of their conference tournament. ... The Bearcats were picked fifth out of seven teams in the America East preseason coaches' poll. ... Binghamton is hitting .112 this season, which ranks 304th in the nation.
Histories: Montana will be facing Duquesne and Binghamton for the first time this weekend. The Grizzlies hold a 1-0 series advantage over the Owls. Montana defeated Temple in five sets in Missoula at the Grizzlies' home tournament in 2010.
Montana made a return trip to Temple the following season, but the tournament was shortened due to the oncoming menace that was Hurricane Irene. The Grizzlies split with South Carolina (L, 0-3) and Stony Brook (W, 3-1) on the tournament's opening day, then left town before facing Temple on day two.
Montana in-depth: After a successful opening weekend at Air Force, the Grizzlies went 0-3 last weekend at Gonzaga's tournament. But that's not to hint that Montana took a step backwards. All three opponents were strong, and Montana pushed both Utah and Wyoming to four sets.
It was a year ago that Wyoming twice beat up on Montana in straight sets, first at Missoula, then at Laramie, and both teams are different, but it's still instructional to compare. The Grizzlies won the first set over the Cowgirls and were up 26-25 in the second before falling 28-26. The final set was tied 20-20.
"This past weekend was a great challenge for us, because the teams we faced were really good," said first-year coach Brian Doyon. "The positive that we took away from the tournament was that the team came out and competed and really performed well at times.
"When you look at how the team competed in tough, challenging matches, I was really excited with the overall performance of the team."
Montana is out-digging its opponents this season, which has led to more attacks, but the Grizzlies are hitting .164 to their opponents' .231. Unless that balances out, Montana will have to continue to work harder to generate points, since the Grizzlies are also getting out-served and out-blocked as well.
"One of the big things this past weekend was the physical size of those teams. They all had good-sized front rows," said Doyon. "That was the biggest challenge we faced.
"I think we played well against both Utah and Wyoming to take them to four sets. We had some leads but weren't able to finish. Their size and physicality over time got to us. We had some phenomenal plays in the back row to get us opportunities, but we weren't able to capitalize."
Who's hot: Senior middle blocker Capri Richardson ranks sixth in the Big Sky in hitting percentage at .336. She hit .294 last season to lead the team and earn second-team All-Big Sky honors. ... Richardson has hit .310 or better in four of six matches this season. ... Senior Hannah Sackett, at 3.26/set, ranks seventh in the Big Sky in kills. ... Montana's leader in kills a year ago is believed to have ranked 84th in the league statistics. ... Junior Sadie Ahearn ranks eighth in the Big Sky in digs at 3.65 per set. ... Ahearn has had 10 or more digs five times in six matches this season and twice has been in the 20s. ... Junior Raegan Lindsey, getting some passing opportunities for the first time in 2015, had a nice 31-assists, 17-digs line Saturday against Wyoming. It was a season-high digs total and two off her career high. ... After being limited to .028 hitting by New Mexico State, Utah and Gonzaga, Sackett put down 18 kills against Wyoming on .250 hitting. ... Freshman Lia Gaogao matched a season high with nine kills against Wyoming and added a season-high 14 digs. ... In Montana's matches last weekend against Utah and Wyoming, sophomore outside hitter Janell Sparks averaged 2.6 kills on .333 hitting. ... Sophomore Brianna Gardner, who has played in both the middle and on the right side, has hit .200 or better in five of six matches this year. ... Despite the loss to Wyoming, Montana put down eight more kills than the Cowgirls.
What's not: Montana's opponents have created 31 more (easy) points than the Grizzlies through service aces. Montana has 20 to its opponents' 51. ... The Grizzlies got out-blocked quite handily last weekend by all three opponents: Utah had an 11.5-6 advantage, Gonzaga 14-4, Wyoming 13-5. ... All this travel, but Montana is not alone. Montana State, Southern Utah and Weber State also don't play any home matches prior to the start of league play, and Eastern Washington and Idaho State only get a single non-conference home match.
Upcoming: Montana will play Abilene Christian, Denver and Illinois-Chicago next weekend at the Denver Invitational.
It's the third of four pre-Big Sky Conference tournaments for Montana, which to date has competed at Air Force, going 2-1, and Gonzaga, finishing 0-3. The Grizzlies will play at Denver's tournament next week, then open Big Sky play at home against Weber State on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
Coverage: OwlSports.com will have video and live stats options for Montana's match against Temple on Friday and live stats coverage of the Grizzlies' two matches on Saturday.
Where they stand: Montana is 2-4. Since opening the season with wins over Air Force and Northeastern, the Grizzlies have dropped four straight, including matches against Utah, Gonzaga and Wyoming last weekend in Spokane against a loaded tournament field.
Temple is 4-2, with 2-1 finishes at its own tournament to open the season and last weekend at Seton Hall. ... Duquesne is 4-4 and has won three of its last four. The Dukes went 2-1 to finish second at their shared tournament with Pittsburgh last weekend. ... Binghamton is 1-6. The Bearcats' lone win was a five-setter over Stetson.
Temple at a glance: The Owls returned six starters and their libero from last year's team that went 24-8 and tied for second in the American Athletic Conference at 15-5. ... Temple was picked third in this year's AAC preseason coaches' poll, receiving one first-place vote. ... Senior Sandra Sydlik was last year's AAC Setter of the Year, sophomore outside hitter Dara Peric was the AAC Freshman of the Year.
Duquesne at a glance: The Dukes lost a pair of starters and their libero from the 2014 team that went 16-12 and tied for third in the Atlantic-10 with a 9-5 mark. ... Duquesne lost in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament. ... The Dukes made the NCAA tournament in 2013 as the Atlantic-10 champions, their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. ... Duquesne was picked sixth in the A-10 preseason poll.
Binghamton at a glance: The Bearcats returned five starters from a team that went 9-20 a year ago and finished fourth in the America East Conference at 7-5. ... Binghamton lost in the quarterfinals of their conference tournament. ... The Bearcats were picked fifth out of seven teams in the America East preseason coaches' poll. ... Binghamton is hitting .112 this season, which ranks 304th in the nation.
Histories: Montana will be facing Duquesne and Binghamton for the first time this weekend. The Grizzlies hold a 1-0 series advantage over the Owls. Montana defeated Temple in five sets in Missoula at the Grizzlies' home tournament in 2010.
Montana made a return trip to Temple the following season, but the tournament was shortened due to the oncoming menace that was Hurricane Irene. The Grizzlies split with South Carolina (L, 0-3) and Stony Brook (W, 3-1) on the tournament's opening day, then left town before facing Temple on day two.
Montana in-depth: After a successful opening weekend at Air Force, the Grizzlies went 0-3 last weekend at Gonzaga's tournament. But that's not to hint that Montana took a step backwards. All three opponents were strong, and Montana pushed both Utah and Wyoming to four sets.
It was a year ago that Wyoming twice beat up on Montana in straight sets, first at Missoula, then at Laramie, and both teams are different, but it's still instructional to compare. The Grizzlies won the first set over the Cowgirls and were up 26-25 in the second before falling 28-26. The final set was tied 20-20.
"This past weekend was a great challenge for us, because the teams we faced were really good," said first-year coach Brian Doyon. "The positive that we took away from the tournament was that the team came out and competed and really performed well at times.
"When you look at how the team competed in tough, challenging matches, I was really excited with the overall performance of the team."
Montana is out-digging its opponents this season, which has led to more attacks, but the Grizzlies are hitting .164 to their opponents' .231. Unless that balances out, Montana will have to continue to work harder to generate points, since the Grizzlies are also getting out-served and out-blocked as well.
"One of the big things this past weekend was the physical size of those teams. They all had good-sized front rows," said Doyon. "That was the biggest challenge we faced.
"I think we played well against both Utah and Wyoming to take them to four sets. We had some leads but weren't able to finish. Their size and physicality over time got to us. We had some phenomenal plays in the back row to get us opportunities, but we weren't able to capitalize."
Who's hot: Senior middle blocker Capri Richardson ranks sixth in the Big Sky in hitting percentage at .336. She hit .294 last season to lead the team and earn second-team All-Big Sky honors. ... Richardson has hit .310 or better in four of six matches this season. ... Senior Hannah Sackett, at 3.26/set, ranks seventh in the Big Sky in kills. ... Montana's leader in kills a year ago is believed to have ranked 84th in the league statistics. ... Junior Sadie Ahearn ranks eighth in the Big Sky in digs at 3.65 per set. ... Ahearn has had 10 or more digs five times in six matches this season and twice has been in the 20s. ... Junior Raegan Lindsey, getting some passing opportunities for the first time in 2015, had a nice 31-assists, 17-digs line Saturday against Wyoming. It was a season-high digs total and two off her career high. ... After being limited to .028 hitting by New Mexico State, Utah and Gonzaga, Sackett put down 18 kills against Wyoming on .250 hitting. ... Freshman Lia Gaogao matched a season high with nine kills against Wyoming and added a season-high 14 digs. ... In Montana's matches last weekend against Utah and Wyoming, sophomore outside hitter Janell Sparks averaged 2.6 kills on .333 hitting. ... Sophomore Brianna Gardner, who has played in both the middle and on the right side, has hit .200 or better in five of six matches this year. ... Despite the loss to Wyoming, Montana put down eight more kills than the Cowgirls.
What's not: Montana's opponents have created 31 more (easy) points than the Grizzlies through service aces. Montana has 20 to its opponents' 51. ... The Grizzlies got out-blocked quite handily last weekend by all three opponents: Utah had an 11.5-6 advantage, Gonzaga 14-4, Wyoming 13-5. ... All this travel, but Montana is not alone. Montana State, Southern Utah and Weber State also don't play any home matches prior to the start of league play, and Eastern Washington and Idaho State only get a single non-conference home match.
Upcoming: Montana will play Abilene Christian, Denver and Illinois-Chicago next weekend at the Denver Invitational.
Players Mentioned
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