Wednesday, September 23
Missoula, Mont.
6:00 PM
Montana
vs
Weber State *
Griz open Big Sky Conference play this week
9/22/2015 7:55:00 PM | Volleyball
The Montana volleyball team, with four pre-league tournaments and 12 matches under its belt, will open the Big Sky Conference portion of its schedule this week when the Grizzlies host Weber State on Wednesday and play at Montana State on Saturday.
Montana and Weber State, in deference to the Miranda Lambert concert in the Adams Center on Thursday, play at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in the West Auxiliary Gym. As the first match in the Big Sky in 2015, any chants by the winning team Wednesday night of We're No. 1 will ring true for 24 hours.
Montana and Montana State will play at 7 p.m. on Saturday in MSU's Shroyer Gym.
Coverage: If you're not in attendance, Wednesday's match can tracked through video and live stats. Links to both services can be found on the volleyball schedule page at gogriz.com.
Where they stand: Montana is 4-8 and enters league play on a nice upswing. The Grizzlies went 2-1 at the Denver Invitational last weekend, with wins over Abilene Christian and Illinois-Chicago. Montana hit better than .220 in all three matches while holding all three opponents to sub-.200 hitting.
Weber State is 4-7, with three of those wins coming over Labor Day weekend at Bradley's tournament. The Wildcats' one common opponent with the Grizzlies is Air Force. Montana defeated the Falcons in five sets to open the season. Weber State lost at Air Force in five sets last weekend.
"I expect Weber to come out and play well Wednesday," said UM coach Brian Doyon. "They did something similar to us in the preseason by testing some lineups and putting players in different spots.
"They're playing well. They've challenged some good teams. I don't think they've had the number of wins they'd hoped for, which is similar to us. I expect a competitive match with tight sets."
Montana State, which hasn't won since the season's opening weekend, is 2-6 and has played just four matches the last three weekends. Like Weber State, Montana State lost at Air Force last week in five sets, nearly rallying from a 2-0 deficit before falling 3-2 in the fifth.
"It's going to be a competitive match, and I'm guessing it's going to feel like they have seven players on the court. Six players, with their fans being the seventh. I'm assuming it's going to be noisy," said Doyon.
"There will be some stress and anxiety for our athletes beforehand, but once the points start flowing, I'm hoping we ease into things and play good volleyball."
Where they were picked (because these polls matter, or else they wouldn't do them): Montana was picked seventh in the preseason coaches' poll, which would match the Grizzlies' finish in 2014. Weber State tied for 10th with Sacramento State in the poll, Montana State was picked 12th.
The Wildcats finished in a tie for last in the Big Sky South Division last season with the Hornets. Both teams finished 3-13 in league. The Bobcats placed last in the Big Sky North Division at 4-12.
History: Montana leads the series with Weber State 47-28, with a notable 26-8 edge in matches played in Missoula. The Grizzlies won the teams' only meeting a year ago, in five sets at Ogden to open league play. Montana has won three straight over Weber State and nine of the last 11.
Montana holds a 53-52 lead in its rivalry series with Montana State and has won the last nine meetings in Bozeman, five of those in straight sets. The Grizzlies are 24-21 against the Bobcats in Bozeman overall. The teams split their matches last season, with Montana rallying from a 2-0 deficit to win in five sets at Shroyer Gym and Montana State pantsing the Grizzlies in straight sets at the West Auxiliary Gym.
This week's storylines:
1. A schedule lousy with new head coaches (not lousy head coaches, but lousy meaning well supplied with; time will only tell if the former is true): Montana is under first-year coach Brian Doyon, Weber State is under first-year coach Jeremiah Larson, Montana State is under first-year coach JJ Riley.
1a: For an added dose of fun for Saturday night's match, Doyon and Riley spent the previous three seasons together as assistant coaches on Beth Launiere's staff at Utah.
2. Finally: Montana played tournaments in Colorado Springs, Spokane, Philadelphia and Denver to open the season. The Grizzlies went 2-1 at Air Force's tournament, winless at Gonzaga's and Temple's tournaments, then 2-1 at Denver's to close out their nonconference schedule.
"The team is ready to be home after four weeks away, so Wednesday's match will be great. We're looking forward to our fans coming out and supporting us, and for the kids to be at home and sleeping in their own beds the night before a match," said Doyon.
"I think the four tournaments accomplished a couple of things for us. We were able to test some lineups and find out where the pieces fit best, and we were able to expose the team to some high-level volleyball. We've had some five-set matches, with wins and losses, so we know what it takes.
"It feels like we're battle-tested and ready for conference."
3. Hannah Sackett is crushing it. The big-hitting West Virginia transfer has had 18 or more kills in each of the team's last five matches, while hitting .238 or better in all five.
Sackett has upped her season hitting percentage of .224 and has moved up to fourth in the Big Sky statistics at 3.79 kills per set.
"Hannah has been outstanding," said Doyon. "We increased her role the last couple of weeks, and she's been able to handle it really well.
"Her hitting percentage is coming up, which I think is due to the fact she's getting used to the sets and tempo of the offense we're running. I also think she's settling in and feeling good about taking on a heavier load."
4. Quick hits: Weber State is hitting .179, 11th out of 12 teams in the Big Sky, but the Wildcats are also limiting their opponents to .151 hitting, second behind only Southern Utah's .126. ... Headlining Weber State's defensive efforts: junior Megan Thompson leads the Big Sky in blocks (1.59/s), sophomore libero Thamiries Cavalcanti (she's Brazilian) ranks fourth in digs (4.54/s). ... Montana senior middle blocker Capri Richardson ranks third in the Big Sky in hitting percentage at .333. ... Richardson and Sackett were both named to the all-tournament team at the Denver Invitational. ... The Big Sky schedule gets into full swing Thursday night with five matches and six on Saturday. ... Eastern Washington head coach Wade Benson won his final match in that position with the Eagles' 3-0 victory over Corban last Thursday. He will now be a non-traveling assistant coach. Associate head coach Michael King will lead the Eagles the rest of the season on an interim basis. ... Thursday match to monitor: Southern Utah at Sacramento State. Hornets are 13-2, Thunderbirds are 9-4. Go Hornets. ... Saturday match to monitor: Northern Arizona at Sacramento State. Hornets are killing it. So are the Lumberjacks, who are 10-3. Feels like one of those schools might be hosting the Big Sky tournament.
Upcoming: Montana will play at North Dakota and Northern Colorado next week.
Montana and Weber State, in deference to the Miranda Lambert concert in the Adams Center on Thursday, play at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in the West Auxiliary Gym. As the first match in the Big Sky in 2015, any chants by the winning team Wednesday night of We're No. 1 will ring true for 24 hours.
Montana and Montana State will play at 7 p.m. on Saturday in MSU's Shroyer Gym.
Coverage: If you're not in attendance, Wednesday's match can tracked through video and live stats. Links to both services can be found on the volleyball schedule page at gogriz.com.
Where they stand: Montana is 4-8 and enters league play on a nice upswing. The Grizzlies went 2-1 at the Denver Invitational last weekend, with wins over Abilene Christian and Illinois-Chicago. Montana hit better than .220 in all three matches while holding all three opponents to sub-.200 hitting.
Weber State is 4-7, with three of those wins coming over Labor Day weekend at Bradley's tournament. The Wildcats' one common opponent with the Grizzlies is Air Force. Montana defeated the Falcons in five sets to open the season. Weber State lost at Air Force in five sets last weekend.
"I expect Weber to come out and play well Wednesday," said UM coach Brian Doyon. "They did something similar to us in the preseason by testing some lineups and putting players in different spots.
"They're playing well. They've challenged some good teams. I don't think they've had the number of wins they'd hoped for, which is similar to us. I expect a competitive match with tight sets."
Montana State, which hasn't won since the season's opening weekend, is 2-6 and has played just four matches the last three weekends. Like Weber State, Montana State lost at Air Force last week in five sets, nearly rallying from a 2-0 deficit before falling 3-2 in the fifth.
"It's going to be a competitive match, and I'm guessing it's going to feel like they have seven players on the court. Six players, with their fans being the seventh. I'm assuming it's going to be noisy," said Doyon.
"There will be some stress and anxiety for our athletes beforehand, but once the points start flowing, I'm hoping we ease into things and play good volleyball."
Where they were picked (because these polls matter, or else they wouldn't do them): Montana was picked seventh in the preseason coaches' poll, which would match the Grizzlies' finish in 2014. Weber State tied for 10th with Sacramento State in the poll, Montana State was picked 12th.
The Wildcats finished in a tie for last in the Big Sky South Division last season with the Hornets. Both teams finished 3-13 in league. The Bobcats placed last in the Big Sky North Division at 4-12.
History: Montana leads the series with Weber State 47-28, with a notable 26-8 edge in matches played in Missoula. The Grizzlies won the teams' only meeting a year ago, in five sets at Ogden to open league play. Montana has won three straight over Weber State and nine of the last 11.
Montana holds a 53-52 lead in its rivalry series with Montana State and has won the last nine meetings in Bozeman, five of those in straight sets. The Grizzlies are 24-21 against the Bobcats in Bozeman overall. The teams split their matches last season, with Montana rallying from a 2-0 deficit to win in five sets at Shroyer Gym and Montana State pantsing the Grizzlies in straight sets at the West Auxiliary Gym.
This week's storylines:
1. A schedule lousy with new head coaches (not lousy head coaches, but lousy meaning well supplied with; time will only tell if the former is true): Montana is under first-year coach Brian Doyon, Weber State is under first-year coach Jeremiah Larson, Montana State is under first-year coach JJ Riley.
1a: For an added dose of fun for Saturday night's match, Doyon and Riley spent the previous three seasons together as assistant coaches on Beth Launiere's staff at Utah.
2. Finally: Montana played tournaments in Colorado Springs, Spokane, Philadelphia and Denver to open the season. The Grizzlies went 2-1 at Air Force's tournament, winless at Gonzaga's and Temple's tournaments, then 2-1 at Denver's to close out their nonconference schedule.
"The team is ready to be home after four weeks away, so Wednesday's match will be great. We're looking forward to our fans coming out and supporting us, and for the kids to be at home and sleeping in their own beds the night before a match," said Doyon.
"I think the four tournaments accomplished a couple of things for us. We were able to test some lineups and find out where the pieces fit best, and we were able to expose the team to some high-level volleyball. We've had some five-set matches, with wins and losses, so we know what it takes.
"It feels like we're battle-tested and ready for conference."
3. Hannah Sackett is crushing it. The big-hitting West Virginia transfer has had 18 or more kills in each of the team's last five matches, while hitting .238 or better in all five.
Sackett has upped her season hitting percentage of .224 and has moved up to fourth in the Big Sky statistics at 3.79 kills per set.
"Hannah has been outstanding," said Doyon. "We increased her role the last couple of weeks, and she's been able to handle it really well.
"Her hitting percentage is coming up, which I think is due to the fact she's getting used to the sets and tempo of the offense we're running. I also think she's settling in and feeling good about taking on a heavier load."
4. Quick hits: Weber State is hitting .179, 11th out of 12 teams in the Big Sky, but the Wildcats are also limiting their opponents to .151 hitting, second behind only Southern Utah's .126. ... Headlining Weber State's defensive efforts: junior Megan Thompson leads the Big Sky in blocks (1.59/s), sophomore libero Thamiries Cavalcanti (she's Brazilian) ranks fourth in digs (4.54/s). ... Montana senior middle blocker Capri Richardson ranks third in the Big Sky in hitting percentage at .333. ... Richardson and Sackett were both named to the all-tournament team at the Denver Invitational. ... The Big Sky schedule gets into full swing Thursday night with five matches and six on Saturday. ... Eastern Washington head coach Wade Benson won his final match in that position with the Eagles' 3-0 victory over Corban last Thursday. He will now be a non-traveling assistant coach. Associate head coach Michael King will lead the Eagles the rest of the season on an interim basis. ... Thursday match to monitor: Southern Utah at Sacramento State. Hornets are 13-2, Thunderbirds are 9-4. Go Hornets. ... Saturday match to monitor: Northern Arizona at Sacramento State. Hornets are killing it. So are the Lumberjacks, who are 10-3. Feels like one of those schools might be hosting the Big Sky tournament.
Upcoming: Montana will play at North Dakota and Northern Colorado next week.
Players Mentioned
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