Griz facing first Big Sky road matches

The Montana volleyball team, winner of three of its last four, will play its first Big Sky Conference road matches of the season this week when it travels to Sacramento State and Montana State.

The Grizzlies will play the Hornets on Thursday at 8 p.m. (MT) in Sacramento, the Bobcats at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Bozeman.

Where they stand: Montana is 4-8 overall, 1-1 in league after splitting at home last week. The Grizzlies fell in four sets to Eastern Washington and won in five over Idaho.

Sacramento State is 8-8 overall and tied with Northern Arizona atop the Big Sky's South Division at 2-0 after picking up a pair of road wins last week. The Hornets won in four at Weber State to hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season, then won in five at Idaho State.

Montana State is 2-9 overall, 0-2 in league after losing in four sets at home last week to both Idaho and Eastern Washington. The Bobcats opened the season with wins over Grand Canyon and Jacksonville State at Air Force's tournament but haven't won since, dropping their last eight.

Coverage: Both matches will have video coverage through Eversport.tv and live stats. Links to all options can be found at gogriz.com.

Preview: Don't look now but the Grizzlies have won three of their last four matches, with victories over Coppin State and Morehead State two weeks ago and Saturday's win over Idaho, Montana's first over the Vandals since 1999.

It is just the second time under second-year coach Brian Doyon that Montana has been on such a modest streak.

"Having some success makes everyone feel better, but it doesn't make me view this team any differently," Doyon said. "I've enjoyed them since the start of the season. They've worked hard and have wanted to learn, and have drive and passion. They are a lot of fun to work with and be around.

"We've won three of four, but it doesn't mean everything is fixed. It just means we're starting to see some rewards for all the hard work the players have been putting in."

Montana split its first two sets against Eastern Washington on Thursday, then fell hard in sets three and four, losing 25-13 and 25-11 as the Eagles hit .511.

The Grizzlies came out strong against the Vandals, hitting .609 in the first set and fighting off a pair of set-point chances for Idaho in the second before pulling out a 30-28 win.

Idaho won sets three and four, but the fifth set was all Montana as the Grizzlies had nine kills and just one error on 18 swings to hit .444 and improve to 3-0 this season when going five sets.

On Thursday Montana will face a team that is only 1-3 at home this season but has a history of home-court success, including an 11-1 mark last season. The Grizzlies lost in straight sets a year ago at The Nest, with Sacramento State winning 25-14, 25-18, 25-20 on .361 hitting.

"That was a really tough environment for us to compete in last year," said Doyon. "They get a lot of fans, and they are rowdy and loud. And they play really well at home.

"We have to go out and manage them and see what we can do in terms of generating some offense and continuing to progress in that part of our game."

The Hornets lead the Big Sky Conference in kills at nearly 14 per set, which is largely a byproduct of their superior ball control and passing. In comparison, Montana averages just 10.02 kills per set, a league low.

"The thing they do best of all is their ball control. They are a really good ball-handling team," said Doyon. "Probably better than most of the teams we've faced this year, so that's going to be a challenge for us. Can we challenge that ball control and manage their offense?"

Senior middle blocker Courtney Dietrich ranks third in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.364), while upperclassmen outside hitters Shannon Boyle and Morgan Stanley both average better than three kills per set.

Montana will return to Missoula on Friday morning and bus to Bozeman on the day of Saturday's match. Montana State, which plays at Portland State on Thursday, also will go into the match after playing on the road.

The Bobcats' last three opponents -- Gonzaga, Idaho and Eastern Washington -- were all faced by the Grizzlies this season. Montana lost in straight sets at home to the Bulldogs. Montana State lost to Gonzaga 3-0 at Nebraska's tournament.

Montana's win over Idaho on Saturday was the two teams' only victory against common opponents.

"We're excited about heading over to Bozeman on Saturday. They are a much-improved team. We've had similar scores or similar performance against some common opponents, so it should be a good match," said Doyon.

"It's going to be a fun match and a good environment. I know the athletes are already looking forward to it, but we have Sac State first. We have to make sure we play that one to the best of our abilities and be focused on that."

Montana and Montana State rank 11th and 12th in the 12-team Big Sky in both hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage. The Grizzlies are hitting .117 while allowing .261. The Bobcats are hitting .143 and giving up .276. However, Montana has hit .179 or better in four of its last five matches.

History: Sacramento State leads Montana 28-13 and has gone 15-4 against the Grizzlies at The Nest. The Hornets' 3-0 win last season at Sacramento snapped Montana's three-match winning streak in the series.

Montana leads the series against Montana State 54-53 and has a 24-22 edge in matches played in Bozeman. The Grizzlies fell 3-1 at MSU last season, their first loss in Bozeman since 2005. Montana won the rematch in Missoula last November in straight sets.

Around the Big Sky Conference

North Division standings: Eastern Washington, 2-0; North Dakota, 1-1; Northern Colorado, 1-1; Idaho, 1-1; Montana, 1-1; Montana State, 2-0

Team of the week: Eastern Washington picked up a road sweep of Montana and Montana State, hitting .250 against the Grizzlies on Thursday, .271 against the Bobcats on Saturday. The Eagles were picked eighth in the Big Sky preseason poll.

Match of the week: Northern Colorado at Eastern Washington (Thursday). The Bears, the North Division preseason favorites, lost at home to Northern Arizona last Thursday but bounced back with a 3-0 home victory over North Dakota on Saturday.

South Division standings: Northern Arizona, 2-0; Sacramento State, 2-0; Weber State, 1-1; Portland State, 1-1; Idaho State, 0-2; Southern Utah, 0-2

Team of the week: Sacramento State played at then 9-0 Weber State on Friday and came away with a 3-1 victory. The Hornets fought back from a 2-1 deficit one night later at Idaho State, winning 17-15 in the fifth set to open 2-0 in league.

Match of the week: Sacramento State at Portland State (Saturday). The Vikings, at 9-5 overall, are enjoying a bounce-back season after missing the Big Sky tournament last year for the first time since 2001. Is either strong enough to challenge Northern Arizona?

Upcoming: Montana will host Idaho State and Weber State next week at the West Auxiliary Gym.

University of Montana Athletics

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