Bobcat Spikers Host Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona This Weekend
10/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Next Up:
The Montana State volleyball team will begin the second-half of the Big Sky Conference season in search of its first league win. MSU will host Northern Colorado on Friday night. The last time the two teams met was Sept. 15 in Greeley. The Bears won a 30-23, 30-27, 25-30, 33-31 decision over the Bobcats, despite the fact MSU out-hit UNC .188 to .174. Laura Viren, Kaytlin Van Burger and Patti Andrson all collected 13 kills in the loss. Northern Colorado is currently 6-15 overall and 4-4 in Big Sky action. Last weekend, the Bears defeated Northern Arizona 3-2. UNC has been paced this season by Dulcie Stone and Kenzie Shreve, who average 2.99 and 2.97 kills, respectively. Northern Arizona is 8-10 overall and 3-5 in Big Sky play. The Lumberjacks will be at Montana on Friday, before making the trek south on I-90. NAU won the earlier meeting between the two teams 30-26, 30-21, 30-16. Viren had a team-high 12 kills in the loss for MSU. NAU’s Kim Babcock, who averages 6.09 kills, missed the match with a concussion.
From The Pine:
Miya Malauulu became Montana State’s seventh head coach at the conclusion of the 2002 season. Since then, she has put her own fingerprint on a Bobcat program that has produced four 20-win seasons in the last nine years. Prior to being named head coach, the 1998 graduate of Oregon State University, served as an assistant under Dave Gantt for five seasons. Malauulu came to Bozeman after a successful stint playing for the Beavers. A native of Carson, Calif., she played at OSU from 1994-97. She still holds numerous records at Oregon State and currently ranks fourth all-time in PAC-10 history with 5,368 assists. A two-time OSU most valuable player and an unprecendented four-time Beaver captain, she prepped at Bishop Montgomery High School and played for national club power NIKE-Ichiban, where she garnered USVBA Player of the Year kudos. Malauulu is joined on the bench this season by assistant coaches Erin Naipo and Steve Huntingdale. Naipo, a 2002 graduate of Dartmouth College, was a four-year letterwinner and team captain for the Big Green. She is in her third year at MSU and previously served as assistant coach at Spokane Community College. Huntingdale is in his first season at Montana State, after serving as a volunteer assistant, last fall. Huntingdale is a former Colorado High School Volleyball Coach of the Year (2002, 2003).
Cat Tracks:
For the first time in Big Sky Conference action, Montana State had more kills then its opponent...The Bobcats posted 72 winners against Idaho State, who tallied 71 kills…MSU’s .175 attack mark against ISU was its highest since notching a .188 mark against Northern Colorado on Sept. 15…Setter Sarah Allen registered a career-high 59 assists against Idaho State…MSU held a 9-5 advantage in service aces against ISU as Patti Anderson posted a Big Sky season best four aces…MSU went without a single block at Weber State, which was a season-first for the Bobcats...Nicole Grypiuk (13) and Wendy Doutre (10) each had career-high kills against Idaho State.
The Week That Was:
The Bobcats dropped a pair of Big Sky Conference road matches over the weekend. MSU opened with a 30-19, 30-23, 30-18 loss at Weber State. Sophomore Nicole Grypiuk was the only Montana State player to reach double-figures with 12 kills, while hitting .500 from the field. Libero Meghan Albiston posted 13 digs, while setter Sarah Allen dished out 25 assists. MSU’s effort to notch its first league win of the season fell short at Idaho State on Saturday, as the Bengals handed the Bobcats a 27-30, 30-24, 30-27, 24-30, 15-11 setback in Reed Gym. For the first time this season, MSU had five players in double-figure kills, led by Grypiuk (15), Patti Anderson (15), Laura Viren (11), Kaytlin Van Burger (10) and Wendy Doutre (10). Grypiuk and Doutre’s totals were both career-highs. Sarah Allen recorded a career-high 59 assists in the loss, while Albiston and Anderson shared honors with a 17 digs, each.
Seeing Double:
Senior Patti Anderson and junior Laura Viren have been doubling-up at a consistent clip this season. Anderson has posted 11 matches in double-digit digs, including nine of the last 11 starts. On the year, the Deer Lodge native has tallied six double-doubles. Viren, an outside hitter from Prior Lake, Minn., leads the team with seven double-doubles. In addition, she has notched nine double-digit kill matches and ten in double-figure digs. She has been in double-digit digs in nine of the last 12 outings.
Gotta Dig It:
Montana State is averaging 15.81 digs per game. The Bobcats are led this season by freshman libero Meghan Albiston, who is averaging 3.93 saves per game. Last weekend, the Idaho Falls native posted 30 saves against Weber State and Idaho State. Also helping the ‘Cats defensively have been Patti Anderson (3.13 dpg), Laura Viren (2.99 dpg) and Sarah Allen (2.13 dpg).
Hard Block Cafe’:
For the first time in the rally-score era, the Bobcats failed to register one team block in a match (Friday at Weber State). As a team, MSU is averaging 2.05 blocks per game. On the season, MSU is paced by Kaytlin Van Burger, Nicole Grypiuk and Demi Dlouhy at .73, .73 and .69 blocks, respectively. Van Burger, a junior middle blocker from Bend, Ore., ranks first on the team in Big Sky Conference matches, averaging 1.00 blocks per game.
Serving Notice:
As a team, the Bobcats are averaging 1.23 aces per game, while their opponents are converting at 1.87 per contest. MSU has just three players in double-digit aces on the year, led by Patti Anderson and Laura Viren with 19 and 16, respectively. Viren, a junior from Prior Lake, Minn., has posted ten aces in Big Sky Conference play, which ranks fourth overall at .36 winners per game. She notched two aces against Idaho State, last Saturday night in Reed Gym. Patti Anderson had a team-high four aces against the Bengals.
Player of the Week:
Nicole Grypiuk, a sophomore from Shellbrook, Saskatchewan paced MSU at Weber State and Idaho State. She posted back-to-back career kills, first notching the milestone against WSU with 12 kills, while hitting .500 from the field. Against ISU, Grypiuk again set a personal best with 15 kills. For the weekend, she notched 27 kills (3.38 kpg), while hitting .292 and adding five digs, three blocks and two aces.
For this week's complete volleyball release, click on the 'PDF Version Available' link at the top of this page.
The Montana State volleyball team will begin the second-half of the Big Sky Conference season in search of its first league win. MSU will host Northern Colorado on Friday night. The last time the two teams met was Sept. 15 in Greeley. The Bears won a 30-23, 30-27, 25-30, 33-31 decision over the Bobcats, despite the fact MSU out-hit UNC .188 to .174. Laura Viren, Kaytlin Van Burger and Patti Andrson all collected 13 kills in the loss. Northern Colorado is currently 6-15 overall and 4-4 in Big Sky action. Last weekend, the Bears defeated Northern Arizona 3-2. UNC has been paced this season by Dulcie Stone and Kenzie Shreve, who average 2.99 and 2.97 kills, respectively. Northern Arizona is 8-10 overall and 3-5 in Big Sky play. The Lumberjacks will be at Montana on Friday, before making the trek south on I-90. NAU won the earlier meeting between the two teams 30-26, 30-21, 30-16. Viren had a team-high 12 kills in the loss for MSU. NAU’s Kim Babcock, who averages 6.09 kills, missed the match with a concussion.
From The Pine:
Miya Malauulu became Montana State’s seventh head coach at the conclusion of the 2002 season. Since then, she has put her own fingerprint on a Bobcat program that has produced four 20-win seasons in the last nine years. Prior to being named head coach, the 1998 graduate of Oregon State University, served as an assistant under Dave Gantt for five seasons. Malauulu came to Bozeman after a successful stint playing for the Beavers. A native of Carson, Calif., she played at OSU from 1994-97. She still holds numerous records at Oregon State and currently ranks fourth all-time in PAC-10 history with 5,368 assists. A two-time OSU most valuable player and an unprecendented four-time Beaver captain, she prepped at Bishop Montgomery High School and played for national club power NIKE-Ichiban, where she garnered USVBA Player of the Year kudos. Malauulu is joined on the bench this season by assistant coaches Erin Naipo and Steve Huntingdale. Naipo, a 2002 graduate of Dartmouth College, was a four-year letterwinner and team captain for the Big Green. She is in her third year at MSU and previously served as assistant coach at Spokane Community College. Huntingdale is in his first season at Montana State, after serving as a volunteer assistant, last fall. Huntingdale is a former Colorado High School Volleyball Coach of the Year (2002, 2003).
Cat Tracks:
For the first time in Big Sky Conference action, Montana State had more kills then its opponent...The Bobcats posted 72 winners against Idaho State, who tallied 71 kills…MSU’s .175 attack mark against ISU was its highest since notching a .188 mark against Northern Colorado on Sept. 15…Setter Sarah Allen registered a career-high 59 assists against Idaho State…MSU held a 9-5 advantage in service aces against ISU as Patti Anderson posted a Big Sky season best four aces…MSU went without a single block at Weber State, which was a season-first for the Bobcats...Nicole Grypiuk (13) and Wendy Doutre (10) each had career-high kills against Idaho State.
The Week That Was:
The Bobcats dropped a pair of Big Sky Conference road matches over the weekend. MSU opened with a 30-19, 30-23, 30-18 loss at Weber State. Sophomore Nicole Grypiuk was the only Montana State player to reach double-figures with 12 kills, while hitting .500 from the field. Libero Meghan Albiston posted 13 digs, while setter Sarah Allen dished out 25 assists. MSU’s effort to notch its first league win of the season fell short at Idaho State on Saturday, as the Bengals handed the Bobcats a 27-30, 30-24, 30-27, 24-30, 15-11 setback in Reed Gym. For the first time this season, MSU had five players in double-figure kills, led by Grypiuk (15), Patti Anderson (15), Laura Viren (11), Kaytlin Van Burger (10) and Wendy Doutre (10). Grypiuk and Doutre’s totals were both career-highs. Sarah Allen recorded a career-high 59 assists in the loss, while Albiston and Anderson shared honors with a 17 digs, each.
Seeing Double:
Senior Patti Anderson and junior Laura Viren have been doubling-up at a consistent clip this season. Anderson has posted 11 matches in double-digit digs, including nine of the last 11 starts. On the year, the Deer Lodge native has tallied six double-doubles. Viren, an outside hitter from Prior Lake, Minn., leads the team with seven double-doubles. In addition, she has notched nine double-digit kill matches and ten in double-figure digs. She has been in double-digit digs in nine of the last 12 outings.
Gotta Dig It:
Montana State is averaging 15.81 digs per game. The Bobcats are led this season by freshman libero Meghan Albiston, who is averaging 3.93 saves per game. Last weekend, the Idaho Falls native posted 30 saves against Weber State and Idaho State. Also helping the ‘Cats defensively have been Patti Anderson (3.13 dpg), Laura Viren (2.99 dpg) and Sarah Allen (2.13 dpg).
Hard Block Cafe’:
For the first time in the rally-score era, the Bobcats failed to register one team block in a match (Friday at Weber State). As a team, MSU is averaging 2.05 blocks per game. On the season, MSU is paced by Kaytlin Van Burger, Nicole Grypiuk and Demi Dlouhy at .73, .73 and .69 blocks, respectively. Van Burger, a junior middle blocker from Bend, Ore., ranks first on the team in Big Sky Conference matches, averaging 1.00 blocks per game.
Serving Notice:
As a team, the Bobcats are averaging 1.23 aces per game, while their opponents are converting at 1.87 per contest. MSU has just three players in double-digit aces on the year, led by Patti Anderson and Laura Viren with 19 and 16, respectively. Viren, a junior from Prior Lake, Minn., has posted ten aces in Big Sky Conference play, which ranks fourth overall at .36 winners per game. She notched two aces against Idaho State, last Saturday night in Reed Gym. Patti Anderson had a team-high four aces against the Bengals.
Player of the Week:
Nicole Grypiuk, a sophomore from Shellbrook, Saskatchewan paced MSU at Weber State and Idaho State. She posted back-to-back career kills, first notching the milestone against WSU with 12 kills, while hitting .500 from the field. Against ISU, Grypiuk again set a personal best with 15 kills. For the weekend, she notched 27 kills (3.38 kpg), while hitting .292 and adding five digs, three blocks and two aces.
For this week's complete volleyball release, click on the 'PDF Version Available' link at the top of this page.
Wednesday, August 19
Wednesday, June 10
Monday, March 23
Friday, March 13
