Thursday, November 15
Sacramento, CA
7 p.m.
Montana State University
at
Sacramento State
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Bobcat Spikers Close Out Regular-Season
11/14/2012 5:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The 2012 edition of Montana State volleyball will close out its regular-season slate this weekend, away from the friendly confines of Shroyer Gym. The Bobcats will play at Sacramento State, Thursday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. (MST) in Hornet Gym. Montana State will wrap-up its Big Sky Conference schedule at Montana, Monday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m., in UM’s West Auxiliary Gym.
CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK'S VOLLEYBALL NOTES: (pdf)
REGULAR-SEASON CLOSE OUT:
The 2012 edition of Montana State volleyball will close out its regular-season slate this weekend, away from the friendly confines of Shroyer Gym. The Bobcats will play at Sacramento State, Thursday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. (MST) in Hornet Gym. Montana State will wrap-up its Big Sky Conference schedule at Montana, Monday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m., in UM's West Auxiliary Gym.
CATCH THE 'CATS:
vs. Sacramento State:
www.hornetsports.com - (live stats)
www.americaonesports.com/bigsky.asp - (live web-streaming video)
vs. Montana:
www.gogriz.com - (live stats)
www.americaonesports.com/bigsky.asp - (live web-streaming video)
QUICK RECAP:
With the Bobcats fighting for the sixth and final berth into the Big Sky Conference tournament, MSU failed to secure a spot after dropping a pair of league matches, last weekend in Shroyer Gym. Southern Utah posted a 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21 decision over MSU on Friday night. Montana State was led in the loss by Macy Page with 13 kills and a .303 attack mark. On Saturday, the Bobcats came up short in its upset bid as Northern Arizona handed MSU a 25-23, 25-15, 13-25, 19-25, 19-17 setback on Senior Night.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
* Natalee Godfrey, 6-1, Freshman, Middle Blocker, Eugene, Oregon
Godfrey had a solid weekend for Montana State against Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. over the course of nine sets, she hit a team-best .583 from the field, while averaging 1.78 kills and .89 blocks per contest. Godfrey had her best outing against Northern Arizona, posting nine kills, a .571 attack mark and six blocks.
* Macy Page, 6-0, Senior, Outside Hitter, Orem, Utah
Senior Macy Page paced the Bobcats offensively last weekend, finishing second on the squad with 29 kills, averaging 3.22 per set. The Orem, Utah native posted a .264 attack mark over nine sets, while also chipping in four blocks. Page was in double-digit kills in both matches, logging 16 against the Lumberjacks and 13 versus Southern Utah. On the season, she has tallied 336 kills- more than tripled the previous three-years combined.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES:
Only one other team at the NCAA Division I level has moved up the NCAA RPI rankings like Montana State. From the final 2011 RPI ranking to this week's ranking, the Bobcats have moved up a whopping 144 spots. MSU finished last season ranked 304th in the RPI. In this week's listing, Montana State is ranked 160. The biggest jump is 150 spots by Southern Illinois-Carbondale.
THE SCOUTING REPORT: (courtesy SAC/UM SIDs)
Sacramento State (10-18, 6-12) is 6-5 at home this year, including a 4-4 record against Big Sky competition. Three of those four conference losses at home came in five sets to the league's first place (Idaho State), second place (Portland State) and fourth place (Northern Colorado) teams. The Hornets beat Montana State earlier this season in Bozeman by a 3-1 score, which included a 28-26 win in the third set and 27-25 in the fourth frame. Sacramento State has history on its side as the team is 37-6 all-time against the Bobcats, including a 20-1 record when playing in Sacramento. In fact, the Hornets have won 18 straight matches when playing MSU in Sacramento with the only loss on the home floor coming in a five-set grinder in 1997. Montana (6-21, 4-14) was eliminated from any postseason hopes when it dropped a pair of home matches to Northern Arizona (3-0) and Southern Utah (3-2). Earlier this fall, the Grizzlies came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Bobcats 3-2 in Shroyer Gym. MSU was paced in the loss by Sarah Horton, who knocked down a Big Sky Conference and career-high 38 kills. UM will face Sacramento State in Hornet Gym on Saturday night, before hosting the Bobcats on Monday evening.
INCHING TO CLINCHING:
Five of the six Big Sky Conference Tournament berths have been secured by Idaho State, Portland State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado and North Dakota. One spot remains open with Montana State, Southern Utah and Sacramento State all in contention. One Bobcat win will secure MSU's first postseason trip since 2005. Two losses this weekend will eliminate MSU from tournament play, unless SAC and SUU lose both of their matches. If MSU gets one win and Southern Utah wins its final two matches to tie with the Bobcats, Montana State would get the nod based on tiebreaker No. 4 in the Big Sky Conference code which looks at how each team did against league schools in descending order, meaning MSU's win over Idaho State in September could prove to be big.
ISN'T SHE GRAND?
Montana State starting libero Nicole Baker went over the 1,000 dig plateau two weeks ago, becoming just the seventh player in Bobcat history to accomplish the milestone. In all, she posted 27 digs (3.00 dps) during MSU's two-match home-stand. Baker established herself as one of the top defensive players in the Big Sky Conference last season, after averaging a whopping 5.0 digs per set in league play. In addition, the Pleasanton, Calif., native recorded 514 digs to set a new Montana State mark for digs in a single-season. The old record of 495 digs had been held by Kandice Kelly since the 2005 campaign. Baker notched a career-best 30 digs against Northern Arizona, last year. Currently, she is averaging a team-best 3.67 digs per set, which ranks sixth among the Big Sky leaders. She has registered 22 matches in double-digits saves, including a season-best 27 digs in MSU's win over Niagara in early September.
A LENDING HAND:
Senior Jennifer Lundquist has seen her assists per set average rise along with MSU's season successes. Last fall, the Surrey, British Columbia native averaged 9.11 assists per game. This season, Lundquist is currently sixth in the Big Sky Conference averaging 10.41 assists per contest. Against Montana on Oct. 15, she dished out a career-high 64 assists. In addition, Lundquist is a triple threat on the court as well. She has posted eight double-doubles this fall and is averaging 2.31 digs and .58 kills per game. Her current .281 attack mark leads the team and she has committed just 18 hitting errors on 153 attempts.
HORTON HEARS A ...WHOOT:
Montana State volleyball standout Sarah Horton's 38-kill output against Montana on Oct. 15, is the highest single-match total at the NCAA Division I level and across 32 conferences this season. She currently leads the Big Sky in kills and points in both overall and league matches. Horton is currently averaging 4.15 kills and 4.59 points in Big Sky contests. Those numbers also rank 43rd and 51st in the nation, respectively. In addition, she ranks eighth in the league in aces at .27 per outing. Horton's current season total of 441 kills is the highest offensive production at MSU since Anne Watts recorded 459 kills in 2000. Horton, who still has at minimum two matches remaining, has an outside shot at finishing second to the school-record of 547 kills in a season set by Diane Terrall in 1980.
TURNING THE PAGE:
Prior to this season, senior Macy Page had totaled 113 career kills, including a career-best 17 kills against Loyola. She had also played in 170 sets and averaged .66 kills per outing. Now, in just her senior season alone, the Orem, Utah, native has recorded 336 kills and is averaging 3.17 kills per set. Page set a new career-high of 27 kills in MSU's win over Eastern Washington.
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