Bobcats Travel to North Dakota, Northern Colorado

Thursday, October 13

Grand Forks, ND

6 p.m.

Montana State University

North Dakota

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

10/12/2016 4:27:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

MSU VOLLEYBALL NOTES

The Montana State volleyball team - who have played five of its last six matches within the friendly confines of Shroyer Gym - heads out onto the Big Sky Conference road for its next four games. Its first stop is Thursday, Oct. 13 at North Dakota in Grand Forks. The match is slated for a 6 p.m. (MT) start. MSU will finish the weekend at Northern Colorado in Greeley on Saturday at 7 p.m.

By: Tom Schulz

ON THE ROAD:
The Montana State volleyball team - who have played five of its last six matches within the friendly confines of Shroyer Gym - heads out onto the Big Sky Conference road for its next four games. Its first stop is Thursday, Oct. 13 at North Dakota in Grand Forks. The match is slated for a 6 p.m. (MT) start. MSU will finish the weekend at Northern Colorado in Greeley on Saturday at 7 p.m.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:
Here is a closer look at this week's opponents.

                   Opponent:                    University of North Dakota
                   Nickname:                    Fighting Hawks
                   Record: 13-8, 5-1 Big Sky
                   Head Coach:                 Mark Pryor (60-30, 27-11)
                   Notable Win: 3-0 win over Toledo, Sept. 17

The Skinny: The Fighting Hawks currently sit atop the Big Sky Conference North Division standings with a 5-1 league record. Last weekend, UND defeated Sacramento State (3-2) and Portland State (3-1) in Grand Forks. Sacramento State entered the match first in the Big Sky Conference South Division. This season, the Fighting Hawks have been paced by Chelsea Moser, who averages 2.70 kills, while hitting a team-best .345 from the floor.

                   Opponent:                    University of Northern Colorado
                   Nickname:                    Bears
                   Record: 10-8, 4-2 Big Sky
                   Head Coach:                 Lyndsey Oates (205-153, 114-60)
                   Notable Win: 3-0 win over North Dakota, Sept. 24

The Skinny: The Bears split a pair of home matches in Bank of Colorado Arena last weekend, defeating Portland State (3-0), before dropping a 3-1 decision to Sacramento State. Its loss to the Hornets snapped a four-match winning streak. UNC is tied for second in the North Division with Eastern Washington. On the season, the Bears have been led by Kortney Lockey, a 5-10 outside hitter from Eaton, Colorado, is averaging 3.27 kills and 3.06 digs per set.

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS:
Montana State played its most complete match of the season and rallied to defeat Weber State 32-30, 19-25, 23-25, 25-15, 15-11, Thursday night. Montana State middle blocker Kiana Black led four Bobcats in double-digits with a career-high 20 kills. The product of Wenatchee, Washington also added seven blocks to lead all players. Also in double-digit kills for MSU were Passeck 18, Caitlin Lonergan 15 and Alexandra Rader 10. Bobcat setters Katie Rutecki and Sydney Mathison each dished out a season-high 38 and 28 assists, respectively. Defensively, the Bobcats out-blocked Weber State 13-10. The Wildcats entered the match fourth in the nation in blocking. Aside from Black's seven blocks, Dugan added five. Rizzo finished the match with 24 digs, while Rutecki 14, Lonergan 14 and Passeck 12 all recorded double-doubles. Idaho State committed just seven hitting errors, en route to a 25-17, 22-25, 25-16, 25-16 win over Montana State on Saturday. ISU out-hit the Bobcats .427 to .199. Montana State recorded 27 hitting miscues as the Bengals snapped MSU's two-match winning streak. The Bobcats were paced by Lonergan and Natalie Passeck with 16 kills. Eli Svisco added seven kills, a .312 attack mark and two digs. Defensively, MSU was led by Allyssa Rizzo, who recorded a match-high 17 digs.

RUNNING THE GAUNLET:
This season's edition of Bobcat volleyball has faced a hellacious schedule. And, in particular, a span of four matches from Sept. 3-17 that featured No. 1 Nebraska, No. 20 Loyola Marymount, Creighton, who has received votes in the top 25 poll and Gonzaga, who is currently 7-3 overall. In fact, MSU's schedule is ranked the toughest in the Big Sky Conference (.600) followed by Portland State (.567), Idaho (.556), North Dakota (.535) and Northern Colorado (.529). The three weakest schedules in the Big Sky belong to Northern Arizona (.366), Weber State (.442) and Montana (.442)

700/500 CLUB:
Senior Eli Svisco is a member of Montana State's 700 kills - 500 digs club. The fifth-year player has recorded 780 career kills and 556 career digs. The product of Castle Rock had her best season in the kill category during her freshman campaign when she racked-up 265 kills. Her freshman season also saw her post a career best 312 saves on the year.

HELLO, MY NAME IS ____________:
Second-year head coach JJ Riley has had a total of 13 new players dot the Bobcat roster in his tenure in the Blue and Gold. This season, Riley welcomed eight newcomers to Shroyer Gym, including six freshmen and two junior college transfers.

DIGGING IT:
Freshman libero Allyssa Rizzo has recorded 227 digs on the season, averaging 4.06 digs per set. The mark ranks her ninth in the Big Sky Conference. The Crestwood, Illinois product is averaging 3.54 digs per game in league action.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
Montana State has two individuals ranked in this week's Big Sky stats - both are freshman. Bozeman product Caitlin Lonergan is second in aces (.37), while Allyssa Rizzo is ninth in digs (4.06 dps).

PACKING THEM IN:
The Bobcats have averaged 1,137 fans in its five matches in Shroyer Gym this fall. Two weeks ago a season-high 1,409 spectators jammed Shroyer Gym as the Bobcats handed rival Montana a 3-1 setback. MSU's 1,137 fans per game ranks 40th in the nation at the NCAA Division I level. The mark ranks higher than programs such as Tennessee, Florida State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Washington State. Only North Dakota (1,248) has a higher average attendance than Montana State in Big Sky Conference play.