Montana State University
Northern Colorado
Bobcats Host North Division Leaders
10/26/2016 1:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Montana State volleyball team faces the upper-echelons of the Big Sky North Division for the second time in three weeks. This time, the Bocbats will host Northern Colorado (7-3) and North Dakota (8-2) in Shroyer Gym. MSU will open the week against UNC on Friday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. The Cats close out the weekend with UND, Saturday at 7 p.m. with its annual Pink Match.
QUICK TURN-AROUND:
The Montana State volleyball team faces the upper-echelons of the Big Sky North Division for the second time in three weeks. This time, the Bocbats will host Northern Colorado (7-3) and North Dakota (8-2) in Shroyer Gym. MSU will open the week against UNC on Friday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. The Cats close out the weekend with UND, Saturday at 7 p.m. with its annual Pink Match.
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:
Here is a closer look at this week's opponents.
Opponent: University of Northern Colorado
Nickname: Bears
Record: 16-9, 7-3 Big Sky
Head Coach: Lyndsey Oates (208-154, 117-61)
Notable Win: 3-0 over North Dakota, Sept. 24
The Skinny: Northern Colorado went the distance in both matches last weekend, defeating Weber State 3-2, before dropping a 3-2 decision at Idaho State. At 7-3 in league play, the Bears sit a game back of North Dakota for the top spot in the North Division standings. UNC has been paced by Kortney Lockey, who averages 3.23 kills and 2.95 digs per set. Last week, setter Ashley Guthrie averaged 10.90 assists and 1.70 kps, while hitting .316 from the field.
Opponent: University of North Dakota
Nickname: Fighting Hawks
Record: 17-9, 8-2 Big Sky
Head Coach: Mark Pryor (64-31, 30-12)
Notable Win: 3-0 win over Toledo, Sept. 17
The Skinny: North Dakota defeated in-state rival North Dakota State 3-0 on Tuesday night in Fargo. UND's Julia Kaczorowska and Faith Dooley led the Fighting Hawks on Tuesday with 14 and ten kills, respectively. Each finished the match hitting over .400 from the field. On the season, North Dakota has been paced by Chelsea Moser who averages 2.68 kills per set with a .341 attack mark. UND will play at Montana on Friday night before traveling to Bozeman.
THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS:
The Montana State volleyball team won its first road match of the season out-hitting Southern Utah .231 to 0.80, en route to a 25-20, 25-19, 25-17 straight set victory over the Thunderbirds, Saturday afternoon. Natalie Passeck paced the Bobcats with a double-double recording a team-high 12 kills and 14 digs. She also posted a .360 attack mark and two aces. Caitlin Lonergan finished with ten kills and seven blocks. Savannah Laws also chipped in seven blocks. Bobcat setters Katie Rutecki and Mathison dished out 20 and 15 assists, respectively, while Allyssa Rizzo added nine digs. "I loved the way the team played," said MSU head coach JJ Riley. "They played with a great calmness, yet played aggressively. The calmness allowed them to keep their focus, execute and stay in the moment, which is so key." Despite playing one of its best road matches of the season, the Montana State volleyball squad dropped a hard-fought 29-27, 25-21, 25-20 decision to Big Sky leading Northern Arizona, Thursday night. Lonergan led MSU with nine kills, while Alexandra Rader and Passeck added eight and seven kills, respectively. Rutecki paced the Cats with 19 assists, while adding two aces and four digs. Defensively, Rizzo notched a match-high 24 digs, while Eli Svisco and Kiana Black recorded five and four blocks, apiece.
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET:
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 797 career kills and 559 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. MSU's youth movement was evident in its first match of the season against Grand Canyon as five freshmen took to the court (Caitlin Lonergan, Sydney Mathison, Allyssa Rizzo, Savannah Laws and Evi Wilson) helping the Bobcats to a 3-2 decision over the Lopes.
DIGGING IT:
Freshman libero Allyssa Rizzo has recorded 276 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 3.72 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 (.36), while Allyssa Rizzo is ninth in digs (4.06 dps).
GOOD PEDIGREE:
Freshman Sydney Mathison's dad Bruce played QB at Nebraska from 1980-82. Bruce went on to play with San Diego, Buffalo and Seattle in the NFL. Sophomore defensive specialist Libby Fellows is the daughter of MSU Hall of Famer Mark Fellows. Fellows played for the Bobcats and was a member of the 1984 National Championship team. He was a first-team All-American in 1984. Fellows had a promising pro career ahead of him with the San Diego Chargers, before suffering a career-ending knee injury.
PACKING THEM IN:
The Bobcats have averaged 1,137 fans in its five matches in Shroyer Gym this fall. On Oct. 1 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 44th in the nation at the NCAA Division I level. The mark ranks higher than programs such as Tennessee, Florida State, Notre Dame, Alabama and Oregon State. Only North Dakota (1,155) has a higher average attendance than Montana State in Big Sky Conference play.
