Cats Face Last Regular-Season Matches

Thursday, November 10

Cheney, WA

7 p.m.

Montana State University

Eastern Washington

Montana State Head Coach JJ Riley

Photo by: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

11/9/2016 5:38:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

BOBCAT VOLLEYBALL NOTES

Montana State plays its final two matches of the Big Sky regular-season this weekend at Eastern Washington and Idaho.

By: Tom Schulz

STILL ALIVE:
Montana State plays its final two matches of the Big Sky regular-season this weekend at Eastern Washington and Idaho. Heading into the weekend, MSU is mathematically alive for one of two spots still available for the Big Sky tournament. A lot would have to fall the Bobcats way, including winning both matches. EWU and Weber State have the inside track on the last two playoff spots. MSU plays at Eastern Washington on Thursday, Nov. 10 in Cheney at 7 p.m. (MST) and Idaho on Saturday, Nov. 12 in Moscow at 5 p.m. (MST).

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

                             Opponent:          Eastern Washington University
                             Nickname:          Eagles
                             Record:                11-12, 6-8 Big Sky
                             Head Coach:      Michael King (29-40, 20-26)
                             Notable Win:    3-1 win over Northern Arizona, Oct. 6

The Skinny: The Big Sky Conference tournament scenario is pretty simple for Eastern Washington heading into the weekend. A win and they're in. And, even if the Eagles dropped two matches this weekend, they still have the inside track to one of two remaining playoff spots. This season, Eastern Washington has been led by Ka'iulani Ahuna, who is averaging 2.96 kills and 2.86 digs per set. Last weekend, she played at UND, but was sidelined at Northern Colorado.

                             Opponent:          University of Idaho
                             Nickname:          Vandals
                             Record:                9-17, 4-10 Big Sky
                             Head Coach:      Debbie Buchanan (253-246, 25-21)
                             Notable Win:    3-1 win over Idaho State, Oct. 27

The Skinny: The Vandals need a pair of victories and two Weber State or Eastern Washington losses to earn a trip to the Big Sky Conference tournament. Idaho has been paced this season by Sarah Sharp, who averages 2.97 kills per set, while hitting .167 from the field. Also chipping in for the Vandals is Becca Mau, who averages 2.72 kills per set with a .196 attack mark. Defensively, Idaho is led by Terra Varney, who is averaging 4.66 digs per contest.

ON POINT WITH THE CATS:
* The Bobcats are 23-51 all-time against E. Washington dating back to 1980
* The Bobcats are 7-30 all-time against Idaho going back to 1982
* MSU and EWU played Sept. 24 with EWU winning 3-1 in Bozeman
* MSU and Idaho played Sept. 22 with UI winning 3-1 in Bozeman
* The last time MSU defeated EWU in Cheney was Oct. 27, 2012, 3-0
* The last time MSU defeated UI in Moscow was Nov. 3, 1989, 3-2
* MSU has won two more overall and Big Sky matches than all of last year
* MSU snapped a 19-match road losing streak defeating So. Utah on Oct. 22

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS:
Montana out-hit Montana State .231 to .169 and used a 48-36 advantage in kills, en route to a straight set 25-20, 26-24, 25-19 victory on Friday night. Montana State got out to an early 5-1 lead in the opening set. The two rivals traded points and were tied 12 times before Montana broke away at 18-all with four consecutive points. It was MSU who rallied in the second set. Trailing 22-17, the Bobcats rattled off a 7-1 run to serve set point at 24-23. The run was sparked by a combination of blocking, serving and kills by Evi Wilson and Natalie Passeck. UM regrouped and scored the final three points. MSU was led by Alexandra Rader and Chase Doughty with nine kills, while Passeck added eight. Allyssa Rizzo posted a match-high 18 kills and Audra Dugan had four blocks. Against Sacramento State, Montana State rallied from a 22-17 deficit in the opening set with an 8-1 run to capture the first game, but were unable to maintain its momentum as the Hornets came back with a 23-25, 25-11, 25-21, 25-17 victory on Thursday. Passeck led all players with a match-high 15 kills, while Doughty matched a career-high with 13 kills and Rader added ten. Katie Rutecki posted her third double-double with 33 assists and 10 digs. Rizzo notched a team-best 20 digs. At the net, MSU was paced by Kiana Black with six blocks.

PASSECK POSTS POINTS:
Sophomore Natalie Passeck led Montana State with 24.5 points last weekend. In seven sets she had 23 kills and 13 digs.

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET:
This season 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 received votes in the top 25 and Gonzaga. 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)

800/500 CLUB:
Senior Eli Svisco is a member of Montana State's 800 kills - 500 digs club. The fifth-year player has recorded 813 career kills and 563 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 last weekend as a common site had five freshmen and a sophomore on the court at one time against Northern Colorado and North Dakota (Caitlin Lonergan, Sydney Mathison, Allyssa Rizzo, Savannah Laws and Evi Wilson). The lone sophomore was Natalie Passeck.

SKY HIGH - BIG SKY CONFERENCE NOTES:
The final week of Big Sky volleyball regular season play is here and it will have no shortages of drama. With four teams in position to clinch the regular season title and tournament hosting rights, seeding to be sorted out and the final two spots in the postseason up for grabs, the nation's "decision week" title is fitting for the Big Sky as well. Entering the final weekend, North Dakota has sole possession of the top spot in the standings and controls its own destiny in trying to cap off a regular season championship. Each at 11-3 and on UND's heels is Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado and Sacramento State for earning hosting rights. The Fighting Hawks face a tough test in clinching their first regular season title, visiting NAU in Flagstaff and hosting UNC in Grand Forks. UND needs to win out or at least beat NAU and have UNC split to earn hosting rights. Long story short, if UND doesn't want to potentially return to Flagstaff, it needs to become the first road team to win there in 26 matches. NAU has a shot at getting the tournament back in Arizona for the second straight season, but will have different rooting interests than Sac State elsewhere. The Hornets can host if they, NAU and UNC win out. NAU needs to win out and have UND beat UNC Saturday. Both the Lumberjacks and Bears face Southern Utah this week, while Sac State hosts Idaho State and Weber State. Northern Colorado will be a UND fan Thursday but not Saturday, needing the Fighting Hawks to beat NAU and then fall at the hand of the Bears. Aside from the hosting race, another battle will be ensuing for the last two spots in the tournament. Eastern Washington and Idaho each host the Montana schools, while Weber State hits the road to Portland and Sacramento. EWU simply needs a single win or a loss by either Idaho or WSU to clinch a spot. Idaho needs to win out and have either EWU or WSU lose out. The Wildcats are in with a win or an Idaho loss, currently owning the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Vandals. Montana State can make a late run at the tourney field, but needs two wins and some help. The Bobcats could have tiebreakers on their side if WSU were to lose two and Idaho either lost two or split. On top of all this madness, seeding will also be in play this week. NAU and Sac State are each vying for the south division title, while UND and UNC are contending for the north. The division champions will be the No. 1 & No. 2 seeds at the tournament regardless of record. The fight for positioning in the 1-5 seeds will be intense between the league's double-digit win teams.

DIGGING IT:
Freshman libero Allyssa Rizzo has recorded 346 digs on the season, averaging 4.22 digs per set. The mark ranks her eighth in the Big Sky Conference. The Crestwood, Illinois product is averaging 4.08 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 (.39), while Allyssa Rizzo is eighth in digs (4.22 dps).

PACKING THEM IN:
The Bobcats averaged 1,044 fans in its eight 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 1,044 fans per game ranks 46th in the nation at the NCAA Division I level. The mark ranks higher than programs such as Notre Dame, Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, USC, Wyoming and Gonzaga. Only North Dakota (1,105) has a higher average attendance than Montana State in Big Sky Conference play.