CATS CLOSE OUT REGULAR SEASON AT HOME

Thursday, November 9

BOZEMAN

7 p.m.

Montana State University

Eastern Washington

Photo by: Andrew Pedersen

11/7/2017 1:25:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

The Montana State volleyball team will close out its 2017 regular season when its hosts Eastern Washington, Thursday, Nov. 9 and the University of Idaho, Saturday, Nov. 11.

By: Tom Schulz

MSU VB NOTES l LIVE VIDEO l LIVE STATS

CATS CLOSE OUT REGULAR SEASON AT HOME
The Montana State volleyball team will close out its 2017 regular season when its hosts Eastern Washington, Thursday, Nov. 9 and the University of Idaho, Saturday, Nov. 11. Both matches will be played in Shroyer Gym beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday's match against the Vandals will also be Senior Night as the Bobcats celebrate the careers of Kiana Black, Audra Dugan and Katie Rutecki. Heading into the final week of Big Sky play the Bobcats are one of four teams battling for the final two spots to make the league's postseason tournament. Sacramento State has already secured the top seed and hosting honors. North Dakota, Idaho, Portland State, Northern Arizona and Idaho State have also secured tournament berths. Northern Colorado (6-8), Weber State (6-8), MSU (5-9) and Eastern Washington (4-10) are still in the hunt.

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

             Opponent:          Eastern Washington
             Nickname:          Eagles
             Head Coach:      Michael King (20-29 // 2nd Year)
             2017 Record:      7-16 overall; 4-10 Big Sky

             Opponent:          Idaho
             Nickname:          Vandals
             Head Coach:      Debbie Buchanan (270-257 // 18th Year)
2017 Record:      15-10 overall; 10-4 Big Sky

CATCH THE CATS:
Pluto TV – Pluto TV is the leading free Internet-based TV service that is available on almost any device such as Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, PlayStation, Xbox, and smart TVs like Sony, Samsung, Vizio and more. Pluto TV is also available through a free app on mobile and table devices (i.e. iOS and Android), as well as traditional PCs. All content on Pluto TV is free, including its Video on Demand.

For Montana State matches this weekend - Pluto TV Channel 238

Live Video Stream: Also available at WatchBigSky.com

Live Stats: For Montana State matches this weekend - bobcatstats.com

ON POINT WITH THE CATS:
*The Cats trail Eastern Washington 53-23 in the all-time series dating back to 1980.
*The Bobcats lost to Eastern Washington 3-2 on Sept. 23 in Cheney (16-14 in the 5th).
*MSU's last win over Eastern Washington (3-2) was on Nov. 1, 2014 in Bozeman.
*Idaho holds a 32-7 advantage in the all-time series dating back to 1982.
*The Vandals defeated the Bobcats 3-0 on Sept. 21 in Moscow - 25-19, 25-14, 25-12.
*Montana State's last win over the Vandals (3-1) was on Sept. 14, 1990 in Bozeman.
*Last Sunday, MSU completed the season sweep of Montana (3-2) in Missoula.

TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS:
As always, numerous Big Sky Tournament scenarios will be played out over the last weekend with Weber State and Northern Colorado in the driver's seat for the final two spots. Montana State is next in line with Eastern Washington needing a couple of wins and a lot of help. If Weber State sweeps this weekend (at home PSU, SAC) they're in. If Northern Colorado sweeps this weekend (home to SUU, at UND) they're in. For those two schools to sweep will be a mighty task as they play some of the top programs in the Big Sky. Montana State's best chance to gain a tournament berth is to defeat Eastern Washington and Idaho. A MSU win over EWU knocks the Eagles out of the tourney. If the Bobcats can get to seven wins and Weber State splits, MSU holds the tiebreaker over the Wildcats. Northern Colorado holds the tiebreaker over MSU with its sweep of the Cats, while Weber State has tiebreaker over UNC.

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS:
Behind Natalie Passeck's 20-kill output and a career-high 17 kills from sophomore Evi Wilson the Montana State volleyball team swept the season series from rival Montana 22-25, 25-23, 25-18, 23-25, 15-10 on Sunday afternoon in Dahlberg Arena. It was Montana State's first season sweep of Montana since 2005. Despite being out-hit .215 to .214, Montana State used a 72-61 advantage in kills and a 7-3 edge in aces to notch its fifth Big Sky win of the season. Also in double-digit kills for MSU were Hannah Scott and Kiana Black with 15 and 10 kills, respectively. Senior Katie Rutecki matched a career-best 60 assists. Defensively, the Bobcats were paced by libero Allyssa Rizzo with a match-high 23 digs. Rutecki and Passeck posted 17 saves, while Scott added 10. Rutecki and Black guided MSU at the net with three blocks, apiece. For the first time this season the Montana State volleyball team had five players in double-figure kills, but it wasn't enough as the Big Sky's top team Sacramento State handed the Bobcats a 27-25, 25-15, 23-25, 25-22 setback, Thursday night on Colberg Court. Senior Kiana Black paced Montana State with 14 kills and a .632 attack, while freshman Kelsie White added 11 kills and a team-high six blocks. Scott, Wilson and Natalie Passeck all posted 10 kills, apiece. Defensively, the Cats were led by sophomore libero Allyssa Rizzo with a match-high 27 digs.

THE NITTY GRITTY:
The NCAA has put out its Nitty Gritty RPI for the week and the Bobcats are listed at No. 218. That's 41 spots up from last year's finish of 259. This season, MSU has defeated five teams ranked ahead of them, including North Dakota (87), Pacific (109), Gonzaga (142), Utah State (167) and UC Santa Barbara (192). This weekend, MSU will face Eastern Washington (253) and Idaho (123). Sacramento State (86) and North Dakota are the only Big Sky schools listed in the top 100.

BLOCK PARTY:
Montana State averaged a whopping weekend best 3.31 blocks per game en route to winning the Utah State Tournament in early September. Currently, the Cats average 2.01 and have continued its impressive effort averaging 2.06 bps, which is ninth in the Big Sky and ranks 176th in the nation. MSU's best block party of the season came in its win over Pacific on Sept. 2 as the Cats out-blocked the Tigers 20-6. Freshman Kelsie White posted a school-record and career-best 14 block assists, and finished the match with 15 total blocks. Sophomore Evi Wilson also enjoyed a career performance with seven blocks, while Kiana Black chipped in five block assists against the Tigers. White's 1.09 blocks per set ranks seventh in the Big Sky and is 122nd in the nation. The Layton, Utah product has notched the 13th highest blocks per set average in the nation for freshmen. In addition, White's 15 total blocks against Pacific are the highest total in the nation for a five-set match this season.

HELLO, MY NAME IS ____________:
Thirteen of MSU's 16 players on its roster have been in the program for two years or less. This season, the Bobcats welcomed six freshmen. Only three players (Kiana Black, Natalie Passeck and Chase Doughty) remain on the roster from the 2015 campaign, which was the first under then head coach JJ Riley and top assistant (now head) coach Daniel Jones.

DIGGING IT:
Sophomore libero Allyssa Rizzo, along with defensive specialists and freshmen Lexie Goroski, Libby Christensen and Allie Lynch have accounted for over half of MSU's digs this season. The foursome has averaged an impressive 7.30 saves per game over the last 23 matches. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed as both Rizzo and Goroski were named to the Utah State All-Tournament team. Rizzo paces MSU in the back row averaging 4.70 digs, while Goroski chips in 1.75, Lynch 1.38 dps and Christensen 1.21. Rizzo's 4.70 digs per set is the third best mark in the Big Sky Conference this fall and ranks 65th in the nation.

BLACK AND WHITE:
Montana State middle blockers senior Kiana Black and freshman Kelsie White have been outstanding for the Bobcats this season. The duo has combined for 335 kills (3.64 kps) and 165 blocks (1.79 bps), while hitting .222 from the field. Black, a native of Wenatchee, Wash., has also added 28 service aces on the season, including a career-high five aces against Air Force. She had her best hitting outing of the season with 20 kills and a .447 attack mark in MSU's upset victory over North Dakota on Oct. 26. White, a product of Layton, Utah, has guided MSU defensively, averaging 1.09 blocks per set. Against Pacific, she registered 14 blocks assists, establishing a new MSU school-record. White broke the mark of 13 block assists previously held by Karen Weyler ('94) and Mindy Nowak ('98). Offensively, White is averaging 1.63 kills per set, while hitting .2207. The 6-4 true-freshman posted a season-best 13 kills in Montana State's win over Weber State on Oct. 5 in Ogden, Utah.

SETTING STANDARDS:
Katie Rutecki and Sydney Mathison have shared the setting position this season. Rutecki received her first start of the year against Eastern Washington on Sept. 23. She has started the last eight matches for the Bocbats and has averaged 12.1 assists per set over that span. Rutecki dished out a career-high 60 assists in MSU upset win at North Dakota and followed that with 60 in the Cats' victory at Montana on Sunday. She is averaging 10.33 aps in Big Sky play, which is the sixth best total in the league. Mathison has played in 71 sets and is averaging 6.15 aps. She registered a career-high 55 assists in MSU's 3-2 win over Weber State on Oct. 5.

PINTEREST:
For most of the season to date, juniors Natalie Passeck and Chase Doughty, along with sophomores Evi Wilson, Savannah Laws and freshman Hannah Scott have manned the pins for the Bobcats. Passeck has led all MSU outside hitters averaging 3.16 kills per set, while Scott has chipped in 2.39, Doughty 2.17, Wilson 1.77 and Laws 1.42 kills per contest. In Montana State's win over Southern Utah on Oct. 21, Passeck paced the Cats with a career-high 22 kills. On Sunday at Montana, the Parker, Colo., posted 20 kills to guide the Cats past the Grizzlies. It was her second 20+-kill match of the season. She has been in double-digit kills on 14 occasions this fall. Scott has been in double-digit kills the past four matches and has averaged 3.00 kps during that time. Her best offensive performance came in MSU's win over Weber State with 18 kills. For the match she hit .357 (18-3-42) from the floor. Wilson enjoyed her best offensive match against Montana on Sunday with a career-high 17 kills and .400 (17-3-35) attack mark. Doughty matched her career-high with 14 kills in MSU's win over UCSB at the Utah State tournament on Sept. 1. Laws recorded a season-best ten kills at Eastern Washington on Sept. 23.