Saturday, September 2
Logan, UT
12 p.m.
Montana State University
3-2
3
at
1
Utah State
3-2
1
2
3
4
F
Montana State
25
25
27
25
3
Utah State
20
18
29
19
1
Utah State Tournament Champions
Cats Claim Utah State Tournament Title
9/2/2017 8:17:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Montana State volleyball team opened eyes all across Big Sky Conference territory after winning the Utah State Tournament with a pair of victories, Saturday afternoon.
The Montana State volleyball team opened eyes all across Big Sky Conference territory after winning the Utah State Tournament with a pair of victories, Saturday afternoon.
Montana State (4-2) opened its day defeating Utah State 25-20, 25-18, 27-29, 25-19, before turning around for a 26-24, 23-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-11 decision over Pacific. MSU went 3-0 in the tournament, which included a 3-1 win over UC Santa Barbara on Friday night.
"We knew coming down that it was going to be a tough weekend against three quality opponents," said MSU head coach Daniel Jones. "As a coaching staff, we couldn't be happier and prouder of these kids."
Serving was the key against Utah State as the Bobcats dished-up an 11-4 advantage from the end line. MSU also held a 14-9 edge in blocking.
"Our serving has been tough in the early season," Jones said. "That allows us to get our opponents out of system and set our block. The kids are doing a nice job executing the game plan."
Against the Aggies, junior Natalie Passeck paced the Cats with 13 kills and nine digs. Defensively, MSU was led by Allyssa Rizzo with 19 digs and Kelsie White with eight blocks.
MSU had 20-minutes to digest the game plan against Pacific. The Tigers has defeated Big Sky rivals Idaho and Sacramento State earlier in the week.
"There wasn't a whole lot of time between our matches," Jones said. "The kids did a nice job executing the plan. We received outstanding contributions from a lot of different people to give us the added energy we needed to beat Pacific. We joked that it was like bringing in the cavalry."
After trading victories over the first four frames, Pacific held an 8-6 advantage at the change of the deciding set. However, the Bobcats battled back with a 7-2 run to take a 13-10 lead following an ace by Kiana Black. The stretch was also sparked by a pair of kills from freshman Hannah Scott. A White kill followed by a UP hitting miscue gave MSU the victory.
MSU held a commanding 20-6 advantage in blocking, which saw White break a 20-year-old school-record posting 14 blocks assists. The old mark of 13 was held by Mindy Nowak ('98) and Karen Weyler ('94).
Sophomore Evi Wilson was the only Montana State player to reach double-digit kills with ten. Rizzo again paced the Bobcats in the back row with a match-high 29 digs.
"We continue to talk about getting a little bit better every day, and I think we accomplished some great things this weekend," Jones said. "We still have plenty to work on. It will be nice to have next weekend off and give our kids a break."
For their efforts, Passeck was named tournament MVP, while Rizzo and Alexis Goroski, a freshman defensive specialist, were named to the all-tournament team.
MSU will host its annual Alumni match next Saturday at noon in Shroyer Gym.
Montana State (4-2) opened its day defeating Utah State 25-20, 25-18, 27-29, 25-19, before turning around for a 26-24, 23-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-11 decision over Pacific. MSU went 3-0 in the tournament, which included a 3-1 win over UC Santa Barbara on Friday night.
"We knew coming down that it was going to be a tough weekend against three quality opponents," said MSU head coach Daniel Jones. "As a coaching staff, we couldn't be happier and prouder of these kids."
Serving was the key against Utah State as the Bobcats dished-up an 11-4 advantage from the end line. MSU also held a 14-9 edge in blocking.
"Our serving has been tough in the early season," Jones said. "That allows us to get our opponents out of system and set our block. The kids are doing a nice job executing the game plan."
Against the Aggies, junior Natalie Passeck paced the Cats with 13 kills and nine digs. Defensively, MSU was led by Allyssa Rizzo with 19 digs and Kelsie White with eight blocks.
MSU had 20-minutes to digest the game plan against Pacific. The Tigers has defeated Big Sky rivals Idaho and Sacramento State earlier in the week.
"There wasn't a whole lot of time between our matches," Jones said. "The kids did a nice job executing the plan. We received outstanding contributions from a lot of different people to give us the added energy we needed to beat Pacific. We joked that it was like bringing in the cavalry."
After trading victories over the first four frames, Pacific held an 8-6 advantage at the change of the deciding set. However, the Bobcats battled back with a 7-2 run to take a 13-10 lead following an ace by Kiana Black. The stretch was also sparked by a pair of kills from freshman Hannah Scott. A White kill followed by a UP hitting miscue gave MSU the victory.
MSU held a commanding 20-6 advantage in blocking, which saw White break a 20-year-old school-record posting 14 blocks assists. The old mark of 13 was held by Mindy Nowak ('98) and Karen Weyler ('94).
Sophomore Evi Wilson was the only Montana State player to reach double-digit kills with ten. Rizzo again paced the Bobcats in the back row with a match-high 29 digs.
"We continue to talk about getting a little bit better every day, and I think we accomplished some great things this weekend," Jones said. "We still have plenty to work on. It will be nice to have next weekend off and give our kids a break."
For their efforts, Passeck was named tournament MVP, while Rizzo and Alexis Goroski, a freshman defensive specialist, were named to the all-tournament team.
MSU will host its annual Alumni match next Saturday at noon in Shroyer Gym.
Team Stats
MSU
USU
Kills
47
44
Errors
29
33
Attempts
136
145
Hitting %
.132
.076
Points
72.0
57.0
Assists
45
42
Aces
11
4
Blocks
14.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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