Montana State University
Eastern Washington
BOBCATS HEAD TO EASTERN WASHINGTON; IDAHO:
11/7/2018 3:25:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Montana State volleyball squad will make the trek north on I-90 for a pair of matches this weekend. The Bobcats will face Eastern Washington, Thursday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. (MT) on Reese Court in Cheney. Montana State will finish the weekend on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Moscow when it faces Idaho in Memorial Gym.
BOBCATS HEAD TO EASTERN WASHINGTON; IDAHO:
The Montana State volleyball squad will make the trek north on I-90 for a pair of matches this weekend. The Bobcats will face Eastern Washington, Thursday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. (MT) on Reese Court in Cheney. Montana State will finish the weekend on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Moscow when it faces Idaho in Memorial Gym.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:
The Bobcats will face two teams on the opposite ends of the spectrum this weekend as it looks to secure a Big Sky Conference tournament berth. Montana State, along with Montana, Portland State and Southern Utah are all fighting for the final two spots. MSU and UM are one game up on PSU and SUU. The Bobcats hold a tie-break with all three squads. First up, MSU will face Eastern Washington, who is still looking for its first Big Sky victory of the season. The Eagles almost knock-off the Cats on Oct. 13 in Bozeman. MSU prevailed in the match 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 21-25, 15-13. Natalie Passeck and Hannah Scott paced MSU in the win with 18 and 17 kills, respectively. EWU was led by Catelyn Linke and MaKenna Davie with 17 kills, apiece. In perhaps one of its best effort of the season, MSU fell to Big Sky-leading Idaho 22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 30-28 on Oct. 11 in Bozeman. The Vandals out-hit the Cats .245 to .223 in the match. Scott and Kelsie White led Montana State with 14 and 11 kills, respectively, while Sarah Sharp pounded-out 18 kills for Idaho.
Opponent: Eastern Washington (12,607)
Nickname: Eagles
Head Coach: Leslie Flores-Cloud
2018 Record: 8-18 overall; 0-14/Big Sky
Opponent: Idaho (12,072)
Nickname: Vandals
Head Coach: Debbie Buchanan
2018 Record: 18-8 overall; 12-2/Big Sky
SIDE OUTS:
*The Cats trail Eastern Washington 55-25 in the all-time series dating back to 1980
*MSU's win over EWU on Oct. 13 was its second straight over the Eagles
*The Bobcats trail Idaho 37-9 in the all-time series dating back to the 1976 campaign.
*MSU's win over Idaho (3-1) came on Sept. 14, 1990. MSU has lost 22 straight to UI
*Junior libero Allyssa Rizzo is fourth on MSU's career digs list with 1,367 saves
*Rizzo is third in the Big Sky at 5.39 digs per set, which ranks 20th nationally
* Thirteen of MSU's 17 rostered players have been in the program two years or less
* Montana State is averaging 1,066 fans per match, which ranks 47th in the nation
SUPER SAVER:
Junior libero Allyssa Rizzo, who has earned two Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors this season, averaged 6.00 digs and 1.50 assists last weekend. The product of Crestwood, Ill., posted 48 digs in eight sets, logging 34 saves against Southern Utah and 14 digs against Northern Arizona. Rizzo has gone over the 30-dig plateau on four occasions this fall, including a career high 34 digs in MSU's win over Portland State and loss to Southern Utah. In addition, she has notched 15 matches with 20 or more digs. Her current 523 digs on the year is the most ever recorded in a single-season at Montana State. Nicole Baker (2011) held the Bobcat single-season record at 514. Rizzo is third in the Big Sky averaging 5.39 digs per set, which also ranks No. 20 in the nation. She has notched 1,367 career digs, which moved her into fourth on MSU's all-time career digs chart.
PINTREST:
As a unit Montana State's outside hitters manned the pins last weekend producing 71 kills, while hitting just .079 from the floor. In addition, the five some tallied 48 digs and added 12 blocks. Junior Evi Wilson led the way for MSU with 21 kills and a .176 attack mark against Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. Freshman Hailey Merkes averaged 1.88 kills per game, while hitting .222. Sophomore Hannah Scott averaged 2.38 kills and 3.62 digs with a .085 attack mark while taking 82 swings. Senior Natalie Passeck returned to the MSU rotation and averaged 2.38 kills and 1.62 digs per outing.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
As a team, the Bobcats ranked in the top five in three Big Sky statistical category this week. Montana State was ranked fourth in digs per set at 15.71 per game and total team attacks at 36.18 per set. MSU was ranked fifth in team digs with 1,524 saves. Nationally, the Cats are ranked No. 100 in attacks per set; 107th in digs per set; and 110th in team digs. Individually, Allyssa Rizzo ranks among the best liberos in the nation. Her 5.39 digs per set is third in the Big Sky and ranks 20th nationally. Rizzo is also ranked No. 21 in the nation in total digs, No. 73 in aces (34) and No. 100 in aces per set (.35). Sophomore middle blocker Kelsie White's 94 total blocks is rankled No. 180 in the nation.
HARD BLOCK CAFE:
Last season in MSU's win over Pacific, freshman Kelsie White notched 15 blocks, including 14 block assists. The 14 blocks assist was a Bobcat school-record, breaking the mark of 13 held by Karen Weyler (1994) and Mindy Nowak (1998). The 15 blocks were the second highest total in the nation last fall, and White's 1.08 blocks per game were the 13th best average produced by a freshmen in the country. The Layton, Utah native is currently ranked 180th in the nation with 94 total blocks, while her .99 blocks per set is listed 221st nationally.
THE RIGHT STUFF:
The Bobcats ended the 2017 season ranked No. 213 in the final RPI, which was a 46-spot leap up the rankings from 259 at the end of the 2016 season. In all, the Bobcats defeated five teams ranked higher than themselves in the final RPI, including No. 71 North Dakota, No. 99 Pacific, No. 151 Gonzaga, No. 164 Utah State and No. 182 UC Santa Barbara. This season, Montana State is currently No. 257 in the Nitty-Gritty listings. Northern Arizona is the highest ranked Big Sky team at No. 127. Montana State's best wins of the season have been over No. 143 SMU and No. 222 Seattle.
IT'S ALL-ACADEMIC:
Six Bobcat players that received All-Big Sky Conference Academic accolades in 2017 return to the MSU rotation. They include Lexi Goroski, Libby Christensen, Sydney Mathison, Hannah Scott, Allyssa Rizzo and Kelsie White.
1,000-KILL CLUB:
Senior Natalie Passeck is closing in on becoming just the 16th member of Montana State's 1000-Kill Club. The last member of the club, Kim Stonehouse, made the list in 2006. Here's a look at MSU's all-time career kills list.
1. Diane Terrall, 78-81.......... 1,451
2. Brandy Anderson, 95-98... 1,380
3. Maggie Koughan, 82-85.... 1,328
4. Stephanie Laya, 97-00 ..... 1,260
5. Meggie Malyurek, 02-05.. 1,136
6. Moyra Ditchfield, 80-83.... 1,135
7. Kim Stonehouse, 03-06.... 1,129
8. Megan Zanto, 02-05......... 1,128
9. Kim Steffel, 89-92............ 1,108
10. Michelle Usitalo, 81-84..... 1,060
11. Cori Carper, 96-99............ 1,058
12. Mindy Nowak, 96-99 ...... 1,044
13. Stephanie Nowicki, 86-89. 1,033
14. Karen Weyler, 94-97........ 1,026
15. Aimee Halyk, 99-02.......... 1,014
--- Natalie Passeck, 15---...... 961
1,000-DIG CLUB:
Junior Allyssa Rizzo became the just the ninth member of Montana State's 1,000-Dig Club when she notched 23 saves against Louisiana on Sept. 7. The last member of the club, Kasey Schlatter, made the list in 2014. Here's a look at MSU's all-time career digs list.
1. Kandice Kelly, 03-06......... 1,720
2. Meghan Albiston, 07-10... 1,577
3. Nicole Baker, 10-13.......... 1,564
4. Allyssa Rizzo, 16--............ 1,367
5. Kamber Kelly, 01-04......... 1,262
6. Meggie Malyurek, 02-05.. 1,223
7. Stephanie Laya, 97-00...... 1,183
8. Mindy Nowak, 96-99........ 1,073
9. Kasey Schlatter, 11-14 1,059
