Wednesday, March 31
Greeley, CO
4 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
#6 Southern Utah
Bobcats Open Big Sky Volleyball Tournament Wednesday
3/29/2021 4:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Montana State volleyball team will participate in the 33rd annual Big Sky Conference volleyball tournament Wednesday, March 31 - April 2, at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado.
WHO: #6 Southern Utah vs. #3 Montana State
WHEN: Wednesday, March 31, 2021 @ 4 p.m.
WHERE: Greeley, Colorado - Bank of Colorado Arena
RECORDS: Montana St. 10-4, 10-4; So. Utah, 8-7, 8-6
SERIES: Montana State leads 7-5; Streak: MSU W1
LAST MTG: Nov. 14, 2019 - @Montana State 3, So. Utah 0
VIDEO: Montana State's matches at the Big Sky tournament can be seen on Pluto TV - Ch. 1050
TOURNEY TIME: The Montana State volleyball team will participate in the 33rd annual Big Sky Conference volleyball tournament Wednesday, March 31 - April 2, at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado. The Bobcats will enter tournament play as the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 Southern Utah on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Should MSU advance, they would play the winner of No. 2 Northern Colorado/No. 7 Idaho on Thursday night at 7 p.m. The Big Sky tournament championship match is slated for 8 p.m. on Friday. Also participating in the tournament are No. 1 Weber State, No. 4 Sacramento State, No. 5 Northern Arizona, and No. 8 Eastern Washington. The winner gets the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
TOURNEY TALK: The Bobcats have competed in 13 Big Sky Conference tournaments since the inception of the league for women in 1988. MSU is 9-4 in quarterfinal matches and 0-9 in semifinal contests. The Bobcats have never played for a Big Sky Conference Tournament title. Montana State came close to the championship match in 2000, 2002 and 2003.
BOBCAT BLURBS: Kira Thomsen has seven double-doubles on the season...middle blocker Susanna Sovde recorded a .625 (11-1-16) attack mark against Northern Arizona on Feb. 6- the mark is the fourth best hitting percentage for a single-match this season in Big Sky Conference action...Hannah Scott's career-best 25 kills against Idaho State on Feb. 20 are the second most posted in a single match in Big Sky play...Thomsen's 20 kills vs. UM on Feb. 15 is tops for three-set match...Jourdain Klein, Kaycee O'Dell and Emma Pence's eight block assists in Montana State's 3-0 win at Northern Colorado is a Big Sky season best for a three-set match.
SIDE OUTS:
* Montana State's 10-4 Big Sky Conference record was its best since the 2004 campaign.
* Montana State's nine-match win streak was the longest since the 2001 team opened 12-0
* Montana State snapped a 29-match losing streak to Northern Colorado on Jan. 24
* The Bobcats rank 70th in the nation and are second in the Big Sky with a .231 attack mark
* Montana State ranks third in the Big Sky and 85th in the country averaging 13.06 kps
* MSU's 2.24 blocks per set is third in the Big Sky and 85th at the NCAA Division I level
* Emma Pence is ranked 28th in the nation, averaging 1.38 blocks per set
* Freshman Jourdain Klein is ranked eighth in the Big Sky Conference, averaging 1.02 bps
* MSU 5-1 in five-set matches; 1-1 in four-set matches; and 4-2 in three-set matches
* Emma Pence has won both #BigSkyVB Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week
THE SCOUTING REPORT: Southern Utah finished the regular season 8-7 overall and 8-6 in Big Sky Conference action. Its lone cancellation of the Big Sky season was to Montana State, which was scheduled for March 14 & 15 in Bozeman. The Thunderbirds will enter the Big Sky tournament as the No. 6 seed, after sweeping Eastern Washington in Cedar City on March 19 & 20. Against the Eagles, SUU was paced by Stacey Hone. The 6-1 senior outside hitter from North Las Vegas totaled 25 kills and seven blocks, while hitting .359 for the eight-set series. Also contributing in SUU's sweep of Eastern Washington were Andreanna McKee and Elisa Lago. McKee, a 6-1 junior outside hitter, posted 29 kills (3.63 kps), while Lago, a 6-0 senior outside hitter, tallied 17 kills and 28 digs. Libero, Sarah Gasper notched 31 digs in the final match of the regular-season.
HARD BLOCK CAFE: The Bobcats averaged 1.57 blocks per set last weekend in its two-match series against Weber State in Ogden. As a team, MSU is ranked third in the Big Sky Conference averaging 2.24 blocks per set. MSU's 2.24 bps also ranks No. 85 in the nation. Individually, sophomore Emma Pence is second in the league averaging 1.38 blocks per set. That number ranks No. 18 in the country. Redshirt-freshman Jourdain Klein ranks eighth in the Big Sky averaging 1.02 blocks per set, which is 167th in the nation. The Bobcats had a season-best 16 team blocks in its 3-2 win over Portland State on Feb. 27.
BEAM ME UP SCOTTY: Senior Hannah Scott recorded back-to-back 20-kill matches as the Bobcats swept Idaho State, Feb. 20 & 21, including a career-high 25 kills against the Bengals on Feb. 20. Three weeks ago, she totaled 24 kills (3.00 kps) and 22 digs as the Bobcats swept Idaho in Moscow. Scott's best match of the Idaho weekend came on March 8 as she notched 15 kills and a weekend-best 13 digs. She currently has three double-doubles on the season. Last season, Scott had a breakout year which culminated in being named to the all-Big Sky First-Team as she averaged 2.66 kills per set, while hitting .230 from the floor. She recorded 17 double-figure kill matches. Scott also averaged 1.71 digs per set and logged six double-digit dig matches, including a season-high 11 saves on three occasions, the last coming against Sacramento State. Scott recorded a career-high 10 blocks against Northern Colorado at the Big Sky Tournament in 2019. She is currently 72 kills shy of becoming the 16th member of MSU's 1000-kill club. Last weekend at Weber State, she averaged 3.29 kills per set.
A LENDING HAND: Former Bozeman High product and Montana Class AA state champion setter Allie Lynch settled into her junior season at Montana State. Lynch is averaging 4.52 assists per set in Montana State's 6-2 offense. Against Weber State last week, Lynch dished out 35 assists and added 14 digs in the two-match series. Against Portland State on Feb. 28, the 5-10 junior dished out a season-best 28 assists. Last fall, she registered ten matches with 45 assists or more, including a season-high 51 assists in MSU's win over Loyola Maryland. Freshman Delaney Shearan has also come up big in MSU's 6-2 system. The Phoenix, Ariz., product in averaging 5.45 assists per contest. She dished out a season and career-high 33 assists in MSU 3-2 win over Idaho State on Feb. 20. Additionally, Shearan is averaging 1.95 digs and .20 aces per set. For the two-match series at Weber State, Shearan averaged 5.00 assists and 1.57 digs per game. She notched a season-high 12 digs against Northern Arizona on Feb. 6.
MAY I ASSIST YOU?: Junior setter Allie Lynch is slowly creeping up the all-time Montana State assists chart. The Bozeman native went over the 1,000-assist plateau against Portland State on Oct. 24, 2019. Former Bobcat standout Brooke Olsen-Roush (1996-99) holds the all-time Bobcats record set back in the old 15-point scoring era. Here's a look at MSU's all-time Top 10, and where Lynch stands:
1. Brooke Olsen, 1996-99 4,712
2. Kamber Kelly, 2001-04 3,751
3. Jennifer Lundquist, 2009-12 2,500
4. Lorraine Morrison, 1999-01 2,293
5. Kira Laden, 1995-96 1,893
6. Marsha Dirks, 1985-87 1,785
7. Katie Harrington, 2014-15 1,779
8. Stacey Nielsen, 1987-89 1,735
9. Allie Lynch, 2017--- 1,721
10. Christi Ryan, 1984-85 1,497
CLIMBING THE LADDER: As the MSU program continues to improve, its numbers within the league's statistical categories have shown remarkable improvement, as well. In the 12 team categories, the Cats are ranked in the top five in six listings. MSU is ranked second in hitting percentage (.228), assists (11.77) and opponent digs (13.54) and third in kills (12.93), blocks (2.24) and opponent blocks (1.96).
THOMSEN TIME: Sophomore Kira Thomsen had an impressive outing at Weber State last week, averaging 5.29 kills and 3.43 digs per set. The Parker, Colo. product recorded 37 total kills, including 22 in the first match against the Wildcats, which matched her career-high. Thomsen notched her first double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs as MSU defeated Northern Arizona 3-0 in Shroyer Gym on Feb. 7. She posted back-to-back double-doubles at Weber State giving her seven on the season. Thomsen has reached double-digit kills in the last 11 matches and has been over the 20-kill plateau on two occasions. She posted a season-best 26 digs against Portland State on Feb.27.
PENCE POWER: Sophomore middle blocker Emma Pence is one of two players in the league that have garnered #BigSkyVB Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week accolades. She earned the defensive honor after averaging 1.70 blocks per set as the Bobcats swept Idaho State. Pence was the #BigSkyVB Offensive Player of the Week after recording 20 kills, a .514 attack mark and nine block assists against Northern Arizona. Last weekend, she recorded four kills and six blocks in MSU's two-match series at Weber State. Her current .315 hitting percentage ranks fourth in the Big Sky, while her 1.38 blocks per set is second best in the league.
THE MENACE FROM ENNIS: Redshirt-freshman Jourdain Klein (Ennis, Mont.) is averaging 1.59 kills and 1.02 blocks per set, while hitting at a .236 clip. Her 1.02 bps ranks eighth in the league. Klein recorded a season and career-high 14 kills as the Bobcats defeated Portland State on Feb. 28. For the match, she posted a .387 (14-2-31) attack mark and two digs. Three weeks ago, she helped the Bobcats to a road sweep of Idaho. In MSU's 3-0 win over the Vandals on March 7, Klein notched five kills, a .308 attack mark and two blocks. She also sparked the Bobcats in the second match win with 12 kills and six blocks. Klein tallied a season-high eight blocks assists in MSU's season-opening win at Northern Colorado.
WHEN IT SAYS LIBBY, LIBBY, LIBBY: After suffering an early season injury, Libby Christensen returned to the starting libero spot on Feb. 28 against Portland State. Against the Vikings, she posted a career-high 21 digs. On the season, the native of Vacaville, Calif., leads the Bobcats averaging 3.91 digs per set. Christensen had recorded five double-digit digs matches. Last weekend, she averaged a team-best 5.50 saves per game as MSU dropped two matches at Weber State,
A LITTLE BIT OF ALEXIS: Senior libero/defensive specialist Alexis Goroski is averaging 2.57 digs per set. The product of Phoenix, Ariz., has played six matches as libero and eight as a defensive specialist. Goroski posted a career-high 27 digs in Montana State's win at Montana on Feb. 14 to capture the first-ever Main Line Trophy. She also dished out a career-best 10 assists in MSU's 3-2 win over Idaho State on Feb. 20.
HAILEY'S HIT PARADE: Senior Hailey Merkes has started all 14 matches for the Bobcats this season. The 5-10 graduate of Half Moon Bay High School is averaging 1.65 kills and 2.06 points per set. Merkes has recorded two double-digit kill matches, including a career-best 11 kills against Northern Arizona on Feb. 6. In MSU's win over NAU on Feb. 7, she recorded seven kills, a .313 attack mark and added five digs in two blocks. Merkes has tallied a season-best eight digs as the Bobcats defeated Idaho on March 7 in Moscow. She had a season-high four blocks at Northern Colorado on Jan. 25. Last weekend, Merkes averaged 1.80 kills and 1.60 digs per set.
TURNING THE TIDE: Freshman Avery Turnage has played in seven matches. Her two appearances against Idaho State and Portland State sparked the Bobcats to victory. Against PSU, the Idaho Falls product posted a season-high nine kills, while hitting .533 and one block. Turnage had six kills and hit .455 at Weber State on March 20.
WHEN: Wednesday, March 31, 2021 @ 4 p.m.
WHERE: Greeley, Colorado - Bank of Colorado Arena
RECORDS: Montana St. 10-4, 10-4; So. Utah, 8-7, 8-6
SERIES: Montana State leads 7-5; Streak: MSU W1
LAST MTG: Nov. 14, 2019 - @Montana State 3, So. Utah 0
VIDEO: Montana State's matches at the Big Sky tournament can be seen on Pluto TV - Ch. 1050
TOURNEY TIME: The Montana State volleyball team will participate in the 33rd annual Big Sky Conference volleyball tournament Wednesday, March 31 - April 2, at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado. The Bobcats will enter tournament play as the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 Southern Utah on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Should MSU advance, they would play the winner of No. 2 Northern Colorado/No. 7 Idaho on Thursday night at 7 p.m. The Big Sky tournament championship match is slated for 8 p.m. on Friday. Also participating in the tournament are No. 1 Weber State, No. 4 Sacramento State, No. 5 Northern Arizona, and No. 8 Eastern Washington. The winner gets the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
TOURNEY TALK: The Bobcats have competed in 13 Big Sky Conference tournaments since the inception of the league for women in 1988. MSU is 9-4 in quarterfinal matches and 0-9 in semifinal contests. The Bobcats have never played for a Big Sky Conference Tournament title. Montana State came close to the championship match in 2000, 2002 and 2003.
BOBCAT BLURBS: Kira Thomsen has seven double-doubles on the season...middle blocker Susanna Sovde recorded a .625 (11-1-16) attack mark against Northern Arizona on Feb. 6- the mark is the fourth best hitting percentage for a single-match this season in Big Sky Conference action...Hannah Scott's career-best 25 kills against Idaho State on Feb. 20 are the second most posted in a single match in Big Sky play...Thomsen's 20 kills vs. UM on Feb. 15 is tops for three-set match...Jourdain Klein, Kaycee O'Dell and Emma Pence's eight block assists in Montana State's 3-0 win at Northern Colorado is a Big Sky season best for a three-set match.
SIDE OUTS:
* Montana State's 10-4 Big Sky Conference record was its best since the 2004 campaign.
* Montana State's nine-match win streak was the longest since the 2001 team opened 12-0
* Montana State snapped a 29-match losing streak to Northern Colorado on Jan. 24
* The Bobcats rank 70th in the nation and are second in the Big Sky with a .231 attack mark
* Montana State ranks third in the Big Sky and 85th in the country averaging 13.06 kps
* MSU's 2.24 blocks per set is third in the Big Sky and 85th at the NCAA Division I level
* Emma Pence is ranked 28th in the nation, averaging 1.38 blocks per set
* Freshman Jourdain Klein is ranked eighth in the Big Sky Conference, averaging 1.02 bps
* MSU 5-1 in five-set matches; 1-1 in four-set matches; and 4-2 in three-set matches
* Emma Pence has won both #BigSkyVB Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week
THE SCOUTING REPORT: Southern Utah finished the regular season 8-7 overall and 8-6 in Big Sky Conference action. Its lone cancellation of the Big Sky season was to Montana State, which was scheduled for March 14 & 15 in Bozeman. The Thunderbirds will enter the Big Sky tournament as the No. 6 seed, after sweeping Eastern Washington in Cedar City on March 19 & 20. Against the Eagles, SUU was paced by Stacey Hone. The 6-1 senior outside hitter from North Las Vegas totaled 25 kills and seven blocks, while hitting .359 for the eight-set series. Also contributing in SUU's sweep of Eastern Washington were Andreanna McKee and Elisa Lago. McKee, a 6-1 junior outside hitter, posted 29 kills (3.63 kps), while Lago, a 6-0 senior outside hitter, tallied 17 kills and 28 digs. Libero, Sarah Gasper notched 31 digs in the final match of the regular-season.
HARD BLOCK CAFE: The Bobcats averaged 1.57 blocks per set last weekend in its two-match series against Weber State in Ogden. As a team, MSU is ranked third in the Big Sky Conference averaging 2.24 blocks per set. MSU's 2.24 bps also ranks No. 85 in the nation. Individually, sophomore Emma Pence is second in the league averaging 1.38 blocks per set. That number ranks No. 18 in the country. Redshirt-freshman Jourdain Klein ranks eighth in the Big Sky averaging 1.02 blocks per set, which is 167th in the nation. The Bobcats had a season-best 16 team blocks in its 3-2 win over Portland State on Feb. 27.
BEAM ME UP SCOTTY: Senior Hannah Scott recorded back-to-back 20-kill matches as the Bobcats swept Idaho State, Feb. 20 & 21, including a career-high 25 kills against the Bengals on Feb. 20. Three weeks ago, she totaled 24 kills (3.00 kps) and 22 digs as the Bobcats swept Idaho in Moscow. Scott's best match of the Idaho weekend came on March 8 as she notched 15 kills and a weekend-best 13 digs. She currently has three double-doubles on the season. Last season, Scott had a breakout year which culminated in being named to the all-Big Sky First-Team as she averaged 2.66 kills per set, while hitting .230 from the floor. She recorded 17 double-figure kill matches. Scott also averaged 1.71 digs per set and logged six double-digit dig matches, including a season-high 11 saves on three occasions, the last coming against Sacramento State. Scott recorded a career-high 10 blocks against Northern Colorado at the Big Sky Tournament in 2019. She is currently 72 kills shy of becoming the 16th member of MSU's 1000-kill club. Last weekend at Weber State, she averaged 3.29 kills per set.
A LENDING HAND: Former Bozeman High product and Montana Class AA state champion setter Allie Lynch settled into her junior season at Montana State. Lynch is averaging 4.52 assists per set in Montana State's 6-2 offense. Against Weber State last week, Lynch dished out 35 assists and added 14 digs in the two-match series. Against Portland State on Feb. 28, the 5-10 junior dished out a season-best 28 assists. Last fall, she registered ten matches with 45 assists or more, including a season-high 51 assists in MSU's win over Loyola Maryland. Freshman Delaney Shearan has also come up big in MSU's 6-2 system. The Phoenix, Ariz., product in averaging 5.45 assists per contest. She dished out a season and career-high 33 assists in MSU 3-2 win over Idaho State on Feb. 20. Additionally, Shearan is averaging 1.95 digs and .20 aces per set. For the two-match series at Weber State, Shearan averaged 5.00 assists and 1.57 digs per game. She notched a season-high 12 digs against Northern Arizona on Feb. 6.
MAY I ASSIST YOU?: Junior setter Allie Lynch is slowly creeping up the all-time Montana State assists chart. The Bozeman native went over the 1,000-assist plateau against Portland State on Oct. 24, 2019. Former Bobcat standout Brooke Olsen-Roush (1996-99) holds the all-time Bobcats record set back in the old 15-point scoring era. Here's a look at MSU's all-time Top 10, and where Lynch stands:
1. Brooke Olsen, 1996-99 4,712
2. Kamber Kelly, 2001-04 3,751
3. Jennifer Lundquist, 2009-12 2,500
4. Lorraine Morrison, 1999-01 2,293
5. Kira Laden, 1995-96 1,893
6. Marsha Dirks, 1985-87 1,785
7. Katie Harrington, 2014-15 1,779
8. Stacey Nielsen, 1987-89 1,735
9. Allie Lynch, 2017--- 1,721
10. Christi Ryan, 1984-85 1,497
CLIMBING THE LADDER: As the MSU program continues to improve, its numbers within the league's statistical categories have shown remarkable improvement, as well. In the 12 team categories, the Cats are ranked in the top five in six listings. MSU is ranked second in hitting percentage (.228), assists (11.77) and opponent digs (13.54) and third in kills (12.93), blocks (2.24) and opponent blocks (1.96).
THOMSEN TIME: Sophomore Kira Thomsen had an impressive outing at Weber State last week, averaging 5.29 kills and 3.43 digs per set. The Parker, Colo. product recorded 37 total kills, including 22 in the first match against the Wildcats, which matched her career-high. Thomsen notched her first double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs as MSU defeated Northern Arizona 3-0 in Shroyer Gym on Feb. 7. She posted back-to-back double-doubles at Weber State giving her seven on the season. Thomsen has reached double-digit kills in the last 11 matches and has been over the 20-kill plateau on two occasions. She posted a season-best 26 digs against Portland State on Feb.27.
PENCE POWER: Sophomore middle blocker Emma Pence is one of two players in the league that have garnered #BigSkyVB Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week accolades. She earned the defensive honor after averaging 1.70 blocks per set as the Bobcats swept Idaho State. Pence was the #BigSkyVB Offensive Player of the Week after recording 20 kills, a .514 attack mark and nine block assists against Northern Arizona. Last weekend, she recorded four kills and six blocks in MSU's two-match series at Weber State. Her current .315 hitting percentage ranks fourth in the Big Sky, while her 1.38 blocks per set is second best in the league.
THE MENACE FROM ENNIS: Redshirt-freshman Jourdain Klein (Ennis, Mont.) is averaging 1.59 kills and 1.02 blocks per set, while hitting at a .236 clip. Her 1.02 bps ranks eighth in the league. Klein recorded a season and career-high 14 kills as the Bobcats defeated Portland State on Feb. 28. For the match, she posted a .387 (14-2-31) attack mark and two digs. Three weeks ago, she helped the Bobcats to a road sweep of Idaho. In MSU's 3-0 win over the Vandals on March 7, Klein notched five kills, a .308 attack mark and two blocks. She also sparked the Bobcats in the second match win with 12 kills and six blocks. Klein tallied a season-high eight blocks assists in MSU's season-opening win at Northern Colorado.
WHEN IT SAYS LIBBY, LIBBY, LIBBY: After suffering an early season injury, Libby Christensen returned to the starting libero spot on Feb. 28 against Portland State. Against the Vikings, she posted a career-high 21 digs. On the season, the native of Vacaville, Calif., leads the Bobcats averaging 3.91 digs per set. Christensen had recorded five double-digit digs matches. Last weekend, she averaged a team-best 5.50 saves per game as MSU dropped two matches at Weber State,
A LITTLE BIT OF ALEXIS: Senior libero/defensive specialist Alexis Goroski is averaging 2.57 digs per set. The product of Phoenix, Ariz., has played six matches as libero and eight as a defensive specialist. Goroski posted a career-high 27 digs in Montana State's win at Montana on Feb. 14 to capture the first-ever Main Line Trophy. She also dished out a career-best 10 assists in MSU's 3-2 win over Idaho State on Feb. 20.
HAILEY'S HIT PARADE: Senior Hailey Merkes has started all 14 matches for the Bobcats this season. The 5-10 graduate of Half Moon Bay High School is averaging 1.65 kills and 2.06 points per set. Merkes has recorded two double-digit kill matches, including a career-best 11 kills against Northern Arizona on Feb. 6. In MSU's win over NAU on Feb. 7, she recorded seven kills, a .313 attack mark and added five digs in two blocks. Merkes has tallied a season-best eight digs as the Bobcats defeated Idaho on March 7 in Moscow. She had a season-high four blocks at Northern Colorado on Jan. 25. Last weekend, Merkes averaged 1.80 kills and 1.60 digs per set.
TURNING THE TIDE: Freshman Avery Turnage has played in seven matches. Her two appearances against Idaho State and Portland State sparked the Bobcats to victory. Against PSU, the Idaho Falls product posted a season-high nine kills, while hitting .533 and one block. Turnage had six kills and hit .455 at Weber State on March 20.
Players Mentioned
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