WEEKLY NOTEBOOK (PDF)
North Dakota (19-2, 4-0): North Dakota is now one of two teams in the Big Sky with a perfect conference record. The Fighting Hawks swept two teams that previously had unbeaten records, including Idaho and Eastern Washington. North Dakota’s winning streak stands at six, winning its last three matches in three-straight sweeps. UND also boosted its home winning streak to 17 straight matches. Overall, North Dakota leads the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.150) and team digs (17.14). Individually, senior middle hitter Faith Dooley leads the league in hitting percentage (.406) over all matches. All eyes will be on the Fighting Hawks this week as they take on South Division leader Sacramento State this Thursday. UND will also challenge Portland State this Saturday.
Sacramento State (13-7, 4-0): Sacramento State surged to the south division lead with a pair of sweeps over Montana and previously unbeaten Portland State. The Hornets still boast a perfect conference record. In conference play, Sacramento State leads the Big Sky in assist average (15.00 assists/s), kill average (15.54 kills/s) and service ace average (2.15). Senior setter Kennedy Kurtz continues to lead a balanced Hornet attack with a league leading 863 assists on the season. Kurtz also leads the league in assist average (10.79) over all matches. Sacramento State will continue its difficult schedule as they host undefeated North Dakota on Thursday followed by Northern Colorado on Saturday.
Portland State (12-4, 3-1): Portland State started last week with a sweep of Montana State, but then fell to Sacramento State in straight sets. Over all matches and in league play, the Vikings lead the conference in hitting percentage, recording a .246 on the season and a .295 during league matches. Portland State has several athletes that lead the conference in league-only matches, including Caitlin Bettenay in kill average (4.08 kills/s), Erin Clark in assist average (12.33 assists/s) and Tasha Bojanic in total digs (77) and dig average (6.42 digs/s). The Viks will look to bounce back this week as they play Northern Colorado and North Dakota.
Idaho (8-7, 3-1): The Vandals could not down the Fighting Hawks of North Dakota, but did prevail against Northern Colorado last week. Fresh off her Defensive Player of the Week honor, junior libero Alycia Wodke is now the conference leader in dig average (4.51 digs/s) in all matches. Idaho has a lengthy team this year and 6-3’’ middle blocker Torrin Crawford proved it with four solo blocks against Northern Colorado last week. Idaho will pack its bags for the desert as they play Southern Utah and Northern Arizona this week.
Northern Colorado (9-8, 2-2): Northern Colorado battled to a 3-1 victory over Eastern Washington and fell short in a loss to Idaho last week. Junior outside hitter Kortney Lockey continues to pace the Bears offense. Lockey has five double-doubles and the fourth-best kill average (3.87) in the league in Big Sky play so far this season. UNC will travel to Portland State and Sacramento State this week.
Eastern Washington (5-8, 2-2): The Eagles were grounded last week by a pair of losses to Northern Colorado and North Dakota. During the 2017 campaign, Eastern Washington ranks third in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.196). The Eagles offense is led by senior outside hitter Ashley Seiler who leads the league in kill average (3.94) in all matches. EWU will face off against Northern Arizona and Southern Utah this week.
Northern Arizona (6-9, 2-2): Northern Arizona went 1-1 last week, defeating Idaho State and losing to Weber State. Freshman Heaven Harris led the Lumberjacks in their lone victory of the week, hitting an efficient .611 with 12 kills last Thursday. Northern Arizona will host both Eastern Washington and Idaho this week.
Weber State (4-12, 2-2): Weber State picked up a pair of victories this week, sweeping both Southern Utah and Northern Arizona at home. senior outside hitter Amanda Varley tallied 24 total kills and reached the 1,000-career kill milestone. The Wildcats will take on Montana State and Montana at home this week.
Montana State (5-8, 1-3): The Bobcats dropped last week’s opener to Portland State, but swept in-state rival Montana to finish the week off strong. Junior outside hitter Natalie Passeck logged 10 kills and was a key part of Saturday night’s victory. Montana State will travel to Idaho State and Weber State this week.
Idaho State (4-13, 1-3): In last week’s action, The Bengals lost to Northern Arizona on Thursday and swept Southern Utah on Saturday. Outside hitters Abby Garrity and Chloe Hirst each had nine kills in the victory over SUU. Idaho State will now host Montana and Montana State this week.
Southern Utah (5-11, 0-4): Southern Utah lost twice this week to both Weber State and Idaho State. Middle blocker MaCail Evans was very efficient on the offense end this past week, hitting .500 on Thursday and .294 on Saturday. The T-Birds will play Idaho and Eastern Washington this week.
Montana (5-12, 0-4): The Grizzlies dropped two contests this week to Sacramento State and in-state rival Montana State. Junior Mikaela Hammer provided a team-high nine kills in the loss to the Bobcats. The Griz will continue the campaign against Idaho State and Weber State this week.