Big Sky Volleyball Championship

[ash_sk8s]

Anyone going?

http://goviks.com/news/2010/11/21/WVB_1121101707.aspx

PORTLAND, Ore. – It came down to the last night of the regular season, but the field for the 2010 Big Sky Volleyball Championship is set. The two-day, four-team tourney will be held, Nov. 26-27, at the Peter W. Stott Center on the campus of Portland State University.

The Vikings are the host school by virtue of winning the 2009 regular season title. They repeated as champions this year and enter as the top seed. They will take on No. 4 seed Montana, Friday, Nov. 26, at 7:30 p.m., or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first semifinal.

In the other semifinal match, second-seeded Northern Colorado faces third-seeded Idaho State. First serve will be at 5:30 p.m.

The 2010 Big Sky Championship match is on Saturday, Nov. 27, at 7 p.m.

Montana clinched its spot in the field last night with a 3-1 victory at home over Idaho State. Both teams finished the year at 9-7 in conference action and split the season series. The tiebreaker to determine who would get the higher seed was determined by the league's third tiebreaker rule. In that scenario, Idaho State beat Montana by a total of 17 points earlier this year, while the Grizzlies defeated ISU in Saturday night's match by a combined 12 points.

PSU and Northern Colorado both finished at 14-2 in the Big Sky, but the Vikings earned the title because they handed the Bears both of their losses. This is Portland State's third championship in the past four seasons.

All-session passes for the tournament are currently on sale. Adult passes are $16, youth passes are $11. Individual match tickets will be sold at the door on the day of the event. To order tickets, or to request more information, call 1-888-VIK-TIKS begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-888-VIK-TIKS end_of_the_skype_highlighting.


2010 BIG SKY VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Friday, Nov. 26
Semifinal #1 – 5:30 p.m.: No. 2 Northern Colorado (23-6, 14-2 Big Sky) vs. No. 3 Idaho State (18-12, 9-7 Big Sky)
Semifinal #2 – 7:30 p.m.: No. 1 Portland State (19-8, 14-2 Big Sky) vs. No. 4 Montana (13-14, 9-7 Big Sky)

Saturday, Nov. 27
Championship – 7 p.m.: Winner semifinal #1 vs. Winner semifinal #2

 

[ash_sk8s]

PORTLAND, Ore. – For the second straight season, Portland State and Northern Colorado will meet up tonight in the Big Sky Volleyball Championship match with a berth into the NCAA tournament on the line.

First serve between the top-seeded Vikings and second-seeded Bears is set for 7 p.m., at the Stott Center.

Both teams advanced to tonight's title contest after earning five-set victories last night. Portland State rallied from two down to defeat No. 4 Montana, while Northern Colorado knocked out third-seeded Idaho State.

For the Vikings, it was their 14th straight win over Montana and also got them to the 20-win plateau for the sixth straight year. Portland State (20-8) will be playing for the Big Sky Championship for the fourth straight season. They won it in 2008 to advance to the NCAA tourney for the first time in school history.

At 24-6, Northern Colorado is enjoying its finest season as a full-fledged NCAA Division I program. The Bears joined the Big Sky in 2006 and have steadily become one of the conference's top volleyball programs.

Portland State won both of the regular season meetings against UNC by 3-2 scores. In last season's Big Sky Championship, the No. 2 Bears took down the No. 1 Vikings, 3-1, to earn their first trip to the national tournament.

Tickets for tonight's match can be purchased at the door. Prices are $10 for adults and $7 for youth and students.

PORTLAND STATE NOTES
• At 20-8, the Vikings have reached the 20-win plateau for the sixth straight year. It is the second longest streak in Big Sky history, trailing the 12 consecutive seasons that Sacramento State did it. The Hornets went over the 20-win barrier every season from 1996-2007.
• After starting the year 3-6, Portland State has since gone 17-2.
• The Vikings are on a season long eight-match winning streak.
• Portland State has won 10 in a row at home overall and 19 in a row at home against Big Sky teams, both regular season and postseason matches included. Since 2005, PSU is 48-2 at the Stott Center against Big Sky competition, including regular season and postseason matches.
• PSU is playing for the Big Sky Championship for the fourth straight season. The last team to do that was Sacramento State. The Hornets actually appeared in eight straight title matches from 2000-07. Eastern Washington also had a good run at one point, facing Sac State for the title seven consecutive years from 2000-06.
• For the second time this year the Vikings rallied from a two-set deficit when they defeated Montana last night, 3-2. PSU also rallied for a 3-2 win at Eastern Washington on Nov. 6. Prior to that match, the last time they had done so was Nov. 23, 2007, against Weber State in the semifinals of the Big Sky Championship.
• Senior outside hitter Whitney Phillips recorded her fifth straight double-double last night against Montana, tallying 21 kills and 20 digs. She now has a team leading 18 on the season. Phillips also reached the 20-kill mark for the 15th time in 2010.
• Several Vikings set career highs last night against Montana. Garyn Schlatter dished out a career-high 50 assists, Lana Zielke set a new career-high with eight digs and Aubrey Mitchell also had a career-high in digs with four. Mitchell also matched her career-best with two total blocks.
• Sophomore outside hitter Alexa Rosendale played a key role in the Vikings' victory last night. Rosendale appeared in just five of 16 conference matches and last played on Oct. 30, against Montana State at home, but came off the bench to record 16 digs, nine kills, one ace and one solo block.

http://goviks.com/news/2010/11/27/WVB_1127103722.aspx