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Oredigger Volleyball News Archive

’Diggers squeeze MSU-Northern
October 29, 2006
By Jessica Cronnelly of The Montana Standard

In their last home match before the Frontier Conference tourney in a couple of weeks, the Montana Tech Orediggers (11-13, 6-6) squeezed out a win over MSU-Northern (5-13, 3-9) 30-18, 22-30, 30-22, 29-31, 15-10 at the HPER Complex Saturday.

The Orediggers were riding a two-game winning streak that was done in an impressive manner against Lewis-Clark State and the University of Great Falls.

“We were very fortunate to win,” Montana Tech head coach Marilyn Tobin said.

The Orediggers started off game one with dominance in mind as they jumped out to an early 10-2 lead.

“In the first game we played our game.” Tobin said.

Story

’Diggers topple Argos
October 27, 2006
By Bruce Sayler of The Montana Standard


When setter Jodi Hogart’s back set resulted in a serious pound from middle blocker Katie Daly, Montana Tech head coach Marilyn Tobin admitted to being “tickled pink” and “excited.” A good-sized Orediggers-favoring crowd in the Tech HPER Complex was, too, as it applauded the team back from the lockerroom early and to the court to duly receive its ovation. Five-game upsets of a Frontier Conferenec college volleyball leader, especially from two games down, are worth cheering. Montana Tech’s 28-30, 26-30, 30-24, 20-26, 15-12 one over the University of Great Falls certainly was, Orediggers coaches, players and fans seemed to all agree Thursday night.

Both Hogart and Daly are freshmen in eligibily, which probably has Tobin even more excited than the upset win, which came after a major throttling her team received in Great Falls earlier in the year, she said. A lot of the Orediggers are freshmen or sophomores. All of them are except for senior Liz Marsik.

Oredigger netters nip L-C State
October 22, 2006
By Bruce Sayler of The Montana Standard

If an asperin for soothing growing pains exists, Montana Tech head women’s volleyball coach Marilyn Tobin might have mixed it up this week.

A young Orediggers squad, playing with a full roster for the first time of a season it is now three months into, outworked Lewis-Clark State for a 28-30, 30-27, 30-12, 30-27 Frontier Conference victory Saturday in the Tech HPER Complex.

The team’s lone senior, Liz Marsik, said the Orediggers got a pretty strong dosage from Tobin and staff last week after suffering league losses to Rocky Mountain and Carroll.

“We worked our butts off in practice,” said Marsik, who was playing in just her second match and first for any extensive length of time of 2006.

Rocky Mountain College Sweeps Tech Spikers

By The Montana Standard Staff

BILLINGS — Montana Tech got off the van sluggish and never got its own motor running, getting swept 30-26, 30-22, 30-25 by Rocky Mountan College in a Frontier Conference women’s volleyball match played Thursday in the Fortin Center.

“We did not play well,” Orediggers head coach Marilyn Tobin said. “We were not not intense from the beginning of the match to the end of the match. We need to rectifiy that before we play again. We certainly are not going to win any more matches if we step out on the court like we did tonight. We know what we need to do as a team to do better.” Tobin did not elaborate on the designs for better play, but the offense has been struggling of late.

“As a team, we hit .019 and that is very poor,” Tobin said.

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Saints edge Orediggers

By Bruce Sayler of The Montana Standard - 10/12/2006

Montana Tech Oredigger Corey Anne Russell makes a dive for the dig Wednesday night during Tech’s game with Carroll College in the Montana Tech HPER Complex. Walter Hinick / The Montana Standard

But fans, at least most the 611 on hand, had to like the Frontier Conference college women’s volleyball match played Wednesday night.

Montana Tech is holding its annual homecoming party this week, but Carroll got to celebrate the win all the way home to Helena on the bus. The Saints downed Montana Tech in a five-game spectacle, 30-21, 24-30, 26-30, 30-27, 15-13, at the Tech HPER Complex.

The Orediggers fought back from a four-point deficit in the tiebreaker to get to within one three times, the last at 14-13 when Carroll’s Tami Bonkowski hit wide of the court. But the Saints responded to a serve by Montana Tech’s Maria McNeil with a smash from Natalie Solomon. It skipped off an Oredigger and traveled airborne for the back line, outrunning the Montana Tech defense before falling, and ending the match.

“Frustration,” Tobin, the Orediggers’ head coach said. “It is frustrating to at times, play so well and then make so many errors it can make the difference in a match. We knew in the fifth game that we had to come out quickly and we didn’t. We made too many mistakes.” Strangley, Montana Tech looked to have seized command of the match with a spirited rally in the third game that brought the Orediggers from behind to the game win, and a 2-1 lead in the match score.

“It was tight all the way through,” Boyle, a Butte native who played volleyball at Montana Tech and then at Carroll in her college career, said while voicing and showing relief. “We have a lot of young players, too, and we’ve been trying to get them more involved. But anytime you change things in volleyball, you can mess See SAINTS, Page B5 things up. And tonight we did. But we rose to the occasion.” Montana Tech’s imposing lineup of sluggers suffered slump-like symptoms and the team hit only .075 for the night. Four hitters were in negative numbers.

Carroll put up a good block, too, and countered some of the Orediggers’ shots.

“Tech has a potent offense when it’s on,” Boyle said. “Take nothing away from them.” True freshman Katie Daly and Cassie Hodges led the Orediggers’ offense, nailing 16 kills apiece and hitting .379 and .273, respectively.

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Westminster spikes Tech

No. 23-ranked Westminster went to its outside, to the hitters on the corners, to sweep the Orediggers 30-16, 30-21, 30-23 Thursday night in a Frontier Conference women’s volleyball match in the Montana Tech HPER Complex.

Six-foot-one junior Angie Johnson walloped 16 kills and 6-foot freshman Allison Culp clubbed 14 to lead the Griffins’ 52-kill attack. Both played on the corners, but got good support from Rebeccca Lowe, who registered seven kills rotating into the middle, and rightside hitter Bree Riet, a 5-5 leaper, who blasted five kills.

“They’re nationally ranked and they’re pretty good,” gave Montana Tech head coach Marilyn Tobin. “However, I feel we should have competed against them better than we did tonight. I felt our defense should’ve and could’ve been better. That was from our blocking to our digging.” The Griffins were tabbed in the preseason as the favorites for the Frontier Conference title. And they brought the heat to the gym, rolling out to large leads in the first game. The gap included a 12-3 margin, built on a variety of kills as setter Monica Shorts effectively passed the ball around, and on a handful of Montana Tech errors. The pressure Westminster brought might have been the cause of some of the Orediggers’ miscues.

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Orediggers spike ’Dawgs

Montana Tech’s Maria McNeil deflects Western’s Arron Fjeld shot back across the net to score

The big-hitting Orediggers were going for the early KO, and seemed primed to accomplish it, before Western got off the deck for the third-game win after losing the first two by wide margins.

“We played pretty well, except in the third game,” Orediggers sophomore outside hitter CoreyAnne Russell said. “But, we pulled it out at the end and so, we played well.

“Tonight, it was exceptional because we had all the hitters swinging hard instead of just a few. We’re pretty excited about getting the ‘W’ tonight because we think we have a lot to prove.” Russell and freshman Katie Daly both had 10 kills, second-most on the squad behind the 13 that Maria McNeil and Cassie Hodges each put up. The Orediggers registered 56 kills to the 34 Western landed. The booming intimidators were McNeil, and the Bulldogs’ Jenny Finlay, but Montana Tech head coach Marilyn Tobin said she liked the force her crew displayed.

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Montana Tech goes down in three sets

“They played good and we played poorly and that was a lethal combination for the Montana Tech Orediggers,” Tobin said. “It was a poor performance for us offensively, defensively and in serving. We had 17 digs for the entire match and that’s a number our libero should be getting by herself. Montana Tech is typically a good defensive team so we need to step it up.” Carlee Hoff walloped 18 kills and Jody Berglund blasted 10 to lead the Northern offense, which also included 29 assists and five service aces by setter Brittany Sesler.

“We get the ball,” Tobin said, talking about how the Orediggers traditionally dominate on defense. “But in a couple of matches, we haven’t done that. We got outblocked tonight, also, and we’d been blocking pretty well as a team. We only had four blocks tonight as a team.” The Orediggers’ hitters were each held to single-digit numbers in kills, and the digs leader was middle hitter Maria McNeil with seven. Freshman setter Jodi Hogart doled out 25 assists.

Montana Tech has a 2-3 Frontier Conference record and 7-10 overall mark, and will next play on Wednesday when the Orediggers will be home against area rival Montana-Western.

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’Diggers blanked, Carroll gets spiked

Cassie Hodges came out strong leading the Orediggers with 12 kills.

“UGF played well, and we did not,” Montana Tech head coach Marilyn Tobin said. “But we had some bright spots.” Tech will face Northern Saturday.

UGF def. Montana Tech 30-20, 30-18, 30-21 MONTANA TECH— Kills 29 (Cassie Hodges 12); blocks 6 (Maria McNeil 1.5); aces 5 (Jessie Conners 2); assists 25 (Jodi Hogart 23); digs 15 (Kristi Witt 5).

UNIVERSITY OF GREAT FALLS — Kills 48 (Brittany prater 11, Claudia Jacobs 9, Cali Buck 8); blocks 8 (Buck 2, Kami Motta 2, Prater 2); aces 9 (Jacobs 4); assists 42 (Jen Petersen 36); digs 36 (Kari Schiller 14).

Tech spikes LC-State

“We truly dodged a bullet today,” said Montana Tech coach Marilyn Tobin. “L-C State played very well and we were not consistent at all.

“We’re very thankful to walk away with this win.” Montana Tech got 21 kills, nine digs, two aces and two blocks from sophomore outside hitter Maria McNeil, while Cassie Hodges notched 17 kills, seven digs and a block.

“Cassie executed the offense very well,” Tobin said. “She had a nice match and hit a high percentage.” The ’Diggers also got a good performance from setter Jodi Hogart, who had 46 assists, six digs, two aces and two kills.

“I’m very happy with how in the fifth game we came out very strong and maintained the lead throughout,” Tobin said.

Montana Tech, now 2-1 in Frontier Conference play and 6-9 overall, is on the road again Friday at Great Falls and at Northern on Saturday.

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Tech spikers down Rocky

Montana Tech’s Maria McNeil taps a shot past a pair of Rocky Mountain defenders during their opening game Thursday night in the Tech HPER building. Walter Hinick/The Montana Standard

The football team was in the HPER Complex Thursday night, but sitting in the bleachers. The Montana Tech squad packing the wallop was the freshman-and-sophomore-composed women’s volleyball team. The Orediggers outlasted previously undefeated Rocky Mountain 28-30, 30-17, 30-27, 25-30, 15-12 in a Frontier Conference match that served as their season home-opener.

Montana Tech’s offense registered 64 kills, eight ace serves and 59 assists, and the defense posted 13 blocks and 68 digs. The kills were blistering. But they didn’t reach the floor all that easily, an Oredigger said.

“It (the Orediggers’ kills) was surprising because they had a good block up,” said Montana Tech sophomore hitter Maria McNeil, an all-conference returnee, who sprayed 21 kills through the Bears’ defense. “It was great to look over and see our middles pushing — Cassie Hodges, Katie Daly and them.” Both Hodges and Daly are true freshmen who played their first collegiate home match Thursday night. Daly, a former Butte High standout, did so in her hometown.

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Saints take down ’Diggers

HELENA — The Carroll College volleyball team played its first game in front of a home crowd and got its first conference win Wednesday night.

The Saints (10-3, 1-1), helped out by 848 fans, dispatched a gritty Montana Tech squad 26-30, 30-26, 30-27, 30-27 to notch their first Frontier Conference victory of the season.

‘‘It was loud and it really helped us out as the match went on,’’ said Carroll coach Moe Boyle, a former Butte High standout who played at both Montana Tech and Carroll during her college days.

“It was disappointing to lose, but I’m very proud of our players because this was the first full match we put together from beginning to end,” Orediggers head coach Marilyn Tobin said. “We were in every game and were dictating the tempo in the fourth game. But Carroll’s experience took over and they were able to finish the game.” Boyle admitted that her squad had some first-match jitters early on and the Orediggers were able to take advantage, winning the first game.

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’Diggers sweep Bulldogs

UM-Western’s Kirilyn Winkler receives a set from Stephanie Couture in a match against Montana Tech on Wednesday. Tech swept Western, 30-25, 30-28, 31-29. Wally Feldt for The Montana Standard

Tech saw an 11-point lead disappear before the Orediggers pulled out a 31-29 Game 3 win to complete the non-conference sweep. Tech won the first two games 30-25 and 30-28.

For the “fourth or fifth” time this season, Tech (4-5) was forced to play a game beyond the standard 30 points.

Tech is undefeated in those games.

“That’s an indicator of a team that works well under pressure, so I’m excited about that,” Tobin said. “We’re going to build on that.” The Orediggers have lots to build on in true sophomore Maria McNeil, who pounded 19 kills to lead the Oredigger attack.

“She had some tremendous kills,” Tobin said of the 6-foot McNeil, who was an all-conference player a year ago. “She pounded a few of them.

“She did really well for us last year, but she’s really coming into her own this year.” Sophomore Janet Friesz added nine kills and freshman Cassie Hodges had a big day at the net with three total blocks.

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Tech wins one, loses one in Cali

The Lady ‘Diggers started out strong in the tourney defeating Hope International University of Fullerton, Calif., 20-30, 19-30, 34-32, 30-28, 15-13 before falling to San Diego Christian.

“We started off very slow, “Tech head coach Marilyn Tobin said. “ Hope is a good team with great outside hitting.” After dropping the first two games Tech sophomore Maria McNeil stepped up and exploded in the third game, according to Tobin.

“We stole the win from Hope.” Tobin said. “They thought they had it.” San Diego Christian topped the Orediggers 31-29, 28-30, 24-30, 26-30.

“We were not consistent in the second match,” Tobin stated. “But there were things that we improved on.” Ball control seemed to be one of the improvement as third-year sophomore Kristi Witt was back in action after injury.

“Kristi (Witt) is not at 100 percent but it is great to have her back.” Tobin said.

The Orediggers are now 2-4 on the season.

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’Diggers down two in VB

Tech volleyball drops two in No Dak

Dickinson State 3, Tech 0 In the first of two matches, Tech lost three straight games to No. 8-in-the-nation, Jamestown (N.D.). In the 15-30, 7-30, 22-30 loss, Tech’s sophomore standout CoreyAnne Russell hammered nine kills while 6-foot Maria McNeil tallied two aces and seven digs. Head coach Marilyn Tobin pointed out that Russell’s .47 percent hitting percentage was exceptional in the face of such a high-powered team as Dickinson State.

“I was impressed with CoreyAnne in the Dickinson match,” said Tobin.

Assist specialist Jodi Hogart, who played in spite of a recent ankle sprain, had 24 assists. Regarding Hogart’s injury, Tobin said that Jodi is now almost 100 percent.

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The Montana Tech Oredigger Volleyball Team is looking forward to the upcoming 2006 season. Coming off a 4th place finish in the Frontier Conference last season, the Orediggers are anticipating a higher finish this year. The experience gained from last year's young team will be extremely valuable in this year's campaign toward a Frontier Conference Championship.

This year's team will still be young, but includes the veteran experienced senior, Liz Marsik (#7), and will be loaded with seven sophomores and six freshmen.Returning starters for the Orediggers include sophomore outside hitters Maria McNeil and Corey Anne Russell, who are two of the most powerful hitters in the conference.  Marsik, along with sophomore Janet Friesz will return in the middle blocker positions.  Both 6'0" middles have an arsenal of numerous finesse shots.  Looking to fill the libero position this year is sophomore defensive specialist Kristi Witt who also started for the Orediggers last season.  Coming off their red-shirt years, and expecting to see some playing time, are freshman setter Jodi Hogart and sophomore defensive specialist Lacie Brenton.  Other experienced players who will see court time are sophomores Megan Wichman and Ali Fiamengo.  New to the Oredigger squad is a phenomenal recruiting class, which includes the following standouts:  Jessie Conners (Whitefish), Katie Daly (Butte), Cassie Hodges (Hardin), Samantha Sheble (Cut Bank), and Darcy Torske (Hardin). The Orediggers start their season at a tournament in Jamestown, ND. Their first home game is September 14th against Rocky Mountain College.