Weekly Game Notes
Match 1
Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) (0-0)
Friday, January 29
7 p.m.
Forbin Center
Billing, Mont.
Match 2
Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) (0-0)
Saturday, January 30
1 p.m.
Forbin Center
Billings, Mont.
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FULL GAME NOTES
Welcome Back
Oredigger volleyball finally takes the court again after a delayed and than cancelled fall season. The upcoming season consists of only conference matches and features a back-to-back match schedule. Fans are not allowed at matches per a Frontier Conference rule. The Orediggers open in Billings at Rocky Mountain College Friday and host their first home contests next Friday and Saturday at the HPER Complex against Montana State Northern.
Return of the Champion
The Orediggers finished 27-8 last season winning the Frontier Conference regular season title with a 9-3 conference record. After receiving an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament, the Orediggers returned to the Final Site in Sioux Falls, S.D. for the third time in four years. The Orediggers finished 2-1 in pool play and advanced to a one set, winner-take-all, tiebreaker match against then-No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan. While the Orediggers upset the top seed during pool play, their season ended in a 25-20 loss.
Scouting the Battlin' Bears
The Battlin' Bears finished third in the Frontier Conference last season with a 19-12 overall record and 8-4 in conference. Senior outside hitter Monique Rodriguez and junior middle Morgan Allen are the top returners at the net. Rodriguez finished with 251 kills averaging 2.3 per set and Allen had 218 kills averaging 1.98 per set. Allen had 97 total blocks to lead the team last season. Senior setter Natalie Hilderman is returning who was second in the Frontier in assists per set (9.4) and total assists (1,030).
In the Polls
Montana Tech started 2019 unranked and were picked to finish third in the Frontier Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. The Orediggers entered the NAIA Coaches Top 25 Poll at No. 18 in September and reached No. 16 during the regular season. In the final postseason poll, the Orediggers were ranked No. 17. Montana Tech stayed in the top 20 of the coaches poll throughout the entire season.
Dominant Hitters Coming Back
Montana Tech returns two of the top outside hitters in the Frontier Conference. Sophomore
Maureen Jessop and senior
Karina Mickelson were ranked second and third in total kills (404, 397) and kills per set (3.3, 3.2) last season. Jessop finished the season hitting 0.207 and Mickelson had a 0.185 hitting percentage. Jessop was named Frontier Freshman of the Year and both were selected first team all-conference. Jessop was also selected AVCA All-Region Freshman of the Year and was an NAIA All-America honorable mention.
Top Setter
Sophomore
McKenna Kaelber was the top setter in the Frontier Conference last season. The second team all-conference selection led the league in assists per set (9.6) and total assists (1,065). Kaelber had 69 assists in the upset victory over No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan at the NAIA National Tournament Final Site which placed her third on the list of most assists in a match in the school record books.
Loss at Libero
Sabrina Hopcroft will be missed. The Florence, Mont. native finished her volleyball career last season as the most prolific libero in school history recording 2,568 career digs. Hopcroft also has the record for most digs in a match with 53. The four-time all-conference selection finished with a career high 734 digs last season. Hopcroft was 9th in the NAIA in total digs and 11th in digs per set. She was named the Frontier Conference Libero of the Year, AVCA Regional Libero of the Year, and was a third team All-America selection.
