Weber State volleyball splits weekend, gets No. 3 seed in home conference tournament
Weber State volleyball split its final two matches of the regular season, defeating Montana 3-1 on Saturday to secure the No. 3 seed in the Big Sky Conference tournament.
The Wildcats (17-10, 11-5 Big Sky) host the conference tournament Nov. 23, 25-26 at Swenson Gym due to winning the regular-season championship in 2021. They’ll get a rematch with No. 6 Montana State, a team that swept WSU on Thursday to officially end Weber State’s hopes of sharing a regular-season title. WSU did beat MSU earlier in the season on the road.
A win means a likely matchup with No. 2 Portland State, a team that swept WSU twice in the regular season.
On Saturday’s senior day, senior opposite hitter Riley Weinert tallied the first kill of the match. Senior opposite hitter Emma Mangum totaled 10 kills, three service aces and a career-high four solo blocks.
The Wildcats won the first set 25-9 before three straight battles, prevailing 24-26, 25-23, 25-23. Baylee Bodily totaled 11 kills and six blocks. Dani Richins and Brielle Rueckert each added nine kills.
In Thursday’s three-set loss to Montana State, Richins, a junior outside hitter, surpassed 1,000 digs in her career. She also has 1,300-plus kills.
Below is the schedule for the tournament at WSU’s Swenson Gym. All games will stream on ESPN+.
QUARTERFINALS, NOV. 23
10 a.m. — No. 1 Northern Colorado vs. No. 8 Idaho State
1 p.m. — No. 4 Sacramento State vs. No. 5 Montana
4 p.m. — No. 2 Portland State vs. No. 7 Eastern Washington
7 p.m. — No. 3 Weber State vs. No. 6 Montana State
SEMIFINALS, NOV. 25
3 p.m. — NoCo/Idaho State vs. Sac State/Montana
6 p.m. — PSU/EWU vs. Weber/MSU
FINALS, NOV. 26
*5 p.m. — Championship match
* — This start time may change due to Weber State football’s assigned 2 p.m. kickoff in the first round of the FCS playoffs.