Rocky Mountain College Athletics

Rocky Volleyball Travels to Iowa for the Labor Day Classic

8/31/2022 5:52:00 PM

Brandon Stinson | Sports Information & Media Coordinator

BILLINGS, Mont., Aug 31, 2022- Rocky Mountain College Volleyball will travel to Sioux City, Iowa to participate in the Labor Day Classic hosted by College of Saint Mark.

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Recap From Last Week: The Battlin' Bears (4-1) head to Iowa off of a dominant win at home against Dickinson State, which featured Bella Bryan's 12 kills on .400 hitting percentage. This was the second victory over Dickinson State this year, and the thirteenth straight victory against the Blue Hawks all-time. 

Ranked Opponents on the Horizon: The Battlin' Bears will have no easy matchup during the Labor Day Classic, as Rocky will face off against NAIA Top-25 opponents in all four of their matches in Sioux City.

Friday, September 2nd @ 12:00pm (MT) vs. No. 23 Dordt College: Rocky will kick off the weekend against No. 23 Dordt College. Dordt is led by junior defensive specialist Makenna Kooima (5.91 D/S), senior outside hitter Corrina Timmermans (2.73 K/S, 2.73 D/S), and senior setter Megan Raszler (2.00 A/S, 1.45 D/S). The Defenders are coached by head coach Jacki Smith, who is in her first year at Dordt. Dordt College (2-2) has victories over common opponent Northwest University and Westmont College, and has lost their last two matches to ranked opponents No.5 Corban University and No. 19 Vanguard University. 

Friday, September 2nd @ 4:00pm (MT) vs No. 8 Northwestern College: The Battlin' Bears will then take on No. 8 Northwestern College in the afternoon matchup. Northwestern is led by sophomore defensive specialist Olivia Granstra (3.81 D/S), sophomore outside hitter Jazlin De Haan (3.07 K/S), and reigning GPAC Defender of the Week, senior middle hitter Bekah Horstman (1.38 Blk/S). The Red Raiders are coached by Kyle Van Den Bosch, who is in his 18th year of coaching at Northwestern College. Northwestern (4-1) has victories over ranked opponents No. 25 Ottawa (Kan.) (Note: Ottawa (Kan.) is now unranked, but was ranked at the time of their match vs Northwestern) and No. 19 Vanguard University. The Red Raiders also have a 3-0 victory over University of Saint Katherine. Their only loss this season was at the hands of No. 5 Corban University. 

Saturday, September 3rd @ 8:00am (MT) vs No. 6 University of Jamestown: Saturday's matches will kick off at 8:00 A.M. as the Battlin' Bears take on No. 6 University of Jamestown. The Jimmies are led by junior defensive specialist Ellie Holen (6.34 D/S), sophomore middle hitter Lexi Olson (0.93 Blk/S, 1.37 K/S), and senior right side Kalli Hegerle (2.79 K/S, 4.45 A/S). University of Jamestown is coached by head coach Jon Hegerle, entering his 14th season as head coach of the Jimmies. Jamestown (7-1) has victories over ranked opponents No. 20 Carroll College, No. 14 Montana Tech, and No.10 University of Providence (Note: Providence has since dropped out of the top 25, but was ranked at the time of their match against Jamestown). The Jimmies' only loss this season has been to No. 7 Eastern Oregon in their first match of the season. 

Saturday, September 3rd @ 2:00 pm (MT) vs No. 2 Midland University: Rocky will finish the weekend with a rematch against No. 2 Midland University. The Battlin' Bears were swept in a competitive first match of the season by the Warriors, 0-3. Midland has continued a strong start to the season, led by two NAIA National Players of the Week, senior setter Hope Leimbach (11.18 A/S) and senior outside hitter Taliyah Flores (3.91 K/S). The Warriors are coached by Paul Giesselmann in his 13th season at Midland. Midland University (6-1) has put together a string of victories against ranked opponents, including No. 10 University of Providence (Note: Providence has since dropped out of the top 25, but was ranked at the time of their match against Midland), No. 9 Viterbo University, and most notably sweeping the pre-season favorite and current No. 1 ranked team Missouri Baptist University. The Warrior's only defeat to begin this season was to No. 7 Eastern Oregon. 

History: The most recent matchups between these four teams include the following: 2021 0-3 loss to Dordt College, 2021 0-3 loss to University of Jamestown, 2022 0-3 loss to Midland (Previous to this season, Rocky met Midland University in the 2020-2021 Championship Pool Play, losing 0-3), and 2018 0-3 loss to Northwestern College (Rocky defeated Northwestern 3-1 earlier in the 2018 season). 

Social Media: For game day updates, follow @BattlinBears on Twitter for live updates as the matches go on.