North Dakota has been voted as the top team in the Big Sky Conference and is favored to repeat as the conference’s champions, following their first berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Out of a possible 121 votes in the poll, North Dakota earned 120 with 10 first place votes out the 12 available. Northern Colorado nabbed the other two first place votes and 103 points total in the poll. The Bears
Last year, North Dakota rolled through the Big Sky, capturing the conference title without losing a set in the tournament. The Big Sky Conference championships allowed the team to qualify for their first NCAA Tournament berth, where they took on Minnesota in the opening round. Overall, the Fighting Hawks ended with a 26-10 record on the 2016 season. North Dakota will bring back a number of star athletes including, setter Sydney Griffin, middle hitter Faith Dooley and outside hitter Tamara Merseli. Griffin was selected as the Big Sky MVP while Dooley was the conference tournament MVP. Merseli was named as the conference’s Newcomer of the Year.
Northern Colorado was shocked by Idaho State in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament in a five-set decision. This season, they will look to regroup after the early end to their season. The Bears return All-Conference selections in senior middle blocker Alex Kloehn and junior outside hitter Kortney Lockey. The team dominated the court for the Fighting Hawks, averaging 14.53 kills per set with a .256 hitting percentage and for 843 kills on the year – leading the conference
Sacramento State comes in at third in the conference with 99 votes. The team made it to the conference semifinals before losing to Northern Arizona in four. The team has lost a number of seniors but bring back to-be seniors, setter Kennedy Kurtz and outside hitter Shannon Boyle.
Falling to North Dakota in the finals of the conference tournament, North Arizona ranks fourth in the poll with 96 points. Despite losing two first team all-conference players, NAU has two middles that will look to carry the team in sophomore Abby Akin and junior Brittni Dorsey.
The Big Sky will open up their conference play on September 21. At the conclusion of the conference, the top-eight teams will advance on to the Big Sky Championship. The Big Sky Tournament will be held from November 16-18 at the site of the regular season champion.
Fans will be able to watch the Big Sky Conference on Pluto TV, while the semifinal and championship matches of the conference tournament will be nationally televised on Eleven Sport.
| 1 | North Dakota | 120 (10) | ||
| 2 | Northern Colorado | 103 (2) | ||
| 3 | Sacramento State | 99 | ||
| 4 | Northern Arizona | 96 | ||
| 5 | Portland State | 82 | ||
| 6 | Idaho State | 71 | ||
| 7 | Idaho | 63 | ||
| 8 | Weber State | 49 | ||
| 9 | Eastern Washington | 44 | ||
| 10 | Montana State | 24 | ||
| 11 | Montana | 21 | ||
| 12 | Southern Utah | 20 | ||
(Number of first-place votes in parentheses)
(Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams in the poll.)
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