Our Seniors!

Meghan Albiston #11

Another season come and gone for the MSU volleyball team. This season held a special place in my heart, however, because it was my last. Over the past five years, so much has changed throughout the program. I’ve seen multiple coaches, assistant coaches, trainers, managers, and teammates all pass through this program. But one thing has remained constant; bobcat pride.

There seems to be a common thread among those who call Bozeman ‘home’. Whether it be only for four years of college or where one raises a family, this city bleeds blue and gold. I came to Bozeman for lots of reasons. Even though it may sound cliché, our community is what dragged me in, and is the reason I know I am proud to say Bozeman has been my wonderful home while attending school here.

I know I am going to miss volleyball every day. It is so hard to come to the understanding that my time as an MSU volleyball player is over. This season was truly a great stretch to be a part of. Our freshmen brought new hope and excitement to a program that has been rebuilding for a few years now. I knew this was the year things would change though. This was the year to make history. We did it!

No, we weren’t undefeated. No, we aren’t headed to Portland in a few days to vie for the title of Conference Champs. But we won more matches than I’ve seen in all my years here playing for MSU. We learned a new understanding of what it means to compete and challenge ourselves and our teammates in practice. We learned how to not only play with our opponent, but beat them.

I know this program has so much more potential and I cannot wait to see Montana State’s name ranked in the top four of our conference next year. I know we can do it, and even though I’m no longer a member of the team, I know I’m still a Bobcat and I still have that pride!

I am anxiously awaiting my departure to Fairbanks, AK in January. I begin my student/teaching experience there next semester. So many changes are transpiring in my life, and I already feel a definite void without the sport I’ve played for 16 years. I just feel so lucky to have been a part of this team and have cherished every moment. Although I’ll be miles away, I plan to still follow MSU athletics and hold a special place in my heart for the great friendships I’ve made and people who have touched my life.

I’d like to move back to Bozeman someday. I’m not sure when my path will lead me back here, but I do know there’s no place like it on earth. I’ll carry that Bobcat Pride deep in my heart wherever I end up. Thank you to all the fans, boosters, coaches, teachers, teammates (… and the list goes on) who have made my experience here as a Bobcat volleyball player so wonderful. I’ll always remember how our crowd beat anywhere else we traveled by far; I’ll always remember seeing the stands absolutely packed for cat/griz; and I’ll always remember the pride.

Jodeen Rademacher - #5

To start off this final blog I would first like to thank all of the fans who have supported the Lady Bobcats through all the good times and the bad. The fans definitely make each season a special one and we couldn’t do it without each and every one of you. Secondly I would like to thank all the girls that I have had the opportunity to play with and become a family with. I would say that I am one of the few lucky girls that get to say I have 18 plus sisters. I would have never made it without the love and support of these outstanding girls. Thirdly I would like to thank my fellow senior Meghan. I have been so lucky to get to have you as a roommate, friend, and a teammate all at the same time. You are the best and I will miss you like crazy. These last three years at Montana State have been amazing and life changing. I have met some incredible people and have made memories that will last a life time. Even though my time as a MSU volleyball player has passed, I will always bleed the colors blue and gold forever. Once a bobcat always a bobcat. GO CATS!!

Alex Penewell #17 and Rachelle Allen #1

Two entries this week...enjoy!

Alex Penewell #17

“What is competitive greatness? It’s being at your best when your best is needed. It’s enjoying the challenge when things become difficult, even very difficult.”

–John Wooden

As we are coming down to the last few weeks of season we are still learning and progressing as a team, which is just a reminder of how far we have come and how much further we have to go. This week we were defiantly reminded of the very important fact that we are a team and as such we are one unit that gets rewarded for the positive and punished for the negative. We had shorter practices this week but there was no lack of intensity or physical demand, but we struggled to keep things crisp and unfortunately that translated into a sub par weekend.

It is also the point in the semester where papers are due, exams are plentiful, and the expectations are elevated. I am really enjoying my Nineteenth Century Art History class, it is one of my favorite time periods in history and we are looking specifically at the art in France which is easily where my favored artists are from. I will definitely be spending most of my time in the library studying this week, when I’m not in the gym of course.

My southern California roots may later regret saying this but I am lovingggg the snow! I am happy we got to experience Fall but I was ready to break out the boots and beanies. I have really enjoyed Bozeman so far, its such a fun town and the support for athletics is unlike anything I’ve experienced before.

I feel that as we are entering our last week and are preparing for our last two matches of the 2010 season it is going to be important for us to remember to be competitively ready and to exert all of our energy into these last practices and our matches against Idaho State and Weber State! Our senior night will be Saturday against Weber, come honor Meghan and Jo on their last night!!! Go Cats!!

Rachelle Allen #1

Our last week of regular season is here. The last three months have gone by extremely fast and I am amazed we have only one week left.

Last week was a tough one for the team. We went through a couple speed bumps throughout the week and ended with a disappointing loss in Sacramento. We did have some good practices, however we just could not manage to get into a rhythm or do the small things. It was a disappointing loss after we had done so well against them a month back at our Dig Pink match, but this week the we are looking to cap the season off going 2-0! We are ready to get back into the gym tomorrow and start tuning up the things we struggled with against Sacramento.

In practice this week I am looking forward to passing and defense! With those two things tuned up we will surely give Idaho State and Weber State a tough match. Our passing and defense was just not disciplined and held us back from getting in the same rhythm we are used to.

This weekend is going to be a tough one seeing as it is Meghan and Jo's last games. Meghan has been here through the thick and thin of this program. Through all the changes this program has made from different coaches to different game plans to even different gym floors :) I am going to miss her very much.

Jo has also been here for the past three years now and has become a very close teammate. We always seem to relate with the random injuries we have and our two very lovely right shoulders. I am going to miss them both soooo much. We do have some great gifts planned for the two, so hopefully their senior night will be a night to remember :)

Outside of volleyball, we are starting to buckle down in the academic arena. Now that the season is coming to an end we are not going to be missing anymore classes due to travel. The past years the volleyball team has been one of the top teams in GPA and we are definetly going to work to keep it that way.

Everyone is a little hesitant about the snow we came back to, but we will embrace it especially after being spoiled with the great fall in Bozeman. Some of the girls are doing just that. They went sledding on Pete's Hill, had a great time and took a lot of funny pictures.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and the team is all looking forward to getting some time off of school and spend some good time with families. Not everyone will be able to go home because of the short 3 day break, but everyone has fun plans to look forward to. Wishing everyone safe travels and a Happy Thanksgiving!! Thank you all for your support this season and believing in the change of this program. We will continue to work hard to get the program back to the top! Thanks again!

Lauren Curtis #13

The team worked hard this week in the gym and had some great practices! We mixed some things up, and worked on being aggressive. The team ended up coming up a little short in our matches this weekend, but we are definitely making progress. We are excited to get back in the gym this week and prepare for our trip to Sacramento this weekend.

So far my classes have been going really great this semester. I have been enjoying my history and political science classes as well as my education classes. One of my favorite classes so far has been my “Politics of Food and Hunger” class. I worked on a group project about food insecurity in India and how their government is dealing with it, which was very interesting.

This past week there was an NHL Hockey game: Canucks vs. Avalanche. This was a big rivalry for Jenn and Rachelle, since Jenn is a big Canucks hockey fan from Vancouver and Rachelle an Avalanche fan, since she is a big time all-around Denver sports fan. The two of them ended up getting the whole team to pick a side. About half the team didn’t have exams to study for that night and got together at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the game. Jenn and I were the only two at the table rooting for the Canucks (I had to choose them since I only live 2 hours away from Vancouver). We were pretty out numbered, but were ready to root the Canucks on to victory! Jenn and I exchanged many high-fives over the table, since it turned out to be a Canuck victory, 3-1!

This week I also enjoyed having my parents and my cousin, Kim in town. Kim played volleyball in college at Western Washington University and wanted to make a point to come out to Bozeman and see me play in our home gym at some point during my career here. She is now a marathon runner and when she went for her 7 mile run on Sunday she came back and told me that the altitude definitely made breathing a little tougher than she had expected, even though she ran it in 45 minutes! I really loved having them here, and got to spend some quality time and go out to some great meals with them!

Thank you all so much for the great support we had this weekend! Can’t wait to see you all again for our senior’s last home matches the 19th (vs. Idaho State) and 20th (vs. Weber State)! Have a good week, and GO CATS!

Sarah Horton #12

This week we worked really hard in practice and in the weight room but unfortunately it didn't pay off as well as we had hoped it would. In practice we worked on playing in game like situations to help us prepare for EWU and PSU and we had a great week of practice! This week we are looking forward to practicing hard and getting some wins on Friday and Saturday.

In this past weekend we lost a couple tough matches to Eastern Washington and Portland State, but we look forward to playing at home this week against UNC and NAU and we plan on working hard in practice to make sure we're prepared for two tough matches this weekend.

So far school has been going well for me. It's nice having so many breaks in between classes(unlike in high school) so I can get lots of stuff done before practice such as study tables and EATING. haha. I'm a freshman so dorm life has been great so far! It's nice and quiet in Hannon Hall which is good for us freshman so we can relax after having such hectic weeks. Traveling takes a toll on me sometimes but it's always fun being with my team. We have so much fun together in the hotel rooms and in the airports. We have one more traveling weekend coming up in my home state California!! I'm so exited to be back in Cali and to play a good match against Sac State in front of my friends and family.

I look forward to seeing you all at our game on Friday and Saturday. Thanks so much for your support, our fans are amazing! Go Cats!!