Michelle Usitalo (2006) - Hall of Fame - Montana State University Athletics

Michelle Usitalo

Induction:
2006
Class:
1984

Michelle Usitalo- Volleyball, 1981-84 Years at MSU: 1981-84 Honors Earned: Two-Time All-Mountain West Conference Four-Year Letterwinner Two-Time Team Captain 1984 MSU-Northwestern National Life Athlete of the Year Hometown: Seattle, Wash. Not too many student-athletes have played for three different head coaches would tell you that their experience playing collegiate ball was a good one. However, Michelle Usitalo, who played under head volleyball coaches Bill Neville, Chris Bigelow and Pam Parks found it to be a great opportunity; and she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. “They all came from the same coaching philosophy, so the transition wasn’t a big issue,” Usitalo said. “They all taught me something different, and I still hold those values today.” Neville, Bigelow and Parks would in turn, tell you that Usitalo was a one-of-a-kind student-athlete. She never missed a practice or game, even when sporting a broken thumb. “Michelle is special,” Neville said in an interview back in the early ‘80s. “She brings a great winning attitude to the court. She is the type of player that keeps a person coaching.” Usitalo was part of two great Bobcat volleyball squads in 1983 and 1984. the 1983 team, under the direction of Pam Parks, finished second in the Mountain West Conference, MSU’s highest league finish in school history. For her part, Usitalo, a Seattle native, was a two-time All-Mountain West selection, a two-time team captain, and was named the 1984 Montana State-Northwestern National Life Athlete of the Year. Her name also remains in the all-time Bobcat volleyball record book. Usitalo is currently third in service aces, seventh in total attacks and ninth in kills. “My time at Montana State was amazing,” Usitalo said. “I learned so much from my coaches and professors. I made life-long friends. It was a great place to go to school.” Following graduation, Usitalo served as an assistant to the Bobcat volleyball program from 1987-89 under head coach Donna Palivec. She currently resides in Boise with her husband Dan Stickney and two daughters Emily 12, and Jessica 9.