Montana bounces back with key sweep
11/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The University of Montana volleyball team snapped a three-match losing streak with a 25-23, 25-19, 25-20 sweep of Northern Arizona Saturday night at the West Auxiliary Gym. The win moved the Grizzlies into a two-way tie for third place in the Big Sky Conference standings with two weekends of regular-season matches remaining.
Montana, one of the best defensive teams in the Big Sky, added a balanced offensive effort to its game Saturday. The Grizzlies hit .264, the team???s second-highest hitting percentage of the season, while maintaining its defensive presence, out-digging the Lumberjacks by 23.
A night after getting a negative hitting percentage from its left-side hitters, Montana???s outsides on Saturday were its primary offensive strength on a rare off night from senior middle blocker Jaimie Thibeault.
Junior Amy Roberts had 17 kills on .286 hitting from the left side, and freshman Kayla Reno added eight kills on .318 hitting.
Freshman Brooke Bray came alive on the right side, finishing with six kills on .333 hitting.
???Our outside hitters needed to see the ball hit the floor tonight without somebody digging it,??? UM coach Jerry Wagner said. ???Once that happened, it just opened everything else up.
???We developed some confidence and got into a nice rhythm, and we started making any shot we needed. We kept the ball in play if we didn???t have good swings, and when you hit smart like that you???re going to hit a nice percentage.
???We just created a nice balanced attack.???
Junior middle blocker Brittany Quick continued her steady production with 10 kills on team-high .444 hitting.
Thibeault had seven kills and seven attack errors as she struggled at times in her timing with freshman setter Kortney James, but Thibeault dominated defensively, finishing with a match-high nine blocks. She also added eight digs.
???That???s as close as we???ve been (this year) to having our five hitters hit what they are capable of,??? Wagner said.
Montana???s back-row defense, led again by senior libero Brittney Brown, was at its best, out-digging Northern Arizona 76 to 53.
Brown finished with a match-high 19 digs, while Roberts added 14 and freshman Megan Murphey 13.
???Our goal tonight was to get the ball back by being more efficient on siding out,??? Wagner said. ???Get it back to our serve and play to our strengths, which are our block and our defense.
???And they were good, controlled digs. It was nice to see us get back to our old selves in that area, because that???s where we get our energy from.???
Despite the lopsided numbers of the three-set sweep, the teams played a tight first set that had 17 ties and eight lead changes.
From 9-9, Montana either held the lead or the set was tied until Northern Arizona scored three straight points to grab a 23-22 advantage when Lexi Sullivan and Chelsea Cheeley teamed up to block Thibeault.
Roberts came through with a key kill to tie it 23-23 on what was maybe the point that swung the match.
With Roberts serving, NAU had an overpass on its serve reception, and Thibeault was ready at the net to put down the unassisted kill to make it 24-23.
Thibeault and Reno combined to block Sullivan on set point, and the Grizzlies rolled the rest of the match.
Montana hit .278 in the second set and .333 in the third.
The Lumberjacks (9-14, 5-8 BSC), who got 13 kills from Sullivan, hit .119 for the match.
The win puts Montana (11-13, 7-6 BSC) into a tie with Idaho State (16-11, 7-6 BSC) for third place in the Big Sky Conference behind Northern Colorado (21-5, 12-1 BSC) and Portland State (16-8, 11-2 BSC).
The Bears, who won in four sets at Montana State Saturday night, and the Vikings, who won in five sets at Eastern Washington, have both clinched spots in the four-team postseason tournament, which will be held Thanksgiving weekend in Portland, Ore.
Right behind Montana and Idaho State in the standings are Sacramento State (13-15, 6-6 BSC) and Eastern Washington (7-16, 6-7 BSC).
Montana faces another important test next Friday in its only match of the week when the Grizzlies visit Sacramento State Friday night. Montana won the first meeting in three sets.
