Montana
Sacramento State
Reno unstoppable in 3-0 road sweep
10/18/2013 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 18, 2013
Box Score
Senior Kayla Reno had 17 kills on .486 hitting and Montana picked up its third Big Sky Conference road victory of the season with a commanding 3-0 sweep of Sacramento State Friday night in Sacramento, Calif.
The Grizzlies (8-10, 5-4 BSC) moved above .500 in Big Sky play and won at Sacramento for just the second time since 1999.
Montana rolled to 25-17 and 25-18 victories to open the match, then closed out the Hornets by rallying back from a seven-point deficit for a 25-23 win in the clincher.
"This was just a determined, suffocating effort," UM coach Jerry Wagner said. "At no time did we lose our poise, even when we were down seven.
"At no point did anyone panic. It was just a couple of things we needed to do better. We were point-by-point and unflappable. These guys are just scary locked in right now."
No one was more locked in than Reno, who had a career night. The left-side hitter had 17 kills and not a single attack error on 35 swings. And her assault was consistent. She had five kills in the first set, six in the second and six in the third.
"I'm dumbfounded to find the right line to describe it, because it's tough to sum up," Wagner said, knowing "one-woman wrecking crew" would overlook the contributions of the rest of the team, particularly senior setter Kortney James, who had 33 assists.
"Kayla was just one step ahead all night. She was seeing the court extremely well, and Kortney realized it and fed an incredibly hot player like she is capable of."
Montana, which swept a Big Sky Conference opponent on the road for the first time in more than two years, took control of the match early. The Grizzlies got out fast in each of the first two sets and did not trail in the match until the third set.
After being held to .143 hitting through the first two sets, the Hornets came to life in the third. They raced out to a 12-5 lead and still led 21-16 before Montana staged its comeback.
Reno had three kills as the Grizzlies evened the set at 23-23, and junior Kelsey Schile had back-to-back kills to close out the match, clutch shots for a player who had just five kills for the match.
"We took a huge step tonight," Wagner said. "The next-level teams know how to stay strong and work their way back into it when it doesn't look like it's there. Those types of teams just stay on it, and that's what we did tonight."
Senior Brooke Bray had eight kills on .538 hitting for the Grizzlies, along with a team-high four blocks, and senior Megan Murphey had 17 digs.
Montana hit .333, the third time this season the Grizzlies have hit better than .300 and the second time in the last three matches.
Montana will host Montana State (5-14, 3-5 BSC) Monday at 7 p.m. at the West Auxiliary Gym. The Bobcats face the Hornets Saturday night in Sacramento.
