Montana
Weber State
Griz make it back-to-back road wins
10/4/2013 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 4, 2013
Box Score
The Montana volleyball team made it two straight on the road and moved above .500 in Big Sky Conference play with a 3-1 victory over Weber State Friday night at Ogden, Utah.
With the win the Grizzlies (6-8, 3-2 BSC) improve to 5-3 over their last eight matches and pick up their second consecutive Big Sky road win for the first time in nearly two years.
Montana held the Wildcats (5-14, 1-4 BSC) to .088 hitting and had 15 blocks in a surprisingly one-sided victory over a team that won at Northern Colorado in its last outing and was playing its first Big Sky home match of the season.
"It was opening night for them after a big road win, and we knew there was going to be a lot of emotion in the building," UM coach Jerry Wagner said. "The team did a good job of keeping the crowd out of it and getting better as the match went along.
"We're giving solid, consistent effort and showing a lot of determination. That's all it is. We're trying to start off strong and solid, then build on that and weather any storms that come up."
Montana did all those things against the Wildcats in winning 25-18, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18.
The Grizzlies fell behind 5-1 in the opening set and then used redshirt freshman Sadie Ahearn's serving to rattle off nine straight points to take control.
Weber State wouldn't come within four points the rest of the set, but the Wildcats held Montana to -.033 hitting in the second to even the match 1-1.
The Grizzlies never trailed in the third set to retake the lead, then hit .290 in the fourth set to win going away.
Senior Kayla Reno had 14 kills on .250 hitting and added 10 digs and four blocks to improve her two-match averages to 3.38 kills per set on .282 hitting, to go along with a team-high 22 digs (2.75/s) and eight blocks (1.00/s).
On Friday night she had plenty of help in every area of the game. Senior Brooke Bray had 10 kills on .273 hitting, and redshirt junior Natalie Jones added eight kills on .636 hitting (that's possible with eight kills and just one error on 11 swings) and seven blocks.
Senior Kortney James had 42 assists and a season-high seven blocks, Ahearn finished with a team-high 14 digs, and senior libero Megan Murphey totaled 10 digs and a team-leading two service aces.
"We've got a lot of people making big plays and inspiring their teammates," Wagner said. "This was a huge win tonight. Teams that make the tournament go out and win on the road. You can't rely just on your home court."
Montana has not won three straight Big Sky road matches since the 2009 season. That's what the Grizzlies will attempt to do Saturday when they face Idaho State in Pocatello.
The Bengals, who are 8-7 overall, also improved to 3-2 in Big Sky matches with a 25-20, 25-19, 25-21 victory over Montana State Friday night.
