Montana
Northern Colorado
Griz roll in Big Sky Conference opener
9/20/2013 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 20, 2013
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Note to anyone who wasn't at the West Auxiliary Gym Friday night for Montana's 3-0 sweep of Northern Colorado in both teams' Big Sky Conference opener: This wasn't an upset. The better team won.
The Grizzlies hit .245, didn't allow a service ace and was dominant on the block in winning 25-17, 25-20, 25-20 over the program that's represented the Big Sky Conference at the NCAA tournament three of the last four years.
"This team expected to play well, because they are confident right now in every facet of the game," UM coach Jerry Wagner said. "And that's how we beat them. There wasn't a facet of the game we weren't good at tonight. Everybody was doing what they are capable of doing."
This isn't the same Northern Colorado team it's been in recent years, but Montana was still impressive in taking the Bears apart. In front of a rowdy crowd of 731, Montana hit .344 in the opening set and never let up.
The Grizzlies broke away from a 13-13 deadlock in set two and never trailed in the final set. They even managed to show off some of their newfound end-game maturity.
After Montana had built a 23-17 advantage, Northern Colorado scored three straight points to pull to within 23-20. Three points, at 14-11, was the same lead the Grizzlies had last Saturday in the fifth set of its 3-2 loss to Nevada, a set the Wolf Pack came back to win 16-14.
Following a timeout, senior setter Kortney James went to redshirt junior middle blocker Natalie Jones on the right side, and Jones hit cross court to make it 24-20.
With James serving on match point, Northern Colorado sent its serve reception over the net, and senior Kayla Reno was there to pound down the match winner.
"I said after the Nevada match that learning from defeat is called a victory," Wagner said. "They weren't going to let that happen again. They've learned that you've got to keep your foot on the gas pedal."
Reno was the best hitter on the court, finishing with 14 kills on .323 hitting to move within six of recording 1,000 for her career. But she wasn't just a hitter. She blocked five balls, had seven digs and was part of the Grizzlies' serve reception that finished the match without giving up a single service ace.
And it's not like the Bears weren't trying. They finished with 10 service errors.
"That's what you do when you're passing like we've been doing," Wagner said. "The other team isn't getting any service aces, so they serve harder and start making errors."
Senior Brooke Bray had seven kills on .333 hitting, and junior Kelsey Schile also added seven. Jones finished with six kills on .556 hitting, and James was sneaky good at the setter position, putting down five kills on just seven attacks. She finished with 26 assists and a team-high 11 digs.
Montana recorded only three service aces, but the Grizzlies' serving had the Bears out of system most of the night, as evidenced by their .183 hitting percentage and 37 total kills. Redshirt freshman Sadie Ahearn had two of those service aces, freshman Raegan Lindsey the other.
"We came at them serving, and the game slows down and becomes simple when you're doing that," Wagner said. "The few times they ran their offense they got some kills, but most of the time they couldn't."
Jones matched Reno with five blocks, and senior Megan Murphey added 10 digs.
Montana, which has won three of its last four, will host another of the Big Sky's top programs Saturday night when the Grizzlies face North Dakota at 7 p.m. UND, which has beaten Montana in straight sets their last three meetings, won easily in four sets at Montana State on Friday night.
"We won two three-setters (against Texas Tech and Cal State Fullerton), lost a five-setter (against Nevada) when we were just a little erratic, and now we have this one," Wagner said. "That's four in a row, and that's not a fluke.
"So do I think it's going to happen again tomorrow night? Absolutely. We're anxious to get back out there, because everyone knows we're playing up to our capabilities right now."
