Montana
Gonzaga
Griz lose but solid in final nonconference match
9/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score
The Montana volleyball team lost to Gonzaga in straight sets Saturday night at the West Auxiliary Gym, 25-22, 25-16, 29-27, and the loss keeps the Grizzlies winless on the season, so it may sound Pollyannaish to claim the team is primed for its Big Sky Conference schedule that starts next week.
But coach Jerry Wagner has never wavered in his belief in his young team, even though it will take a 0-12 record into Thursday's league opener at Weber State, and he's not about to start now.
"We're ready to go. Honest to goodness, that's how I feel about it. This is the highest level of volleyball we've played this year. We played a really good team tonight, and we played our very best," Wagner said.
Gonzaga (9-2), which is off to its best start in program history, has lost just twice this season, once in five sets to No. 5 Washington and once in five sets to Furman. And Montana wasn't that far off the level of the Bulldogs' play Saturday night.
The teams were tied 21-21 in the first set before Gonzaga scored three straight points to pull away, and Montana had three set-point opportunities in the third before the Bulldogs' experience and poise prevailed.
"Because we're pressing a little bit, we still have a tendency to play faster than necessary," said Wagner. "When we can see the win, we hurry things up. We start playing too fast, faster than we need to."
Even the second set was tied 12-12 midway through, but in the end Gonzaga just had more offensive weapons than Montana. Jordan Gasser had 13 kills, and McKayla Ferris and Savannah Blinn both recorded double-digit kills while hitting better than .300.
Setter Lauren Joseph had 41 assists and a match-high 16 digs while directing her team to a .297 hitting performance.
Sophomore Michelle Robinson had nine kills for Montana, as did freshman Janell Sparks, who hit .381 and is blossoming in real time.
Sparks hit .339 in the Grizzlies' matches this week against Seattle and Gonzaga, and she's averaging 2.17 kills on .227 hitting in the team's last nine matches, ever since a rough start to her collegiate career at the season-opening Montana Invitational in late August.
"Janell came in and showed us this type of ability in the preseason," said Wagner. "After she got a lesson that first weekend about the type of blockers she's going to be hitting against, she's been making a great transition.
"I'm just really happy, because I see nothing but continued success for her. It's been fun to watch her grow."
Redshirt junior Capri Richardson had a match-high five blocks and helped the Grizzlies outblock the Bulldogs 9-5, and redshirt freshman Brielle Rolle had a team-high 12 digs, five in the final set, a number of them extending points that seemed over.
And Montana somehow found some success using an unconventional three-setter offense, with senior Kelsey Schile, sophomore Raegan Lindsey and freshman Jace Henderson all running the offense at different times.
After facing Weber State on Thursday, Montana will continue its first week of Big Sky matches next Saturday at Montana State. The Grizzlies will return home to host North Dakota and Northern Colorado Oct. 3-4.
