Griz still seeking first league win after 3-0 loss

Saturday, October 10

Missoula, Mont.

7:00 PM

Montana

4-14, 0-6BSC

Southern Utah *

12-7, 3-3BSC

Southern Utah

Montana

10/10/2015 10:17:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Glimpses of the type of play that will make the Montana volleyball team competitive within the Big Sky Conference are there, but they continue to be fleeting, more often than not whisked away by its own doing.

Montana dropped to 0-6 in the Big Sky Conference, 4-14 overall, with a 3-0 loss to Southern Utah Saturday night at the West Auxiliary Gym in Missoula, 25-22, 27-25, 25-10.

The Grizzlies had more kills than the Thunderbirds (12-7, 3-3 BSC), which usually leads to good things, but they couldn't overcome their own miscues. Between attacking, serving, receiving and blocking, Montana had 37 errors, 19 more than Southern Utah. Ball game.

"We have moments of brilliance and are doing some really good things at times, but we're still battling the same demons," said coach Brian Doyon.

One of those fiends is end-game play, and it cost Montana for the second straight match. At least the chance of extending the match beyond three sets.

The Grizzlies beat themselves in set one, wiping away an eight-kills advantage with 11 attack errors, and played well to build a 23-19 lead in set two. But back-to-back kills by Southern Utah cut the lead to two and seemed to bring back a flood of bad memories of sets lost.

Helped greatly by a pair of Griz hitting errors plus a service error, the Thunderbirds stormed back to win 27-25, never giving Montana a set point.

"In sets one and two we had opportunities to finish, but we weren't able to close it out," said Doyon. "Set two I actually felt comfortable. We were in a great position and getting some great swings.

"It's just that match-time mental toughness. We have one bad play, and it takes us two to recover. And at end-game, those plays compound on themselves. One error leads to two, and all of a sudden the other team gets a gap at the end."

Rolling after its comeback victory, Southern Utah hit .370 in the third set to win going away. Montana hit -.091 in the third to finish at .116 for the match.

Despite the sweep, Montana had plenty of standout individual performances. Southern Utah had a hard time slowing down the Grizzlies' middles. Capri Richardson and Brianna Gardner combined for 19 kills on .375 hitting on a night Montana's outsides hit .012.

Setter Raegan Lindsey had 38 assists, a season high for a three-set match, plus 12 digs and three blocks, and libero Sadie Ahearn had 16 digs, giving her an average of 6.0 per set for the week's two matches.

"Our middles had a great night," said Doyon. "Raegan did a really nice job setting, and Sadie made some big plays to keep us in it.

"For us it's about sustaining it and getting over the top. I think once we get a win everyone can relax. We're very tense and that's part of the reason we're not able to finish."

Southern Utah finished with a hitting percentage of .292. Through six Big Sky Conference matches, Montana's opponents are hitting a hard-to-beat .273.

Ann Clappier was a menace for the Thunderbirds both offensively and defensively. She had 10 kills and no errors on 15 swings to hit .667. She also had a match-high eight blocks to help SUU finish with a 12-4 blocking advantage. Chennin Benson had a match-high 15 kills and five blocks.

Montana will host Idaho and Eastern Washington next Thursday and Saturday at the West Auxiliary Gym as the Big Sky Conference schedule reaches its midpoint.

"We're going to work hard and do it again next week, and hopefully we can get past some of these things," said Doyon. "With another week of training at home, I hope it helps us finish one of these sets out."