Sackett unstoppable, but Griz fall in four

Saturday, October 3

Greeley, Colo.

2:00 PM

Montana

4-12, 0-4Big Sky

Northern Colorado *

6-11, 2-2Big Sky

Montana

Northern Colorado

10/3/2015 5:21:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Hannah Sackett matched a season high with 24 kills, and the Montana volleyball team hit .259, but it wasn't enough to pick up a win Saturday afternoon against Northern Colorado at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley.

The Bears (6-11, 2-2 BSC) hit .338 to win 25-19, 25-23, 25-27, 25-21, and keep the Grizzlies (4-12, 0-4 BSC) winless in Big Sky Conference matches.

Northern Colorado had no answer for Sackett, who hit .321. Instead it used a more balanced attack to finish off a home sweep of Montana State -- the Bears swept the Bobcats in straight sets Thursday night -- and Montana.

Kendra Cunningham had 16 kills, Kortney Lockey and Katie Champion both added 10, and Ashley Guthrie finished with nine kills on 11 swings to hit .818. Emily O'Neil added seven kills on .700 hitting and a team-high five blocks.

Senior middle blocker Capri Richardson had 12 kills on .417 hitting and five blocks for the Grizzlies. Freshman middle blocker Hailey Jackson, getting her first significant action of the season, added six kills on .308 hitting and five blocks.

Junior Raegan Lindsey got a bulk of the opportunities at setter and responded with a career match. In addition to leading Montana to a .259 hitting performance, Lindsey had 42 assists and four blocks, both career highs.

Though it got swept on the road trip and picked up just a single set victory, Montana was in most of the sets against North Dakota and Northern Colorado. The Grizzlies led 21-20 in the second set against the Bears Saturday and 20-19 in the fourth but dropped them both.

"We're still trying to get over the top in some of these close matches, and I think we're getting closer," said coach Brian Doyon. "It's going to require some more fine-tuning here and there."

After falling behind 2-0, Montana came out and played its best offense of the match in set three. The Grizzlies had 19 kills and just two attack errors to hit .531 in their 27-25 victory.

"I was really pleased with our energy and intensity today," Doyon added. "Unlike some of our other matches earlier this year, we had that energy throughout the match, and that's something we've been working on."

The Grizzlies will open a four-match home stand next week when they host Northern Arizona and Southern Utah at the West Auxiliary Gym.