Griz push Pioneers but fall in four

Saturday, September 19

Denver, Colo.

Noon

Montana

3-8

Denver

10-3

Montana

Denver

9/19/2015 6:57:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Facing one of the best teams on its nonconference schedule, the Montana volleyball team pushed the host Pioneers at the Denver Invitational Saturday afternoon but ultimately fell in four sets, 23-25, 23-25, 25-13, 14-25.

Senior Hannah Sackett had a season-high 24 kills on .326 hitting, and Montana (3-8) held Denver (10-3) well below its season hitting percentage, but mistakes in the Grizzlies' serving and serve-receive game at critical times ultimately cost them an opportunity to pick up their second straight win.

Tied 20-20 in the opening set, Montana gave Denver a pair of points on service errors in what would be a two-point game. And deadlocked 19-19 in the second, the Grizzlies got aced twice and threw in another service error to fall into a 2-0 hole.

Montana, on .355 hitting, was almost flawless in winning set three, but the team that made the NCAA tournament last year and was voted to repeat as Summit League champions in 2015 looked the part in set four, hitting .423 to pull away for the victory.

"The point differential really came down to our ability to serve and pass," said coach Brian Doyon. "But overall it was a really well-played match. The girls came out and were pretty steady. We really did a good job identifying what was happening on the court and playing at a high level."

After hitting a then season-best .221 in Friday night's 3-1 victory over Abilene Christian, the Grizzlies were at it again Saturday afternoon. They hit .232, and more impressive they limited Denver, which entered the match hitting better than .250, to .184 on its home floor.

Montana out-dug Denver 58-51 and had 7.5 blocks, its most since the second match of the season.

"I don't think that was Denver's best performance, but we were responsible for a lot of that," said Doyon. "Holding them to .184 hitting was really good for us."

Sackett stayed hot, putting down a match-high 24 kills to up her per-set average over the last four matches to 4.7. Brianna Gardner added seven kills on .263 hitting and a team-high five blocks, and Capri Richardson had six kills and no errors on 15 swings to hit .400.

Sadie Ahearn dug 12 balls, and Raegan Lindsey had 23 assists and 11 digs, her third straight double-double.

Montana faces Illinois-Chicago Saturday evening.