Griz earn split on opening day

Friday, August 26

Dallas, Texas

11:30 AM (MT)

Montana

0-1

SMU

1-0

Montana

SMU

8/26/2016 7:56:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana volleyball team split its matches Friday on the opening day of the SMU Doubletree Invitational in Dallas, Texas.

The Grizzlies lost to the host Mustangs in both teams' season opener, 25-17, 25-16, 25-17. Montana later picked up its first win of the season, 27-25, 25-20, 19-25, 14-25, 15-11 over Arkansas-Little Rock.

"We had to ride a roller coaster a little bit today," said second-year coach Brian Doyon, who traveled to Dallas with 10 players, eight of whom are underclassmen. "We played really well at times, then struggled at times.

"The teams we played are really good, and they challenged every aspect of our team. It was great that we were able to answer in our second match and come away with a win."

After getting swept by SMU, Montana found itself facing a 21-13 deficit in the opening set against Little Rock before the complexion of the Grizzlies' day changed.

Montana scored 10 of the set's next 12 points to even the score at 23-23, and a pair of kills by freshman Missy Huddleston gave Montana its first set win of the year.

Huddleston and sophomore Mykaela Hammer combined for 13 kills in the set.

Montana would win 25-20 in the second before Arkansas-Little Rock fought back to take sets three and four to extend the match to a fifth set.

"The match was a lot of fun," said Doyon. "They had us on the ropes in set one, and we were able to bounce back. And they played really well in sets three and four. They served tough and really started swinging and running some crossing patterns that got us confused.

"But we settled down."

With Hammer serving early in the fifth set, Montana jumped out to a 5-1 lead and never looked back. The Grizzlies hit .231, their best percentage of the match.

All 10 players in uniform played at least four sets in the victory.

"The fifth set really showed some maturity and composure by our young athletes," said Doyon. "They had the confidence to stay with it and get the kills we needed."

Hammer finished with a career-high 18 kills, Huddleston added 10. But it was defensively where the Grizzlies won the match.

Montana got out-blocked, but the Grizzlies dug 70 balls to Little Rock's 60, with Sadie Ahearn digging 16, Raegan Lindsey 15.

"Digs was an area that I thought we excelled," said Doyon. "We got out-blocked, but we out-dug them by 10, and that really helped us extend some of the rallies. It changed the tempo of the game, and they got a little discouraged that their shots weren't going down."

In Friday's opening match, SMU, which won 27 matches last season and advanced to the NCAA tournament, hit .341 to pick up the sweep over the Grizzlies.

Hammer and Ashley Watkins led Montana with five kills, with Watkins adding nine assists and a team-high 13 digs.

"SMU is just a really good team," said Doyon. "I actually thought we were able to do some nice things early in those matches, but the outcome definitely isn't what we wanted."

Hammer finished the day with 23 kills, averaging 2.88 per set. She had just 79 kills all of last season.

"We knew we were going to have to rely on Mykaela today," said Doyon. "She is starting to step up and show her maturity. She did a really good job on the pins."

Montana faces Texas-San Antonio Saturday at 11 a.m. (MT).