Griz split matches on opening day in Kentucky

Friday, September 16

Morehead, Ky.

11:00 AM (MT)

Montana

1-7

Kent State

5-6

Montana

Kent State

9/16/2016 7:01:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana volleyball coach Brian Doyon, who has 10 newcomers on his 15-player squad, has been stressing the process of improving this fall over straight results, but even he has to admit an occasional win can do a team some good.

"To get the 3-0 sweep felt really good for the team," said Doyon, whose team defeated Coppin State in straight sets at Morehead State's tournament in Morehead, Ky., Friday afternoon to snap a six-match losing streak. The Grizzlies lost a competitive 3-0 decision to Kent State earlier in the day.

"And just as important as the win was that we played well doing it. Our offense was clicking, and we were able to do a lot of things on the court. It allowed the girls to relax a little more and play to their true potential."

Montana (2-7) lost to the Golden Flashes (5-6) 25-21, 25-23, 25-22 before posting win No. 2 and its first sweep of the season, 25-21, 25-22, 25-21 over the Eagles (0-13).

Even though Montana fell to Kent State in straight sets, the Grizzlies were in every set and finished with a then season-best .179 hitting percentage.

A big reason for the spike in offensive production -- Montana hit .021 in three matches, all 3-0 losses, at Iowa State's tournament last weekend -- was the debut of freshman middle blocker McKenzie Kramer. Sophomore Mykaela Hammer was also moved to middle blocker this week from outside hitter.

Finally with a presence in the middle -- think: a football team having a running game to set up its passing attack or the benefit of a deadly 3-point shooter or two to space out a basketball team's defense -- the Grizzlies finally had some options to work with.

"We're starting to feel a lot better as a team, knowing that the pieces are starting to fall into place. Players are starting to click, and we're starting to do some good things," Doyon said.

"The part that really helped stabilize us was getting our middles back. Getting the middle established early freed up our pins. That certainly helped our offense run a lot better."

Kramer and Hammer combined for just six kills against the Golden Flashes, but their threat in the middle allowed freshman outside hitter Missy Huddleston, who hit .007 through the team's first seven matches, some openings. She had 11 kills on .474 hitting.

Montana trailed by scores of 19-18 in the first set, 20-19 in the second and 21-20 in the third before Kent State, which won 20 matches last season, pulled out the victories.

"We were battling point for point, and it never felt like we were out of it," said Doyon. "Toward the end they just pulled ahead. They made good plays to push back against us, but the girls felt pretty good about the opportunities they had."

Montana was even better offensively in its victory over Coppin State, finishing with a .290 hitting percentage to keep the Eagles winless on the season.

Sophomore Cassie Laramee had 12 kills on .450 hitting on the left side, sophomore Alexis Urbach finished with 11 kills on .333 hitting on the right.

Senior setter Raegan Lindsey totaled 29 assists while directing her hitters to a .236 hitting performance over the day's six sets. Senior libero Sadie Ahearn had 17 digs against Kent State, eight more against Coppin State.

"Our ball-control held up," said Doyon. "We had a lot of young players on the court, and they were all doing some good things offensively, which helped us out a lot. Defensively we were able to get some transition attacking, and that helped out a lot as well.

"I was happy with our performance today."

Montana will face host Morehead State (4-8) on Saturday at noon (MT). The Eagles defeated Coppin State in four sets on Friday and lost in straight sets to Kent State.