Montana storms the Beach

Thursday, August 31

Orem, Utah

5:00 PM

Montana

3-1

Long Beach State

1-3

Long Beach State

Montana

8/31/2017 8:23:00 PM | Volleyball

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By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana volleyball team now has three wins in its first four matches to open the season, but this one just feels different. That will happen when you knock off a team with a national championship as part of its trophy case.

Facing Long Beach State on Thursday on the opening day of the Wolverine Invitational at Orem, Utah, the Grizzlies made the plays at critical moments to finish off a 25-22, 25-23, 26-24 sweep of the 1993 national champion and perennial Southern California heavyweight.

"That's a program that's used to winning, so we're taking that win to the bank," said first-year coach Allison Lawrence, who led her team to a 2-1 record last weekend at North Texas's tournament.

"What last week did for us is that we didn't go into this tournament feeling like so much of an underdog. I felt like we had a different confidence about us, that we're starting to believe we're a team to beat."

Baily Permann had another impressive match, finishing at .417 hitting and with four blocks, and Cassie Laramee totaled 10 kills, but the star of the match was freshman outside hitter Maddy Marshall.

Marshall didn't have any kills last week in Texas, but she played a key role for Montana on Thursday. She finished with 10 kills on .429 hitting and made the winning plays at the end of sets two and three to deliver a victory to the Grizzlies.

"When her team needed her, Maddy stepped up," said Lawrence. "She did not play like a freshman."

With set two tied at 23, she served Montana to a set point, then closed it out with an ace. In the final set, the Grizzlies trailed 24-23, but three consecutive kills from Marshall ended the match in stunning fashion.

"When the game was on the line, for a freshman to step up like that and be very efficient, you could see in her body language that she was ready," said Lawrence. "She had her number called and she swung with confidence."

Montana fell behind 4-0 in the opening set, 6-1 in set two but didn't get rattled in either. The Grizzlies held Long Beach to just seven kills in the first set and won with three late kills by Laramee.

Montana used a big run in the middle of set two to take the lead, then watched as the 49ers retook the lead at 23-22. A kill by Mykaela Hammer evened the score, setting up Marshall to finish it off from the service line.

"Even though we started the first two sets down a little bit, we never felt like we were desperate and had to claw our way back in it," said Lawrence. "We always felt in control in a weird way."

Montana raced out to a 6-0 lead in the final set, only to have Long Beach counterpunch and pull even at 7-7. From there it was back and forth, and stressful for a new coaching staff.

"The three coaches were practically passing out," said Lawrence. "I was subbing faster than I wanted to."

But every move Lawrence made worked, especially giving junior setter Brittany Gay, a transfer from North Idaho College, her first real action of the season.

Gay served up a pair of aces and added five assists, and when the moment called for it, she made way for Ashley Watkins, who had 23 assists and 11 digs, plus two kills on seven swings.

"We were making changes down the stretch, and every athlete stepped up in a different way," said Lawrence.

"Brittany did an amazing job of adding energy and giving our offense a different look. Then we went back to Ashley when we needed a big block on their outside."

Shannon Casale dug a match-high 16 balls, while McKenzie Kramer and Mykaela Hammer both had four blocks.

Montana will face Utah Valley on Friday at 5 p.m., then No. 9 Kansas on Saturday at 9:30 a.m.