Hammer time: Griz win twice at Drake

Friday, September 8

Des Moines, Iowa

10:00 AM (MT)

Montana

4-3

Southeast Missouri State

5-3

Southeast Missouri

Montana

9/8/2017 8:15:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 PDF Box Score 1 PDF Box Score 2 PDF Season Stats

By: Montana Sports Information

Mykaela Hammer had 33 kills over two matches on Friday to lead the Montana volleyball team to wins over Southeast Missouri State and Nebraska-Omaha at the Drake Invitational in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Grizzlies held off the Redhawks in five sets (25-12, 25-21, 17-25, 22-25, 15-12), then swept the Mavericks (25-23, 25-23, 25-19) for their second 3-0 win of the season.

The victories give the Grizzlies (5-3) five wins in their first eight matches, equaling last year's total that came in 26 outings, an early-season milestone completely lost on first-year coach Allison Lawrence.

"Matching last season's win total has been the furthest thing from my mind," she said. "Playing the way we're capable of playing and coming together as a team, being great teammates and putting value on doing the job the right way has always been our goal. I knew if we did that, the wins would come."

They came twice on Friday, and in the opener it looked like Montana might serve Southeast Missouri out of the gym. The Grizzlies raced out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back in the opening set. Through two sets, the Redhawks were hitting -.045, with more errors than kills.

"We served really tough the first 10 points, and their ball-control was pretty shaky," said Lawrence. "They were high-error and looked overwhelmed with our pace and our ball-control, which is the way we wanted to start.

"We've really been focusing on having fast, aggressive starts, and we did that. I was really proud of that."

That the match ended up going to five sets is a credit to Southeast Missouri. The Redhawks hit .458 to win the third set handily, then outlasted Montana to take the fourth.

"I don't think we got less aggressive. I just think they improved their ball-control," said Lawrence. "That's a good team that's capable of being really efficient. We lost some momentum and were scrambling to get it back. We had to battle it out with them."

It was Montana's second five-set match of the season, and the Grizzlies have now won them both. Three early kills by Cassie Laramee allowed Montana to gain some separation, and Southeast Missouri was never able to catch up.

The Grizzlies had 10 kills in the fifth set, a sign they still had the legs and energy they needed to go out and finish off the victory.

"We have gone into every preseason match knowing we have to be ready to outlast our opponent both mentally and physically," said Lawrence. "We talk about the need to make big plays again and again and again, and we know that if we're going five sets, we're still able to physically bring our best."

Hammer had a career-high 22 kills in the win on .312 hitting, with 12 digs and four blocks. Laramee and Maddy Marshall both had 10 kills, with Marshall posting her first collegiate double-double with 10 digs.

Ashley Watkins totaled 37 assists and 12 digs, Shannon Casale had 17 digs, Baily Permann recorded eight kills on .300 hitting and five blocks, and McKenzie Kramer finished with seven blocks as Montana out-blocked its opponent for the fifth time in seven matches.

Montana's second match of the day, its sweep of Nebraska-Omaha, took less time but still had the drama. The first set was tied at 20 before the Grizzlies pulled away for a 25-23 win. In the second, they rallied back from a 23-21 deficit to win by the same score.

A kill by Hammer and a UNO hitting error made it 23-23 in the second. Marshall put Montana up with a kill, and Marshall and Watkins teamed up for a block on set point. And the Grizzlies led 2-0.

"I think we're feeling some momentum in those moments from some of our success this season, and not only in the win-loss column," said Lawrence. "We've been in those situations before, and we've been able to execute. When they happen again, we can visualize things we've done recently and done well."

Both sets were the type Montana made a habit of dropping the last few years. The Grizzlies were good up until a point, then it slipped away more often than not. It's still a here-we-go-again mentality, but now it's been flipped. Expectations are changing by the match.

"A component of confidence is what you tell yourself," said Lawrence. "Right now we're telling ourselves that we're going to win this, and I am going to do my job. I think that's the difference. It's a mindset and what we're telling ourselves in those moments."

Montana pulled away early in the third set to win going away. The Grizzlies had 18 kills and just two errors on 38 swings in the set to close out their day hitting .421.

Hammer had a team-high 11 kills on .250 hitting, but it was the return of Alexis Urbach that provided the match's best storyline.

Sidelined for much of August with a knee injury, Urbach, the team's leader in kills last season, played the final two sets and finished with six kills on .308 hitting.

"I'm really proud of her. She's been working really hard in her rehab to feel confident in her knee. She's been practicing probably a week and a half of full practices, so this was a big confidence match for her," said Lawrence.

"The best part of her game is that she is fearless. She swings big, and we knew she'd do that today. It was really fun to watch her play and get some kills and just be out there again."

Watkins had 32 assists and four blocks, Casale finished with a career-high 23 digs, an average of nearly eight per set against the Mavericks, and Marshall had seven kills on .312 hitting and eight digs.

It required a big effort, winning two matches in a day, and Montana is only halfway to its goal. The Grizzlies will play two more matches on Saturday, against San Jose State (5-1) and Drake (7-2), teams that squared off on Friday night.

"We were frustrated that this morning's match went longer than we wanted it to. We had to use a lot more energy than we wanted," said Lawrence.

"Both of the teams we'll face (on Saturday) have a lot of momentum, but we do too. I'm excited to see what happens."