Montana closes preseason with victory over South Dakota

Saturday, September 15

Bakersfield, Calif.

1:00 PM (MT)

Montana

3-9

South Dakota

6-5

South Dakota

Montana

Montana closes preseason with victory over South Dakota

9/15/2018 4:45:00 PM | Volleyball

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By: Montana Sports Information

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The first four weeks of the 2018 volleyball season have been far from perfect for Montana, but the Grizzlies earned a big win over South Dakota on Saturday, closing the preseason with a little momentum.

As Griz fans are getting accustomed to, the match came down to the wire, featuring another exhilarating finish.

"That was probably our biggest emotional win," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "We've had our ups and downs in preseason – and that's what preseason is for, to figure out who you are under pressure – and I don't think we've been under more pressure than in that match.

The end result was a 3-2 victory over South Dakota, including a 15-13 win in the deciding set.

Now for how it got to that point.

The Grizzlies (3-9) jumped out to a 2-0 set advantage, and looked like they were ready to close the match out in three, leading by as many as three points in the third set. Holding a 17-15 advantage, however, things shifted. South Dakota (6-5) scored the next six points and 10 of the final 13 to send the match to a fourth set. Montana never led after the first point in the fourth set, and without momentum, trailed for the majority of the fifth set.

Facing a 13-10 deficit, Montana used its final timeout.

"It was nice to be able to say that we've been here before," Lawrence said, referencing Montana's win over Gonzaga, in which the Grizzlies trailed the fifth set 14-13 before rallying to win. "We knew that we had been tested before and that we could trust the group we had on the court."

The momentum shifted on the next play, when setter Ashley Watkins set up a kill for sophomore Baily Permann.

"That was a really pivotal moment," Lawrence said. "Ashley chose a 3, which is a gutsy set, and Baily easily scored to (zone) 1. We wanted to be the aggressor, and a team that went down swinging whether we won or lost. I thought Ashley did that really, really well."

Montana got the next point on an Olivia Bradley kill, and South Dakota burned its final timeout. Coming out of the break, the Coyotes went to their top attacker, Hayley Dotseth, who misfired twice to completely flip the momentum and give Montana the lead, 14-13.

South Dakota went back to Dotseth once again, where she was greeted at the net by a stuff from Bradley and senior Mykaela Hammer.

"To be down 13-10 in the fifth and to stay calm and finish was a really big deal," Lawrence said.

UNBELIEVABLE!

Trailing 13-10, #GrizVB scores the final 5 points to knock off South Dakota! #MontanaTough pic.twitter.com/NnHh6FKKcu
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) September 15, 2018

The final play, a block, was symbolic considering the Grizzlies posted a season-high 14.0 on the day. Hammer finished with seven stuffs, while Bradley and Permann had six apiece. On offense, the Grizzlies were led by sophomore Maddy Marshall, who totaled a season-high 15 kills, in addition to a personal-best 19 digs.

Senior Alexis Urbach tallied 13 kills, while Bradley had a career-high 11. Pacing the offense, though, was Watkins. The junior setter had 40 assists, 13 digs and four service aces. She and Urbach were named to the all-tournament team.

Montana will now turn its focus to the second part of its season: Big Sky Conference play. Montana's first three conference matches are all at home, hosting Sacramento State on Thursday, Portland State on Saturday and Montana State on Tuesday, Sept. 25.

What a way to close non-conference action! #MontanaTough

Maddy Marshall led #GrizVB with 15 kills and a career-most 19 digs. Montana had a season-high 14 blocks, including the final point. pic.twitter.com/YV3Yenu3Mv
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) September 15, 2018

Additional Notes:

Montana played its fourth five-set match of the season, improving to 2-2.
Montana's 14.0 team blocks were its most in more than a year, dating back to a win over Tulsa in the 2017 opening weekend (also 14.0).
In the first three sets alone, there were 27 ties and 17 lead changes.
Urbach and Watkins were named to the all-tournament team. Urbach averaged 3.33 kills per set on .304 hitting, including a career-high 21 vs. CSU Bakersfield on Friday night. Watkins averaged 9.17 assists per set, 2.75 digs per set and a team-high six service aces.
Montana trailed the opening set by four points at 19-15, but closed the set on a 13-7 run to take the early advantage. Down 23-21 late, the Grizzlies scored seven of the next 10 points, seeing points from five different players. Montana fought off USD set points at 25-24 and 26-25 and took its only multi-point lead of the set on the final point, 28-26.
Both teams hit extremely well in the opening frame. USD hit .333 while the Grizzlies hit .344, in addition to 5.0 blocks and three service aces.
Tied at every point from 10-10 through 15-15 in the second set, Montana took over midway through, using a 4-0 run to take control of the match. The Grizzlies led by as many as five points.