Thursday, October 10
Cedar City, Utah
6:30 PM
Montana
2-14,0-4Big Sky
1
at
3
Southern Utah
10-7,5-0Big Sky
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | 16 | 25 | 20 | 18 | 1 |
| Southern Utah | 25 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Photo by: Joey DeGraaf/Southern Utah Athletics
Thunderbirds pull away over Griz
10/10/2019 9:49:00 PM | Volleyball
CEDAR CITY, Utah – Montana put up a fairly strong showing Thursday night in Cedar City, but fell in four sets to Southern Utah (25-16, 22-25, 25-20, 25-18).
For a team looking for small victories, the biggest sign of progress has been the team's competitiveness. After winning a set in just two of its first 13 matches, the Grizzlies have now done so in three consecutive matches, including a sweep over Eastern Washington last week.
On Thursday, the Grizzlies had nearly as many kills as Southern Utah, and totaled 11 more digs, but were hindered by the Thunderbirds' eight service aces and 15 blocks. The Grizzlies were also able to hang with Southern Utah early in rallies, but as they progressed, Montana's inexperience showed, which led to many of Southern Utah's points.
"We're losing matches in transition," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "That's all it is. We're not scoring enough out of serve-receive, and then we get into transition and we're losing those long rallies. I thought Southern Utah was very lethal in transition, while our inexperience showed at those points."
After dropping a 25-16 decision to open the match, Montana tied it up with a 25-22 win in Set 2. The two teams were locked in a tight battle before Southern Utah scored six of eight points to open up a five-point advantage, 21-16. That's when Montana made its run, scoring seven consecutive points out of a timeout and closing the set on a 9-1 run.
The run featured five kills from four different players, two aces from Ashley Watkins and a block to seal the deal.
"When Ashley gets in rhythm, she can really get our team going," Lawrence said. "I thought we were serving tough and that was causing them (Southern Utah) to be in predictable situations for our block. We were playing really loose and confident."
In the third set, Montana jumped out to a 4-2 advantage but fell behind big after Thunderbird runs of 5-1 and 6-1. Trailing 17-9, Montana again was able to rally, scoring seven consecutive points to get within a point, 17-16. The Grizzlies couldn't get closer, though, with Southern Utah winning five of the final six points.
Montana scored the first three points of the fourth set, and led by three on several other occasions, but couldn't sustain it. A Missy Huddleston ace put Montana up 12-10 and a Catie Semadeni kill gave the Grizzlies a 13-12 advantage moments later, but the Thunderbirds would score the next two points to lead from that point forward.
After powering 21 kills last weekend vs. Idaho, Amethyst Harper was again dominant, totaling 17 kills on .275 hitting (17-6-40). The freshman had eight kills in the second set alone, Montana's 25-22 win. Huddleston complimented Harper with nine kills, 12 digs, three blocks and a service ace, as well, but the Grizzlies struggled to get production from their middles, combining for nine kills and 10 errors.
"Amethyst learns at an incredibly fast rate, and we count on her in a lot of bad situations to do some smart things with the ball," Lawrence said. "She is doing all of those things really well, and I think both she and Missy got us in rhythm on offense."
The Grizzlies now have a tough test on Saturday, facing a Northern Arizona team that won the Big Sky in 2018 and was picked to repeat in the 2019 preseason poll.
For a team looking for small victories, the biggest sign of progress has been the team's competitiveness. After winning a set in just two of its first 13 matches, the Grizzlies have now done so in three consecutive matches, including a sweep over Eastern Washington last week.
On Thursday, the Grizzlies had nearly as many kills as Southern Utah, and totaled 11 more digs, but were hindered by the Thunderbirds' eight service aces and 15 blocks. The Grizzlies were also able to hang with Southern Utah early in rallies, but as they progressed, Montana's inexperience showed, which led to many of Southern Utah's points.
"We're losing matches in transition," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "That's all it is. We're not scoring enough out of serve-receive, and then we get into transition and we're losing those long rallies. I thought Southern Utah was very lethal in transition, while our inexperience showed at those points."
After dropping a 25-16 decision to open the match, Montana tied it up with a 25-22 win in Set 2. The two teams were locked in a tight battle before Southern Utah scored six of eight points to open up a five-point advantage, 21-16. That's when Montana made its run, scoring seven consecutive points out of a timeout and closing the set on a 9-1 run.
The run featured five kills from four different players, two aces from Ashley Watkins and a block to seal the deal.
"When Ashley gets in rhythm, she can really get our team going," Lawrence said. "I thought we were serving tough and that was causing them (Southern Utah) to be in predictable situations for our block. We were playing really loose and confident."
The next two sets would feature 11 ties and six lead changes, but the Thunderbirds were able to pull away late to win both.BLOCK! Montana closes the second set on a 9-1 run, winning 25-22! pic.twitter.com/wGfMJbaZhr
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 11, 2019
In the third set, Montana jumped out to a 4-2 advantage but fell behind big after Thunderbird runs of 5-1 and 6-1. Trailing 17-9, Montana again was able to rally, scoring seven consecutive points to get within a point, 17-16. The Grizzlies couldn't get closer, though, with Southern Utah winning five of the final six points.
Montana scored the first three points of the fourth set, and led by three on several other occasions, but couldn't sustain it. A Missy Huddleston ace put Montana up 12-10 and a Catie Semadeni kill gave the Grizzlies a 13-12 advantage moments later, but the Thunderbirds would score the next two points to lead from that point forward.
After powering 21 kills last weekend vs. Idaho, Amethyst Harper was again dominant, totaling 17 kills on .275 hitting (17-6-40). The freshman had eight kills in the second set alone, Montana's 25-22 win. Huddleston complimented Harper with nine kills, 12 digs, three blocks and a service ace, as well, but the Grizzlies struggled to get production from their middles, combining for nine kills and 10 errors.
"Amethyst learns at an incredibly fast rate, and we count on her in a lot of bad situations to do some smart things with the ball," Lawrence said. "She is doing all of those things really well, and I think both she and Missy got us in rhythm on offense."
Senior Ashley Watkins set up the offense with 34 assists and 12 digs, but also had three blocks and three service aces. During the Grizzlies 9-1 run to close the second set, she had two of her aces, a block, a kill and four assists.Amethyst Harper doing Amethyst Harper things. She's up to 13 kills on .310 hitting! pic.twitter.com/F6WTefbm92
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 11, 2019
Montana totaled a season-high 65 digs, including 21 from Sarina Moreno and 12 apiece from Huddleston and Watkins. Grimsrud had a career-high seven blocks. Blocking was a big part of the match, with each team recording eight through the first two sets. However, Southern Utah would tally seven more over the final two frames, while Montana didn't record another one.5-0 run for Montana, and we're all tied up!! pic.twitter.com/9jYU6GQzAi
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 11, 2019
The Grizzlies now have a tough test on Saturday, facing a Northern Arizona team that won the Big Sky in 2018 and was picked to repeat in the 2019 preseason poll.
Huddleston gives Montana a two-point lead in a tight, back-and-forth set! pic.twitter.com/XgVGi0swCe
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 11, 2019
What a dig by Moreno! Her diving save sets up another Harper kill! pic.twitter.com/AJtYaAXH0k
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) October 11, 2019
Team Stats
Mont
SUU
Kills
44
50
Errors
30
24
Attempts
135
147
Hitting %
.104
.177
Points
58
73
Assists
39
47
Aces
4
8
Blocks
10
15
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballOPP/MB
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Volleyball
S
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