Montana rallies to beat Air Force, earn first win of season

Friday, September 20

Denver, Colo.

10 AM

Montana

0-9

Santa Clara

9-2

Santa Clara

Montana

Janna Grimsrud vs. CSU Bakersfield - 9/13/19

Photo by: Derek Johnson

Montana rallies to beat Air Force, earn first win of season

9/20/2019 10:47:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 UM-SCU Box Score (PDF)UM-AFA box score (PDF)

By: Montana Sports Information

USAFA, Colo. – Even with three blockers going up right in front of her, there was no way the ball was going to anyone other than Janna Grimsrud. The senior middle blocker had played out of her mind all night, and all that was missing was one final kill – a final exclamation point. Grimsrud delivered once more, and after trailing 2-0, Montana rallied to win the final three sets over Air Force on Friday night to earn its first win of the season (24-26, 20-25, 25-12, 25-22, 15-13).

Grimsrud finished with a career-high 17 kills, with several of them coming during the night's biggest moments. She took 27 swings and made just two errors, hitting an astonishing .556.

The effort was almost all for naught, as Montana lost the first two sets in excruciating fashion and nearly gave up a lead in the fifth set, as well.

Montana came out strong, leading by as many as four points and remaining in control of the opening frame. The Grizzlies led 23-21 and had a set-point opportunity at 24-23 before Air Force scored the final three points. Montana was once again the first team to 20 points in the second set, but then unraveled, recording five consecutive attack errors as the Falcons scored the final six points of the set to win 25-20.

The Grizzlies had a set-point opportunity last weekend vs. CSU Bakersfield and earlier on Friday vs. Santa Clara, but couldn't finish either time. It was easy for head coach Allison Lawrence's mind to drift to 'Here we go again.'

Frustrated at the intermission, Lawrence rallied her team with a message of unity and finding an extra gear deep from within.

"We had some tactical adjustments to make and some details to shore up, but mostly we just talked about the desire to overcome that adversity that we've been through this season. We challenged them to get a win with energy, passion and belief."

Montana was dominant in the third, leaving no doubt that the match would be extended. The team took an early 7-1 lead and never looked back, doubling up the Falcons late, 21-20, and winning by a baker's dozen, 25-12. The Grizzlies were the aggressor again in the fourth set, forcing an Air Force timeout at 12-8. The Falcons, though scored the next five points to take the lead, before Montana got it back at 16-15 on a key reversal.

Initially called for an error, Lawrence challenged the play, arguing that Grimsrud's attack went off of a blocker's finger. After a lengthy review, the call was overturned. Instead of trailing 16-15, Montana had a one-point lead.

The score would be tied three more times in the set, but Montana would never trail again, securing points at the right times to win the set, 25-22, and carry the momentum into a deciding frame.

The Grizzlies used that momentum for multi-point leads at 6-4, 8-6 and 10-7. The latter forced an Air Force timeout, and it worked, with the Falcons regrouping and rattling off five of the next six points. All of a sudden, Montana's cushion had evaporated, and the Grizzlies found themselves with their backs against the walls.

Senior setter Ashley Watkins took things into her own hands, scoring the next two points on dumps, to give Montana the lead once again. Isabelle Garrido then served up an ace, and two points later, the ball went from Grimsrud's hand to the floor, setting off a wild celebration at the Air Force Academy.

"I felt it coming," Grimsrud said of the final point. "There was a perfect pass, Ash (Watkins) had the perfect set. I felt like we had won it before I even hit the ball.

"I wanted to cry, but I couldn't because I was so excited. It felt so right, and how we're supposed to feel every game. I can't put into words how good it felt to get that going into conference."

It's hard to put too much focus on a single player. After all, there are six players on the court at a given time, and the setter is just one of the six. At the same time, though, it's hard not to overstate the value of Watkins, who brings an irreplaceable energy and veteran presence that includes 79 career starts.

Through the first three weeks of the season, Montana went 0-8, losing all 24 sets it played. On Friday morning, Watkins' first match of the season after missing the first three weeks due to personal reasons, Montana made progress by winning its first set of the season and nearly taking another against a Santa Clara team that is 9-2 on the season.

This isn't a knock on redshirt freshman Casey Stites, who on very short noticed filled in to an unexpected role. Stites not only set up the offense, but through eight matches, she also led the team for service aces, and despite standing just 5-6, ranked second for blocks.

Still, the experience of a three-year starter – one who ranks sixth in school history for career assists – is hard to replicate, especially considering the position. The setter is like the quarterback on the football field, running the offense while reading the defenders and delivering the ball to the right attackers.

"Ashley has been in those pressure situations more than anyone, and she knows what to do," Lawrence said. "That's the benefit of a senior setter. She has an incredible combination of a calming presence, but her energy is so high and contagious. She really gives our hitters confidence that if they get up again, good things will happen."

Watkins finished with 43 assists, in addition to 10 digs, six kills and three blocks. As a team, Montana out-hit its opponent for the first time this season (.188 to .129), including a .351 clip over the final two sets (24-4-57). The Grizzlies had more blocks, more service aces and an equal number of digs as the Falcons.

Right behind Grimsrud was fellow senior Missy Huddleston, who had 16 kills, 12 digs and a career-high-tying five blocks. Amethyst Harper had a personal-best 12 kills, Kelly Horning had six blocks and two service aces, and three Grizzlies were in double figures for digs.

There will still be plenty of obstacles this season. Saturday's opponent, Denver, is 7-4, with two of its losses coming to top-15 national teams. Next is a Big Sky Conference opener against a Montana State squad that beat both teams Montana lost to last weekend.

In the grand scheme of things, Friday's win was just a single match in a season of 30-plus. But one match or not, this one felt bigger, and Montana was going to enjoy it.

"It was a big celebration," Lawrence said. "I think we all had that feeling of relief and we each let out a yell that we've been holding in for four weeks now. I want us to be a team that shows emotion and passion, and that means showing celebration, and I was right there with them."

Santa Clara 3, Montana 1
On Friday morning in Denver, Montana won its first set of the season in a 3-1 loss to Santa Clara:

Montana was paced by its senior class, getting 11 kills and a career-high five blocks from Missy Huddleston; nine kills on .353 hitting, plus five blocks from Janna Grimsrud; and 30 assists and six kills from Ashley Watkins. It marked the first time that all three seniors had played together this season.
Freshman outside Elsa Godwin had a career-high 10 kills, in addition to two service aces and a pair of blocks. In the first set alone, Godwin had seven kills on .364 hitting, and was at her best when her team needed her most, tying the set at 23-23 with a kill and fighting off set point with another kill at 24-23. In the second set, she was instrumental again, recording an ace during a 6-2 Griz run early, giving Montana its first lead with a kill at 18-17 and recording a second ace during a 3-0 Montana run to turn a 19-18 deficit into a 21-19 lead.
Montana had nine team blocks – the second-most of the season at the time – but Santa Clara had 17. The Broncos have out-blocked their opponent in every match this season and rank in the top 20 percent nationally for blocking.
Montana out-dug its opponent for the second time this season, led by 14 digs from libero Sarina Moreno. Godwin had nine digs while Huddleston added eight.
The Grizzlies' 46 kills were a season most at the time, and their 11.5 kills-per-set average was the second-highest of the season. Montana hit .310 in the first set and .323 in the second, and through two sets was out-hitting the Broncos .317 to .260.
Freshman Casey Stites, who had started at setter each of the first eight matches of the season, played as a serving specialist. She had a service ace during Montana's 4-0 run during Set 1 and had the assist on Montana's set-clinching kill in the second set.
After being used sparingly in the first set, freshman outside hitter Amethyst Harper made a big impression in the second. Her first kill of the day came in the second set during a 6-2 Griz run to tie the set at 11-11. Her next two came on the final two points of the set. Tied at 23-23, Harper had back-to-back kills to give Montana the set victory. She finished with seven kills.
Set 1: Montana trailed 21-14 before getting consecutive points, including a kill and block from Huddleston. The 4-0 run forced an SCU timeout, but the Grizzlies continued the momentum with five of the next seven points to tie the set at 23-23, including back-to-back blocks. Montana fought off an SCU set-point opportunity to tie the set at 24-24 before a kill and service ace ended the set.
Set 2: Trailing by scores of 4-0 and 8-3 early, the Grizzlies worked back to tie the set as early as 11-11, and took their first lead at 18-17. SCU called timeout at 20-19, following a Godwin ace, to put Montana back in front. Montana held a two-point lead, 23-21, following a Grimsrud kill and Watkins/Kelly Horning block, to force a second Broncos timeout. Tied at 23-23 coming out of the timeout, Harper had back-to-back kills to give Montana its first set win of the season.
Leading 20-19 in Set 2, Montana was able to maintain the lead after Grimsrud recorded kills on back-to-back Griz points. She finished with nine kills on a match-high .353 hitting.
Set 3: Montana once again fell behind early and could never recover, trailing by as many as 13 points.
Set 4: Montana held a brief 3-2 lead and was within a point at 9-8, before the Broncos scored eight of the next nine points, forcing the Grizzlies to empty their timeouts. Montana hit -.083 in the set.

Looking Ahead
Montana closes the Thin Air Challenge – a tournament co-hosted by Air Force and Denver – against DU on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Pioneers unexpectedly lost to Air Force on Thursday night (3-2) before beating Santa Clara in five sets on Friday.