Montana goes cold late against Southern Utah

Monday, February 8

Cedar City, Utah

6 PM

Montana

1-5, 1-5Big Sky

Southern Utah

2-3, 2-2Big Sky

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Montana	22	25	11	15	1
Southern Utah	25	19	25	25	3

2/8/2021 9:08:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Montana Sports Information

CEDAR CITY, Utah – For two sets on Monday night, Montana's offense came to life as the Grizzlies hit .328 and played like an experienced, composed team. It couldn't be sustained, however, as two huge runs by Southern Utah led to a 3-1 Thunderbirds victory (25-22, 19-25, 25-11, 25-15).

Early on, Montana had its way on the Southern Utah defense, recording 26 kills compared to just six errors. The Grizzlies were out-hitting the Thunderbirds .328 to .181 and had just tied the match up with a 25-19 Set-2 win, after a tight opening-set loss.

"I think there were some things that we adjusted to well from yesterday, and that showed up early," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "We managed a lot better and made smarter swings, and kept the ball in play when we didn't have a kill to the floor in front of us. That allowed us to get easy balls back, , run our middles in transition and play really clean volleyball.

"We served well and hit our details. We had all the momentum going into the third set."

Meyers is lighting it up on the court 🔥#GrizVB #GoGriz #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/CjdmzJUK2Y
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) February 9, 2021

The Grizzlies led early in Set 3 as well, 6-3, but things unraveled from there as Montana scored just five more points in a 25-11 loss. The Grizzlies were within five points, 16-11, before Southern Utah's Stacey Hone stepped to the service line and closed the set with nine consecutive points. After being so efficient through the first two sets, Montana made six errors during the 9-0 run alone, as the Grizzlies hit -.261 in the set with just three total kills.

Still, Montana looked poised to bounce back and tie the match at two sets apiece. The Grizzlies took a 4-1 lead to begin Set 4, before the back-and-forth set saw tie scores at nine consecutive points (4-4 through 12-12). A double block from Madi Chuhlantseff and Amethyst Harper gave Montana a 12-11 lead, but Hone responded with a solo stuff to knot the score at 12-12.

She was just getting started, however, as Hone stepped back to the service line and put the game out of reach with another incredible run. By the time Montana scored again, the score was 20-13, as the Thunderbirds had again scored nine consecutive points.

"They teed off from the service line and it felt like it unraveled from there," Lawrence said. "They served line to line and straight at the attacker who was pulled back to pass. That got us flustered, because we had a lot of pins who made the first contact and then were trying to execute a kill out of system."

That makes for Boutwell's 8th kill of the night to keep the lead for the Grizzlies!#GrizVB #GoGriz #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/8YhSftziw6
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) February 9, 2021

Montana hit .328 through the first two sets (25-6-58) but -.079 over the next two (11-16-63). The Grizzlies were also aced 11 times on the night, including five times by Elisa Lago, who led all players with 16 kills on .368 hitting.

Montana freshman outside hitter Sophia Meyers led the Grizzlies offensively with 10 kills, while senior middle blocker Peyten Boutwell added nine on .312 hitting, in addition to a pair of blocks. Harper finished the night with seven kills, but just two over her final 21 swings. She and Chuhlantseff tied for the team lead with five blocks.

Defensively, Montana recorded more blocks (seven to six) and digs (56 to 54) than Southern Utah. Junior libero Sarina Moreno led Montana with 16 digs, including several great diving saves. Freshman Sarah Ashley made her collegiate debut over the final two sets, finishing with four digs.

What a swing from Harper to tie up the game! #GrizVB #GoGriz #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/Nj4rBA84jU
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) February 9, 2021

In a tight opening set, Montana fell behind 15-9 before rattling off five consecutive points, led by a kill and block by both Chuhlantseff and Harper. The Grizzlies had an opportunity to tie the score at 20-20, including two stellar pancake digs by Moreno, before Montana was called in the net. That seemed to be the turning point, as Montana had solid swings on the next two points, but both went to the Thunderbirds, who went up 23-20 and won the set 25-22.

Montana lost the set despite out-hitting the Thunderbirds, .323 to .206, including three kills on three swings from Chuhlantseff.

In Montana's Set-2 victory, the Grizzlies trailed at just two points (10-9 and 11-10). After the second deficit, Harper responded with a kill and Montana never trailed again. The Thunderbirds got within two points, 21-19, before Montana closed the set on a 4-0 run, getting kills from Meyers and sophomore Elsa Godwin, while Harper served.

Montana hit .333 in the set, compared to .158 for the Thunderbirds. Perhaps more impressive, Southern Utah just once scored more than two consecutive points in the set.

Montana has now lost five consecutive matches after opening the season with a win at Idaho State. The Grizzlies will look to turn things around against rival Montana State (Feb. 14-15).

"We have to stare right at this," Lawrence said. "Rather than turning away, we have to look at the parts of our game that are falling apart under pressure and face them head on."

Chuhlantseff isn't letting anything over the net as she slams it back down for the kill!#GrizVB #GoGriz #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/uymQtrGkYE
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) February 9, 2021