Sunday, March 7
Portland, Ore.
2 PM (MT)
Montana
2-11, 2-11Big Sky
1
at
3
Portland State
2-11, 1-10Big Sky
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | 22 | 28 | 22 | 21 | 1 |
| Portland State | 25 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Photo by: Tommy Martino
Griz unable to capitalize on opportunities at Portland State
3/7/2021 4:44:00 PM | Volleyball
PORTLAND, Ore. – Montana fell on the road to Portland State on Sunday afternoon, losing in four sets (25-22, 26-28, 25-22, 25-21). The Grizzlies had their opportunities in all four sets, but couldn't quite capitalize on multiple opportunities.
Montana led 17-11 in Set 1, 21-17 in Set 3 and was tied at 14-14 in Set 4.
"It felt like we were in control for a lot of the match today, or at least playing point for point with Portland State," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "We came out and hit our details and created comfortable leads, but several times we allowed Portland State to gain momentum at crucial points in the set."
Oregon natives Madi Chuhlantseff (Salem) and Peyten Boutwell (Lake Oswego) were fantastic in the middle, accounting for 30 of Montana's 53 kills. Chuhlantseff had a career-high 17 kills on .452 hitting, while Boutwell was in double figures for the third consecutive match, tallying 13 on .400 hitting.
While Portland State leads the Big Sky for digs, Montana hung with the Vikings, tallying 71 (compared to 76 for Portland State). The total was three shy of a season best, despite playing just four sets. Junior libero Sarina Moreno had 18 digs, including several diving saves, one coming when Montana was facing set point in the second frame.
One of those players was setter Carly Anderson, who recorded her first career double-double with 44 assists and a career-best 10 digs. In addition to 11 digs and nine kills, sophomore Amethyst Harper had four service aces – including three during a 7-0 run in Set 2 – while Elsa Godwin added three service aces and 11 digs.
Montana opened the match strong, forcing an early Vikings timeout while on top 11-7. The Grizzlies' lead extended to 17-11 before the wheels came off. Portland State scored 10 of the next 12 points to claim a 21-19 advantage. Five of Portland State's 10 points during that run came on Montana errors, as the Vikings came from behind to win the set, 25-22.
The Grizzlies found themselves trailing in Set 2, but flipped the script and took the lead by going on a 7-0 run of their own. Trailing 16-11, Harper put down a kill before going on an impressive serving run that featured three aces. That turned a five-point deficit into a multi-point lead.
Montana won the ensuing extended rally, featuring several diving digs and finishing with a Boutwell kill, however, before the Grizzlies scored the next two points as well, with the winner coming from Boutwell again.
Like the first set, Montana had every opportunity to win the third frame. The Grizzlies used an 8-1 run to build a 19-15 advantage and force a Vikings timeout, and held a four-point lead with four points to go at 21-17. Portland State, though, closed the set on an 8-1 run to take a 2-1 match lead.
In a tight fourth set, the two teams were tied six times early on, including at 14-14, before Portland State scored the next six points to put the set out of reach.
"We talked about it earlier this week, that win or lose, we want to have a strong response to the second night," Lawrence said. "This is no different. Tomorrow is a big test to see if our mindset is where it needs to be when we arrive to the gym."
Montana led 17-11 in Set 1, 21-17 in Set 3 and was tied at 14-14 in Set 4.
"It felt like we were in control for a lot of the match today, or at least playing point for point with Portland State," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "We came out and hit our details and created comfortable leads, but several times we allowed Portland State to gain momentum at crucial points in the set."
Oregon natives Madi Chuhlantseff (Salem) and Peyten Boutwell (Lake Oswego) were fantastic in the middle, accounting for 30 of Montana's 53 kills. Chuhlantseff had a career-high 17 kills on .452 hitting, while Boutwell was in double figures for the third consecutive match, tallying 13 on .400 hitting.
"We've been putting a ton of pressure on them in practices and matches for them to be terminal, and I thought today showed the work they've been putting in," Lawrence said. "I'm super proud of them for how they played offensively, and hopefully we can keep building on that, and add blocking to their game as well."Chuhlantseff fights for the kill!#GrizVB #GoGriz #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/O6snzBEsGo
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) March 7, 2021
While Portland State leads the Big Sky for digs, Montana hung with the Vikings, tallying 71 (compared to 76 for Portland State). The total was three shy of a season best, despite playing just four sets. Junior libero Sarina Moreno had 18 digs, including several diving saves, one coming when Montana was facing set point in the second frame.
Five total Grizzlies were in double figures for digs.WHAT A SAVE BY SARINA MORENO🤩#GrizVB #GoGriz #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/8ioKw5FvIK
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) March 7, 2021
One of those players was setter Carly Anderson, who recorded her first career double-double with 44 assists and a career-best 10 digs. In addition to 11 digs and nine kills, sophomore Amethyst Harper had four service aces – including three during a 7-0 run in Set 2 – while Elsa Godwin added three service aces and 11 digs.
Montana opened the match strong, forcing an early Vikings timeout while on top 11-7. The Grizzlies' lead extended to 17-11 before the wheels came off. Portland State scored 10 of the next 12 points to claim a 21-19 advantage. Five of Portland State's 10 points during that run came on Montana errors, as the Vikings came from behind to win the set, 25-22.
The Grizzlies found themselves trailing in Set 2, but flipped the script and took the lead by going on a 7-0 run of their own. Trailing 16-11, Harper put down a kill before going on an impressive serving run that featured three aces. That turned a five-point deficit into a multi-point lead.
The Vikings tied the score at 20-20, and again over the next several points with the two teams alternating points. The Grizzlies had a set-point opportunity at 24-23, but failed to convert. They had another chance at 25-24 before Portland State got a kill and an error to set up a Vikings set point.Another one 👀 Harper's third ace of the day!#GrizVB #GoGriz #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/VfquAff7Cd
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) March 7, 2021
Montana won the ensuing extended rally, featuring several diving digs and finishing with a Boutwell kill, however, before the Grizzlies scored the next two points as well, with the winner coming from Boutwell again.
"It felt good to get that win, especially the way we did it," Lawrence said. "It felt like that was a swing point and unfortunately we couldn't fully capitalize on it."Boutwell hammers it down! 🔨#GrizVB #GoGriz #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/1QXW5m9IJ2
— Montana Griz VB (@MontanaGrizVB) March 7, 2021
Like the first set, Montana had every opportunity to win the third frame. The Grizzlies used an 8-1 run to build a 19-15 advantage and force a Vikings timeout, and held a four-point lead with four points to go at 21-17. Portland State, though, closed the set on an 8-1 run to take a 2-1 match lead.
In a tight fourth set, the two teams were tied six times early on, including at 14-14, before Portland State scored the next six points to put the set out of reach.
"We talked about it earlier this week, that win or lose, we want to have a strong response to the second night," Lawrence said. "This is no different. Tomorrow is a big test to see if our mindset is where it needs to be when we arrive to the gym."
Team Stats
UM
PSU
Kills
53
65
Errors
20
22
Attempts
165
168
Hitting %
.200
.256
Points
67.0
80.0
Assists
49
59
Aces
8
8
Blocks
6.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
4
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
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/ VolleyballMB
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/ VolleyballOH
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