Montana fall in four to undefeated Buffalo

Friday, September 1

Buffalo, NY

4 PM (MT)

Montana

1-4,0-0Big Sky

Buffalo

5-0,0-0MAC

Montana

Buffalo

Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UBBulls.com

9/1/2023 6:55:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

An undefeated Buffalo team, playing in front of its home crowd, proved too much for the Montana volleyball team on Friday night in New York. The Bulls improved to 5-0 with a four-set win (25-14, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20), dropping the Grizzlies to 1-4.

The Grizzlies couldn't slow down a strong offensive performance by Buffalo, who hit .345 in the match. Montana showed moments where they were the aggressor, and a team that was ready to take down a big-time opponent, but too often ended their own momentum with mistakes.

Montana had 21 errors in the attack and 10 service errors. It made things frustrating for head coach Allison Lawrence, but she still had pride for the way her team competed with a Buffalo squad that has nine seniors and should compete for a MAC title this year.

"It definitely felt like there were stretches where we were the aggressor and we were getting them out of system with tough serving," Lawrence said. "We were holding out blocking structure and having great defensive effort and fighting to be physical on all sides of the ball.

"I think when that happened we gained a lot of confidence tonight just by feeling like we could control things and grab momentum. I think the frustrating part is that it felt like there were a lot of moments where we generated our own momentum and then stopped it. Either with a miscommunication, an error, or a lapse in structure."

Gallery: (9-2-2023) VB: at Buffalo (9.1.23)

The offense found its rhythm in the match and hit .215 overall. They were particularly strong in the second and third sets, hitting well over .300 in each to put the pressure on Buffalo. The pieces all clicked in the third-set win, when Montana hit .333 and also had four aces at the service line, putting the pressure on the Bulls.

But in some key moments when Montana needed a rally or some momentum, they faltered through unforced errors. When you're playing a team as good as Buffalo, or Pitt, or BYU, there is small room for error. There were plenty of signs of improvement from last weekend, which means the difficult scheduling is working.

"Our execution of our own game is kind of the story of us right now against good teams," Lawrence said. "It's what we wanted, and it's what we have to learn this preseason. We're being put in the exact position that we want to be put in going toward conference and we're learning how to work out of it. I think tonight we were better than yesterday, and definitely better than last weekend. The growth is happening."

In the opening set the teams traded points early before an 8-3 Buffalo run opened things up. The hosts hit .440 in the first set with four aces at the service line. Montana couldn't keep up with the firepower.

It looked like there may have been more of the same in the second. The Bulls had an early 5-0 run to take a big lead, but this time Montana weathered the storm. The Grizzlies rallied back with four straight points to take a 6-5 lead.

The balance and depth of the Grizzlies was on display. Early in the second set Montana had 17 kills, and it came from six different players. Five Grizzlies had three kills and another had two, and it kept the Buffalo defense off balance. The Grizzlies had a few 3-0 runs and went up 16-14 later in the set.

That's when Buffalo took over. They rallied off five straight points that forced a Montana timeout, but the Grizzlies couldn't respond. The run eventually extended to 9-1 and helped them close out the set 25-20.

Madi Chuhlantseff helped Montana rally a late comeback with two kills down the stretch, and Catie Semadeni also had four kills on .600 hitting in the set. Chuhlantseff ended with 10 kills on .368 hitting. The difference in the set was at the service line, where Buffalo had four more aces than Montana to gain an edge despite similar offensive numbers.

The third set showed how good Montana can be when serving aggressively and getting into system. It still proved a battle against Buffalo, who took a late lead at 18-17 and were on the verge of closing out a sweep.

Montana wouldn't go away, and a marathon point that ended with a Paige Clark kill gave Montana a lead that they wouldn't relinquish. Once again, Chuhlantseff played clutch down the stretch with a pair of kills that helped build the lead to 24-21, and Montana would see it out with a 25-23 set win.

WHAT. A. POINT.

Griz take the late lead in the third set with this marathon point, ended with Paige Clark's 10th kill!#GrizVB | #BigSkyVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/MOsUOQA1rb
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 1, 2023

The teams had identical .333 hitting percentages in the third set, but the tipping points came in the service game. The Grizzlies had four aces to the Bulls' one.

"The moments where we could serve in ways where we limited their options we were able to either dig to convert or extend rallies enough to feel like we could create some advantages for our side," Lawrence said. "When we took our foot off the gas pedal or got in our own way with errors or anything like that, then they were too physical and would take advantage."

The Bulls had a big response in the fourth set, claiming the first seven points to bury Montana in a deep hole. Montana ended the rally, and Clark went to the service line to rally off four straight points, but Buffalo answered yet again with five in a row to make it 12-4.

When things looked to be over for Montana, they rallied yet again. They scored four out of five points, and then later in the set took six out of seven to cut the lead all the way down to 17-14. A key part to the run was the play of Carly Anderson, who had one of her five kills in the match during the stretch. It was also her ace that got Montana within three.

A Chuhlantseff kill brought Motnana within two, but that was as close as they would come. They faced the deficit at several points, the latest at 22-20, but just didn't have enough to pull off the comeback.

Clark's 11 kills led the way followed by Chuhlantseff with 10. Anderson had 37 assists and 10 digs for a double-double, and also pitched in five kills. Ellie Scherrfius had an efficient night with seven kills on .583 hitting and four blocks.

Chuh-Chuh!🚂

Big swing up the middle from Madi Chuhlantseff. Griz hanging tough in the third.#GrizVB | #BigSkyVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/OFSnW9Gc9E
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 1, 2023

The signs were certainly there that Montana has the pieces to be competitive in Big Sky play. They will get another chance at a win on Saturday morning against DePaul. The Big East team picked up their first win of the season in four sets against Binghamton earlier on Friday.

"It was such a fun match to feel like the momentum was swinging and it was a really exciting match when we were in it," Lawrence said. "I feel like we are getting better every match."