Grizzlies end road trip with four-set loss to DePaul

Saturday, September 2

Buffalo, N.Y.

9 AM (MT)

Montana

1-5,0-0Big Sky

DePaul

2-3,0-0Big East

DePaul

Montana

Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UBBulls.com

Grizzlies end road trip with four-set loss to DePaul

9/2/2023 1:21:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana volleyball closed out the Buffalo Invite with a four-set loss to DePaul on Saturday morning. The loss (25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 25-16) drops Montana to 1-5 overall on the season.

The early sets looked to be favoring Montana, as they didn't trail for the first 38 points of the first set and the first 30 points of the second set. But similar to Friday night's loss to Buffalo, some unforced errors proved costly to Montana.

Maddie Kremer led the offensive attack with a new career high in kills. Her 15 came on a .191 hitting percentage. Ellie Scherffius and Catie Semadeni each finished with 10 kills on better than .300 hitting.

Carly Anderson was selected to the All-Tournament team following the match. She had 40 assists in the loss, and had a 50-plus assist match in the tournament opening win against Binghamton.

The Grizzlies jumped out quick, taking an early 5-2 lead. They rode a strong defensive performance in the first half to a 10-6 lead. Montana later rattled off a 3-0 run, again relying on a strong defense. Montana had a 17-13 lead while hitting .214. At the time, they had held DePaul to just a .125 percentage.

The Blue Demons started to shift the momentum. They tied the match up at 18-all, and later took their first lead of the match at 20-19. The run would continue, as the Blue Demons scored six straight points to take a 24-19 lead that helped them see out the set.

Montana dropped to just a .050 hitting percentage, while DePaul ended up at .214. The Grizzlies had five total blocks, but couldn't find an offensive rhythm in the set loss.

It was a similar start in the second set. Montana used an early 3-0 run to take a 7-4 lead. They did so behind the arm of Maddie Kremer, who had three early kills in the set as Montana jumped out to a 9-5 lead.

The momentum would shift again, as DePaul scored five out of six points to tie the set at 10-all. Kremer's sixth kill of the set put the Grizzlies ahead 15-14. DePaul scored two straight to take their first lead of the set at 16-15.

This time, Montana fought back. A Sarah Ashley ace gave Montana a 19-17 lead, which was the first multi-point lead for either team since it was 10-8 Montana.

Madi Chuhlantseff had a clutch kill to give the Grizzlies the 23-22 edge, and the defense closed it out with a block from Kremer and Chuhlantseff to tie the match up at one set apiece.

Chuhlantseff and Kremer combine for the final block to end the second set! Griz lead in blocks 7.0-4.0 through two.#GrizVB | #BigSkyVB | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/EqTgzymBEK
— Montana Griz Volleyball (@MontanaGrizVB) September 2, 2023

DePaul figured out the start in the third set, leading most of the way and forcing a Montana timeout after a 3-0 run extended the Blue Demon lead to 13-9. The Grizzlies were outhitting the Blue Demons .263-to-.188, but a four-point swing at service line plus ball handling error on Montana made up the difference.

The timeout gave Montana a chance to adjust, and they went on a 5-0 run out of it. Anderson had her lone kill of the match, then Kremer ripped a kill and Clark followed it with an ace to take a 14-13 lead.

The Blue Demons closed out the set strong again. This time, they took 10 of the final 15 points on their way to a 25-20 win.

The final set was all Blue Demons, as they scored nine out of 10 points and had a 5-0 run to jump ahead 11-3. Montana were never able to get back within six points in the closing set.

Alexis Batezel led Montana with 14 digs. Chuhlantseff, Scherffius, and Semadeni each finished with three blocks as Montana finished with 11 as a team.

The Grizzlies will be back in action in North Dakota next weekend. They will take on Green Bay, New Mexico, and North Dakota over the three-day tournament.