Eagles topple Griz

Saturday, October 12

Missoula, Mont.

7:00 PM

Montana

6-11,1-5Big Sky

Eastern Washington

7-8,3-2Big Sky

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Eastern Wash.	25	26	25	3
Montana	19	24	23	0

Photo by: Ella Palulis/University of Montana

10/12/2024 9:45:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana played competitively against Eastern Washington on Saturday night in front of a large crowd inside Dahlberg Arena, but the Griz lost a pair of two-point sets in heartbreaking fashion to fall in three to the Eagles.

The Griz were coming off a dominant win over Idaho on Thursday, but couldn't get the offense rolling in the same way on Saturday. Montana was held to .116 hitting as Eastern Washington's defense, which ranked 31^st nationally in blocks coming into the night, cause problems for the Griz.

Montana (6-11, 1-5 Big Sky) played well in sets two and three, holding a six-point advantage late in the second and putting together a furious rally in the third to nearly extend the match. But the efforts came up excruciatingly short for Montana.

"Eastern had a phenomenal weekend," head coach Allison Lawrence said. "They played really well on Thursday and we knew it would be a tight match. I think it's frustrating to be in these sets like the second where we're creating some gaps in the score and some leads, and then that's when our execution is falling off where teams are able to storm back where we have momentum and then there's a quick flip, and suddenly we are fighting to get back in it again."

The crowd of 1,046 was the largest for Montana in a match outside of a Griz-Cat rivalry game since 1995.

Maddie Kremer led with 12 kills on a team-best .186 hitting. Alexis Batezel had a team-high 18 digs and Maddie Pyles also reached double figures with 14 digs as Montana had a 60-57 advantage in that category.

Eastern Washington (7-8, 3-2 Big Sky) took control early in the match, scoring five of the first six points and leading for a majority of the first. They had a big advantage early, hitting .500 and holding Montana in the negatives to get out ahead 17-8.

Montana rallied right back, going on a 4-0 scoring run with Paige Clark at the service line line to make it 19-13. The Griz pulled within four down the stretch but would fall in the opener 25-19.

The Griz picked up some momentum down the stretch, bringing the hitting percentage all the way back to .162.

The Eagles jumped ahead 9-6 in the second with both offenses playing well, hitting in the .200s early. Montana, with Clark at the service line again, reeled off five straight points to take its first lead of the match at 11-10.

They put together another 5-0 run, scoring 10 out of 11 possible points, to take a commanding lead at 17-11. Batezel was on the service line for the second run and got the Eagles out of position, which allowed Pyles to deliver a couple of kills.

The Griz would lead 21-15 late, but Eastern Washington responded with a 5-0 run to make it 21-20. Montana went ahead again 22-20, but four straight Eagles points gave them multiple set points.

Clark had a kill and Casi Newman had a service ace to tie it up at 24-all, but Eastern Washington scored the final two points to complete the comeback.

"There were so many good things that happened, and I think the fact that we're having breakdowns when we're ahead is really frustrating," Lawrence said. "It's on me to figure out how to work through it in practice because we're creating leads but not able to close them out."

The teams went back-and-forth early on in the third, and Montana had a 13-10 lead midway through. Eastern Washington responded with four straight points to force a Grizzly timeout. The Eagles scored seven out of eight points to take a 17-14 lead, and they continued that all the way up to 24-19.

Backs against the wall, Montana responded with Pyles at the service line. They scored five straight points to make it 24-23, pushing Eastern Washington to the brink. But the comeback came up one point short as the Eagles finished it off 25-23.

"We've shown great ability to execute point-after-point when our backs are against the wall in the most dramatic fashion," Lawrence said. "It shows our ability to execute under pressure, but I think it's the pressure of finishing when we are ahead, the pressure of, OK we have to win, I think that's the piece that we've got to push through. It's all great things that are there, but the last piece of the puzzle is putting together the complete set."

Montana hits the road next week to play Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado. It will be the only meeting between the Griz and Lumberjacks, who have started league play 0-5. The Griz then get a rematch against Northern Colorado after losing 3-1 at home previously.

"We've got a big week ahead. We have the choice to keep resetting and holding the mentality that we can create any outcome in any given match and any outcome for the rest of the season," Lawrence said. "I think those things require a lot of courage, humility, and the ability to keep learning. I think we have a group that wants those things and I know we will get back to it on practice Monday and figure it out."