Montana State University
Eastern Washington
Montana State Spikers End Big Sky Conference Drought at Home
9/18/2010 10:20:02 PM | Women's Volleyball
The last time a Montana State volleyball team won a Big Sky Conference match in Shroyer Gym was Oct. 26, 2006 in a 3-1 decision over Northern Arizona.
The last time a Montana State volleyball team won a Big Sky Conference match in Shroyer Gym was Oct. 26, 2006 in a 3-1 decision over Northern Arizona.
The Bobcats finally rid itself of the league demons with an 18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 win over Eastern Washington, Saturday night in Shroyer Gym.
“It was a good win in front of a great crowd,” said MSU head coach Sara Schaub. “I thought we really fed off their energy and they really helped push this team forward.”
In the opening set, Montana State (6-6, 1-1) was suffering a hangover from its loss to Portland State on Friday night. The Bobcats found themselves down to Eastern Washington (1-10, 0-2) 21-11, but finished on a 7-4 run despite eventually dropping the set.
“We didn't come out focused and ready to play,” Schaub said. “However, the way we played at the end of the first set really set the tone for the rest of the match.”
In the second set, MSU broke away from a 19-all tie with three straight points, including two kills from freshman Sarah Horton. EWU closed to within 24-23, before a Jennifer Lundquist kill tied the match heading into intermission.
“We changed things up in the second set and Jennifer Lundquist came in to run the offense,” Schaub said. “It wasn't that Mackenzi (Campbell) was doing anything wrong, we just needed to mix things up.”
In the third stanza, Eastern Washington held a 17-14 advantage following a MSU attack error. The Bobcats responded with an 8-1 run to take a 22-18 lead on an Eagle miscue. Montana State won the set on another EWU hitting mistake.
“I thought we did a nice job serving tough and making them somewhat predictable,” Schaub said. “Our block finally established itself and we were disciplined on defense.”
In the final set, MSU broke away from a 20-all tie with three consecutive points on a Horton kill and two EWU hitting errors. The Eagles closed to within 24-23, but a Rachelle Allen kill gave the Bobcats the win.
“We stayed aggressive with our offense,” Schaub said. “And, that's a big change from the last two weeks.”
Horton and Allen paced MSU with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Allen posted her seventh double-double with a career-high 20 digs.
Lundquist finished the match with 33 assists, five kills and seven digs. Senior libero Meghan Albiston also hits double-digit saves with 17 digs.
MSU was led at the net by Alex Penewell and Chelsea Oemcke with five blocks apiece
