Thursday, October 8
BOZEMAN
7 p.m.
Montana State University
3-10, 1-4BSC
0
vs
3
Southern Utah
11-7, 2-3BSC
1
2
3
F
Southern Utah
25
25
25
3
Montana State
21
19
19
0
Natalee Godfrey had 12 kills and hit .750 against Southern Utah on Thursday night.
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
T-Birds Soar past Bobcats
10/8/2015 9:23:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
“Natalee had a great match-up and really did a nice job converting when the opportunity came along,” said MSU head coach JJ Riley. “She’s explosive, dynamic and aggressive and she just played to her strengths.”
Montana State middle blocker Natalee Godfrey had one of the best hitting efforts in Bobcat volleyball history, but it wasn't enough to stop Southern Utah's high-octane offense as the Thunderbirds roared past MSU 25-21, 25-19, 25-19, Thursday night in Shroyer Gym.
Godfrey, a 6-1 product of Eugene, Oregon, recorded a match-high 12 kills without committing an error on 16 swings to post a .750 attack mark. She narrowly missed the school mark of .824 (14-0-17) set by Cori Carper in 1996.
"Natalee had a great match-up and really did a nice job converting when the opportunity came along," said MSU head coach JJ Riley. "She's explosive, dynamic and aggressive and she just played to her strengths."
On the other side of the net, Montana State (3-10, 1-4) had a tough time slowing down the Southern Utah (11-7, 2-3) offense. The T-Birds out-hit the Bobcats .522 to .302 and finished the opening stanza without a hitting miscue.
The second set was much of the same as the Thunderbirds used a .273 attack and a sizeable margin in blocking to take a 2-0 advantage into intermission.
"Our blocking wasn't there," Riley said. "We're going to have to make some changes as a coaching staff to help them out."
MSU was able to come out in the final set, taking an 8-5 lead following a Loni Kreun kill. The Bobcats held a 13-11 advantage on another Kreun winner, but SUU answered with a 4-1 run to take its first lead. With the score even at 15-all, the T-Birds rattled off five unanswered points and never looked back.
"We need to do a better job with the small details," Riley said. "We can't let balls we can dig hit the floor and we need to take more responsibility as individual players. We need to clean up some areas."
Aside from Godfrey's effort, also in double-figure kills for Montana State were Kreun and Natalie Passeck with 12 and ten kills, respectively. Passeck, a freshman from Parker, Colorado, recorded her team-leading sixth double-double of the season by adding ten digs.
Defensively, the Bobcats were paced by Kasey Altman with 14 saves. Senior setter Katie Harrington dished out 43 assists.
SUU was led by Taylor Heine with 11 kills and a .786 attack mark.
MSU will host Northern Arizona on Saturday at 12 p.m. in Shroyer Gym.
Godfrey, a 6-1 product of Eugene, Oregon, recorded a match-high 12 kills without committing an error on 16 swings to post a .750 attack mark. She narrowly missed the school mark of .824 (14-0-17) set by Cori Carper in 1996.
"Natalee had a great match-up and really did a nice job converting when the opportunity came along," said MSU head coach JJ Riley. "She's explosive, dynamic and aggressive and she just played to her strengths."
On the other side of the net, Montana State (3-10, 1-4) had a tough time slowing down the Southern Utah (11-7, 2-3) offense. The T-Birds out-hit the Bobcats .522 to .302 and finished the opening stanza without a hitting miscue.
The second set was much of the same as the Thunderbirds used a .273 attack and a sizeable margin in blocking to take a 2-0 advantage into intermission.
"Our blocking wasn't there," Riley said. "We're going to have to make some changes as a coaching staff to help them out."
MSU was able to come out in the final set, taking an 8-5 lead following a Loni Kreun kill. The Bobcats held a 13-11 advantage on another Kreun winner, but SUU answered with a 4-1 run to take its first lead. With the score even at 15-all, the T-Birds rattled off five unanswered points and never looked back.
"We need to do a better job with the small details," Riley said. "We can't let balls we can dig hit the floor and we need to take more responsibility as individual players. We need to clean up some areas."
Aside from Godfrey's effort, also in double-figure kills for Montana State were Kreun and Natalie Passeck with 12 and ten kills, respectively. Passeck, a freshman from Parker, Colorado, recorded her team-leading sixth double-double of the season by adding ten digs.
Defensively, the Bobcats were paced by Kasey Altman with 14 saves. Senior setter Katie Harrington dished out 43 assists.
SUU was led by Taylor Heine with 11 kills and a .786 attack mark.
MSU will host Northern Arizona on Saturday at 12 p.m. in Shroyer Gym.
Team Stats
SOUTHE~1
MSU
Kills
43
46
Errors
6
20
Attempts
94
105
Hitting %
.394
.248
Points
58.0
48.0
Assists
38
45
Aces
3
0
Blocks
12.0
2.0
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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Bobcat Classic: Arkansas vs. Utah State
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