Bears Tree Cats

Saturday, October 14

BOZEMAN

7 p.m.

Montana State University

6-11, 2-6Big Sky

Northern Colorado

11-10, 4-4Big Sky

Northern Colorado

Montana State

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

10/14/2017 9:22:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Northern Colorado used a scrappy defense and missed opportunities by the Bobcats to sweep MSU 25-19, 25-22, 25-19, Saturday night in Shroyer Gym.

By: Tom Schulz

Montana State started great in all three sets. Unfortunately, as any coach will tell you, it's not how you start but how you finish that matters most. Northern Colorado used a scrappy defense and missed opportunities by the Bobcats to sweep MSU 25-19, 25-22, 25-19, Saturday night in Shroyer Gym.

Montana State (6-11, 2-6) got out to an early 4-1 advantage in the opening set only to see Northern Colorado (11-10, 4-4) answer with a 6-2 run to take the lead. Trailing 15-14 at the midway mark, the Bobcats gave up a 7-2 run and the Bears cruised to the win.

MSU played its best ball in the second frame getting out to a 13-8 advantage following kill by senior Kiana Black. A Natalie Passeck winner gave MSU a 15-11 cushion and a UNC ball-handling error saw the Bobcats hold a 21-18 margin before a Bear timeout. UNC responded with a 7-1 run to close out the set and enter intermission with a 2-0 lead.

MSU jumped out to a 6-2 lead following the break as the Bobcats posted four kills. Following a Northern Colorado timeout, the Bears rattled off an 11-3 run and surged to the victory.

"UNC played a nice game and put us under a lot of pressure," said MSU head coach Daniel Jones. "And, we were not able to respond. The challenge for us is not to give up the big runs. We're right there in it, and then we have lapses in concentration and attention to detail. We've got to figure it out. We're making life really difficult for ourselves.

"We're working hard on self-belief and we're working hard to instill it," Jones said. "The girls are working hard to have it. It's just a challenge when you give up those runs to keep believing and pushing through it."

Passeck paced the Bobcats with nine kills, while Hannah Scott added eight. Defensively, sophomore libero Allyssa Rizzo posted a match-high 22 digs, while Passeck and Scott added 11 and ten, respectively. Savannah Laws and Black guided the Cats at the net with four blocks, apiece.

The Bobcats will host Northern Arizona next Thursday night in Shroyer Gym.