Saturday, October 5
BOZEMAN
7 p.m.
Montana State University
6-6
3
vs
0
Eastern Washington
2-14
1
2
3
F
Eastern Wash.
14
25
17
0
Montana St.
25
27
25
3
Freshman Kira Thomsen had a match-high 13 kills against Eastern Washington.
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcats Clip Eagles
10/5/2019 10:31:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Montana State used a strong opening set before grinding out sets two and three, en route to a 25-14, 27-25, 25-17 win over Eastern Washington on Saturday night in Shroyer Gym.
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State used a strong opening set before grinding out sets two and three, en route to a 25-14, 27-25, 25-17 win over Eastern Washington on Saturday night in Shroyer Gym.
Montana State (7-6, 3-1) out-hit Eastern Washington (2-14, 0-4) .345 to .000 in the opening frame, siding-out at an impressive 86 percent.
The Eagles used a 10-2 run in the second game to take a 14-9 advantage. The Bobcats answered with seven straight points behind the serving of Lexi Goroski to go up 16-14. Both teams traded points down the stretch as Eastern Washington fought off four set points before a block by Hannah Scott and Kelsie White gave MSU a 2-0 lead heading into intermission.
At 15-all in the final set, MSU three unanswered points to get the cushion it needed, before winning the match on an EWU hitting error.
"I'm really happy with how we came out of the gates strong," said MSU head coach Daniel Jones. "I think it was inevitable that Eastern Washington pushed back pretty hard in that second set and I was proud of the team for the way they handled the pressure in that moment. We responded at the right times.
"In the third set we went with the double substitution with Sydney (Mathison) and Hailey (Merkes) and I think that changed the look and gave us the little boost we needed," Jones added. "I know I can go to Sydney and Hailey at any point for those things and I'm really happy for the way they responded to their opportunity."
Thomsen finished with a match-high 13 kills and hit .333 from the field. Evi Wilson also hit double-digit kills with ten. It marked the eighth consecutive match in which she has reached double-figure kills.
"Kira really found her range," Jones said. "We've been challenging her a lot of what she's been doing and if she can continue to develop, we're going to be in a good situation come the end of October, early November."
Hannah Scott also had a strong performance for the Bobcats posting nine kills and a match-high .400 attack mark. Setter Allie Lynch dished out 31 assists and added five digs to spark the Bobcats offense, as well.
Defensively, Allyssa Rizzo led all players with 19 digs, while White recorded a season-high eight blocks.
"Eight blocks in a three-set match is huge," Jones said. "Kelsie works so hard and it's great when they get dividends for the work they do."
Eastern Washington was paced by Ashlyn Blotzer with nine kills and two blocks.
MSU will play at Northern Arizona on Thursday, Oct. 10 in Flagstaff.
Montana State (7-6, 3-1) out-hit Eastern Washington (2-14, 0-4) .345 to .000 in the opening frame, siding-out at an impressive 86 percent.
The Eagles used a 10-2 run in the second game to take a 14-9 advantage. The Bobcats answered with seven straight points behind the serving of Lexi Goroski to go up 16-14. Both teams traded points down the stretch as Eastern Washington fought off four set points before a block by Hannah Scott and Kelsie White gave MSU a 2-0 lead heading into intermission.
At 15-all in the final set, MSU three unanswered points to get the cushion it needed, before winning the match on an EWU hitting error.
"I'm really happy with how we came out of the gates strong," said MSU head coach Daniel Jones. "I think it was inevitable that Eastern Washington pushed back pretty hard in that second set and I was proud of the team for the way they handled the pressure in that moment. We responded at the right times.
"In the third set we went with the double substitution with Sydney (Mathison) and Hailey (Merkes) and I think that changed the look and gave us the little boost we needed," Jones added. "I know I can go to Sydney and Hailey at any point for those things and I'm really happy for the way they responded to their opportunity."
Thomsen finished with a match-high 13 kills and hit .333 from the field. Evi Wilson also hit double-digit kills with ten. It marked the eighth consecutive match in which she has reached double-figure kills.
"Kira really found her range," Jones said. "We've been challenging her a lot of what she's been doing and if she can continue to develop, we're going to be in a good situation come the end of October, early November."
Hannah Scott also had a strong performance for the Bobcats posting nine kills and a match-high .400 attack mark. Setter Allie Lynch dished out 31 assists and added five digs to spark the Bobcats offense, as well.
Defensively, Allyssa Rizzo led all players with 19 digs, while White recorded a season-high eight blocks.
"Eight blocks in a three-set match is huge," Jones said. "Kelsie works so hard and it's great when they get dividends for the work they do."
Eastern Washington was paced by Ashlyn Blotzer with nine kills and two blocks.
MSU will play at Northern Arizona on Thursday, Oct. 10 in Flagstaff.
Team Stats
EWU
MSU
Kills
33
44
Errors
22
13
Attempts
113
111
Hitting %
.097
.279
Points
43
53
Assists
31
40
Aces
3
1
Blocks
7
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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