Cats Ride Roller Coaster in Five-Set Thriller

Thursday, October 21

Flagstaff, AZ

7:30 p.m.

Montana State University

10-10,6-3Big Sky

Northern Arizona

7-11,5-4Big Sky

Montana St.

Northern Ariz.

10/21/2021 11:02:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Tom Schulz

Montana State took a ride on the volleyball roller coaster and for the second time in seven tries, came out on the winning end of a five-set match handing Northern Arizona a 25-18, 23-25, 25-18, 13-25, 15-11 setback in the Rolle Activity Center on Thursday night.

The victory was MSU's second straight in Flagstaff, a milestone that hadn't been accomplished since Miya Malauulu-led Bobcat squads took wins in 2005 and 2006 in the RAC.

"I'm really proud of our effort," said MSU head coach Daniel Jones. "Coming back from set four was a challenge, but we got the match-ups we needed and got the ball to the right people at the right moments, and that's credit to our setters."

Montana State (10-10, 6-3) broke away from a 16-15 lead in the opening set with a 6-2 run sparked by a pair of blocks by Emma Pence and Jourdain Klein. The Bobcats closed out the set on a Pence kill.

Northern Arizona (7-11, 5-4) used a 6-2 run of their own in the later stages of the second game, rallying from a 19-17 deficit and turning it into a 23-21 advantage. Following a Bobcat timeout, MSU evened the score at 23-all on a Hannah Scott kill. The Lumberjacks took the set following a Montana State service error and a NAU ace.

Set three was all MSU as the Bobcats outhit the Lumberjacks .289 to .226. Scott posted five kills in the frame, while Klein and Kira Thomsen added four, apiece.

Northern Arizona used a bevy of Bobcat bobbles in set four to cruise to the win, outhitting MSU .393 to .100, forcing a fifth and deciding contest.

"We passed really well in the first three sets, and then we had a communication breakdown," Jones said. "We also did a nice job with our block, but NAU made some nice adjustments in set four and really took advantage of our errors."

Jordan Radick, a freshman from Bozeman, got MSU off to a solid start in the fifth frame posting three kills and a solo block as the Bobcats took an 8-6 lead. With the set tied nine-all, a Thomsen kill, followed by a Klein tip and a Pence kill gave Montana State the cushion it needed to close out the match on a Delaney Shearan ace.

"It took the entire team to win this match," Jones said. "We've said all year it's going to take everyone, and we really got some key performances from kids coming off the bench."

Thomsen paced MSU with a team-high 17 kills, while Scott and Klein added 14 kills. Klein, a product of Ennis, matched her career-high kill output and added seven digs, six blocks and three aces, while posting a .333 attack mark.

Pence finished with nine kills and five blocks, while Radick chipped in six kills and five blocks from the middle, as well.

Setters Allie Lynch, Shearan and Audrey Hofer each reached double-figure assists, while Libby Christensen anchored the backrow with 25 digs. Thomsen finished with 16 digs, while Scott added 12 to post double-double efforts.

Northern Arizona was led by Ryann Davis and Morgan Gappmeyer with 13 kills, apiece.

MSU plays at Southern Utah on Saturday at 12 p.m. in Cedar City.