Cats Go Distance with No. 1 Seed

Friday, November 19

Ogden, UT

7 p.m.

Montana State University

15-14,10-6Big Sky

Weber State

20-8,14-3Big Sky

Montana St.

Weber St.

Photo by: Big Sky Conference

11/20/2021 8:44:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Montana State pushed No. 1 seed Weber State to the brink before dropping a 25-20, 25-27, 25-14, 22-25, 15-12 decision to the Wildcats in semifinal action of the Big Sky Conference Tournament on Friday night in Swenson Gym.

By: Tom Schulz

MSU-WSU BOXSCORE

Montana State pushed No. 1 seed Weber State to the brink before dropping a 25-20, 25-27, 25-14, 22-25, 15-12 decision to the Wildcats in semifinal action of the Big Sky Conference Tournament on Friday night in Swenson Gym.

Montana State (15-14), who entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed, held an 11-10 lead in the fifth and deciding set, before Weber State (20-8) rattled off three straight points. An Avery Turnage kill pulled MSU to within 13-12, but WSU closed out the match with two consecutive blocks. The fifth set featured ten ties and three lead changes as the Bobcats went toe-to-toe with the regular season champions.

"It was a match worthy of the semifinals," said MSU head coach Daniel Jones. "It was two passionate teams fighting tooth and nail for every single point. It's a lot of fun to play in matches like that.

"I'm incredibly proud of the way our team handle themselves in this tournament," Jones added. "Weber State poured the pressure on and I thought our serve-receive was outstanding. When they put the pressure on, our responses were everything we could've hoped for. But in the end, it's a heartbreaker."

In all, the five-set match was tied on 39 occasions, and except for set three, each game was close throughout.

Weber State held a 21-19 lead in the opening set and finished on a 4-1 run to take an early 1-0 advantage.

Montana State tied the match at one-all as the Bobcats fought off set point at 25-24 and used a block from Emma Pence and Kira Thomsen, coupled with a Weber State net violation for the win.
The only lopsided set happened in the third frame as the Wildcats outhit MSU .441 to .097 to take a 2-1 lead.

The Bobcats regained the momentum in the set four jumping out to a 15-9 advantage at the media timeout. MSU held a late three-point lead before the Wildcats closed the gap to 23-22 on a Dani Nay kill. MSU wasn't to be denied however, as Thomsen and Jourdain Klein closed out the set on back-to-backkills to force the fifth set.

"Our team has no quit," Jones said. "We talked all year about being fearless. And we played our most fearless volleyball at the tournament. We'll look at that as a foundational building block of what Bobcat volleyball is going to be about for years to come."

Senior Hannah Scott led MSU with a team-high 17 kills, while adding 17 digs. Also posting double figure kills were Thomsen 15 and Jordan Radick 10. Radick, a Bozeman native who was the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year, led the Bobcats with a .450 attack mark.

Defensively, MSU had five players in double digit digs, paced by Courtney Weatherby with 21. Also hitting double figure saves were Thomsen 18, Allie Lynch 16 and Delaney Shearan 11. Lynch and Shearan dished out 31 and 28 assists, respectively.

Pence guided the Bobcats at the net with a team-high five blocks.

"Hannah was huge for us tonight," Jones said. "She carried a heavy load, not only offensively, but from a serve-receive standpoint. All four of our seniors have left a massive legacy."

Rylin Adams led Weber State with 25 kills and 15 digs.