Bobcats Resilient Winning First Main Line Trophy

Sunday, February 14

Missoula, Mont.

4 p.m.

Montana State University

3-2,3-2Big Sky

Montana

1-6,1-6Big Sky

Montana St.

Montana

Kira Thomsen posted 18 kills, a .324 attack mark, eight digs and four blocks to spark the Bobcats to a 3-2 win over Montana and a first ever Main Line Trophy victory.

2/14/2021 9:19:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Tom Schulz

Playing for the first ever Main Line Trophy, the Montana State volleyball team overcame match point to post a 21-25, 25-23, 25-9, 20-25, 17-15 victory over Montana on Sunday evening in Dahlberg Arena.

Montana State (3-2, 3-2) took a while to settle in as Montana (1-6, 1-6) jumped out to an early 11-7 advantage. MSU responded with a Kira Thomsen kill to even the set at 13-all, but the Grizzlies answered with a 6-1 run and maintained its lead winning the opening frame on a Peyten Boutwell kill.

"We were pretty locked in at that start of the match and I think that made us a little too tense," said MSU head coach Daniel Jones. "For a lot of our kids, its was their first Cat-Griz match and it took a few sets to start handling the pressure this rivalry brings."

The second set was a mirror of the first, but it was the Bobcats that pulled away at the midway mark, eventually taking a 20-15 lead on an ace by Shayla Webber. Montana fought off two set points before a UM service error gave the Bobcats the win.

It was all Montana State in the third game as the Bobcats steam-rolled Montana outhitting the Grizzlies .435 to -.125, en route to a 25-9 victory. Emma Pence tapped down a UM overpass to give MSU a 2-1 advantage in the match.

"I really liked how we handled the third set," Jones said. "We built a good lead and never let up. I thought Kira really stepped-up and sparked our 10-0 run. She really came up huge in the match."

Montana used strong serving in the fourth set breaking away from 12-all with an 8-0 run, sparked by four aces via Sarah Ashley. UM closed out the set on a Bobcat service error.

"Serving was a big part of the match," Jones said. "They did a nice job in the fourth set getting us out of system."

The final set was representative of a rivalry Montana State led 58-57 heading into the match. With 12 ties and seven lead changes, each team held match point. Following a Montana hitting error, the Bobcats went up 14-13, but the Grizzlies responded with two points on a MSU service error and a UM block. MSU tied the set on a Pence block and went up 16-15 on another Montana miscue.
Bobcat setter Allie Lynch served match point and after two scramble plays, MSU's Hailey Merkes hit a cross-court down ball that shanked off a UM defender, giving Montana State its second straight win in Dahlberg Arena.

"We didn't play as clean as we wanted," Jones said. "But, any Cat-Griz win is a good win. We were scrappy when we needed to be, and we made some smart shots in pressure situations. This game can come down to inches and we were resilient enough to get the win."

Thomsen led the Bobcats with 18 kills, a .324 attack mark, eight digs and four blocks. Scott also hit double-digits with 12 kills, while hitting .242. Sovde, who made a key defensive save on the final play of the match, finished with seven kills and a .583 attack, while Merkes ended with seven kills, including the match winning shot. Pence, who entered the match as the Big Sky's Offensive Player of the Week, finished with nine kills and four blocks.

MSU's setting tandem of Delaney Shearan and Lynch dished out 28 and 14 assists, respectively.

Defensively, Alexis Goroski posted a match and career-high 27 digs, while adding two aces.

Montana was led by Boutwell with 18 kills.

The two rivals will face each other on Monday at 7 p.m. in Missoula.

"Playing back-to-back emotionally charged matches will really prepare us for Big Sky Tournament play," Jones said. "We'll make a few adjustments and I'm sure the Griz will give us everything they have."