Thursday, August 19
BOZEMAN
7 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
TCU
Hannah Scott hammers a ball on Thursday
Photo by: Jack Murrey
TCU Hops Past Montana State 3-0 in Season-Opening Volleyball Exhibition in Shroyer Gym
8/19/2021 9:48:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
More than 1,000 fans cheered the Bobcats on Thursday
BOZEMAN, Montana – Daniel Jones had a lot to evaluate during his Montana State volleyball team's season-opening exhibition match in Shroyer Gym on Thursday, when TCU beat the Bobcats 3-0, but one strong positive stood out.
"Anyone I put on the court can do a job for me," Jones said after his team's 25-15, 25-19, 26-24 loss, "that's one of my first takeaways. We mixed the lineups up a lot, and they have confidence in their own abilities and in each other that they can go out there with a mixed lineup and get the job done."
Montana State's first match against non-Big Sky competition since 2019 featured many individual positives. Outside hitters Hannah Scott, a senior, and sophomore Kira Thomsen led the Bobcats with nine kills each. Sophomore middle blockers Emma Pence (five kills) and Kaycee O'Dell (six kills) each hit .500 to pace MSU, which hit .190 as a team to TCU's .295. Senior Allie Lynch recorded 18 assists to lead the Bobcats, while Delaney Shearan posted nine and Audrey Hofer four. Libby Christensen registered a team-high 10 digs.
Julia Adams logged 14 kills and Taylor Raiola 13 to lead the Horned Frogs. McKenzie Nichols dished out 37 assists, and Dani Dennison 11 digs.
Scott, one of four Bobcat seniors – with Emma West, Christensen, and Lynch – impressed with both her hitting and leadership, Jones said. "She's got a fire in her belly, she knows she's got a second shot at her senior year with the Covid exception, and she wants to lead. She wants to lead with her actions as well as her words and she's going out and doing it, so it's pretty fun," Jones said.
Jones said TCU's experience on the road and in hostile environments served it well in Thursday's exhibition. "I think when you get a Big 12 program, they're used to being in the most challenging circumstances you can imagine," he said. "So coming to Montana, playing Montana State, was probably within their comfort zone, so they went out and played with a swag and strut, and to see us give them everything they could handle in that third set was very satisfying. They're a Big 12 program, they face the best teams in the country on a weekly basis, so it's a different thing."
TCU took control of the first set with a pair of five-point runs, while MSU never scored more than two in a row. The second set saw a similar scoring run, when the Horned Frogs broke up a 6-6 tie by outscoring MSU 6-1 to take a 12-7 lead, the finished the match with scoring runs of four and three consecutive points. Jones said part of that arose from experimentation. "That was slightly to do with the lineups I put out there," he said, "changing things and challenging our athletes to step up in those moments."
Jones played three setters, including freshman Hofer. "I think Delaney and Allie have a slight advantage having a lot of experience," he said. "I think Audrey is extremely talented. The thing we have to remember is that this is the first time our underclass group, the sophomores and freshmen, have ever played in front of a crowd so there are going to be some moments where their nerves get the better of them. I think that's where Allie and Delaney have a slight advantage because they've done it before, but Audrey's good. I have confidence in any of the three of them to go out and get it done."
A crowd of 1,014 packed Shroyer Gym on Thursday, the first full-capacity on-campus sporting event for a Bobcat team since the spring of 2019. Jones was thrilled with the turnout. "It was awesome," he said. "Oh man, there's nothing better than a packed out Shroyer, and to have 1,100 people in here on a Thursday night for an exhibition game was great. It's exciting to have people back on campus, it's exciting to engage with the community again, and as I watch kids playing here on the court (after the match) I get chills, because this is how it should be."
In all, Jones considered the match a success. "I couldn't be more proud of the effort from the girls," he said. "I felt like the first two sets we were a little slow to get going, but when we got our afterburners on late in the second set you could see what we can do."
#GoCatsGo
"Anyone I put on the court can do a job for me," Jones said after his team's 25-15, 25-19, 26-24 loss, "that's one of my first takeaways. We mixed the lineups up a lot, and they have confidence in their own abilities and in each other that they can go out there with a mixed lineup and get the job done."
Montana State's first match against non-Big Sky competition since 2019 featured many individual positives. Outside hitters Hannah Scott, a senior, and sophomore Kira Thomsen led the Bobcats with nine kills each. Sophomore middle blockers Emma Pence (five kills) and Kaycee O'Dell (six kills) each hit .500 to pace MSU, which hit .190 as a team to TCU's .295. Senior Allie Lynch recorded 18 assists to lead the Bobcats, while Delaney Shearan posted nine and Audrey Hofer four. Libby Christensen registered a team-high 10 digs.
Julia Adams logged 14 kills and Taylor Raiola 13 to lead the Horned Frogs. McKenzie Nichols dished out 37 assists, and Dani Dennison 11 digs.
Scott, one of four Bobcat seniors – with Emma West, Christensen, and Lynch – impressed with both her hitting and leadership, Jones said. "She's got a fire in her belly, she knows she's got a second shot at her senior year with the Covid exception, and she wants to lead. She wants to lead with her actions as well as her words and she's going out and doing it, so it's pretty fun," Jones said.
Jones said TCU's experience on the road and in hostile environments served it well in Thursday's exhibition. "I think when you get a Big 12 program, they're used to being in the most challenging circumstances you can imagine," he said. "So coming to Montana, playing Montana State, was probably within their comfort zone, so they went out and played with a swag and strut, and to see us give them everything they could handle in that third set was very satisfying. They're a Big 12 program, they face the best teams in the country on a weekly basis, so it's a different thing."
TCU took control of the first set with a pair of five-point runs, while MSU never scored more than two in a row. The second set saw a similar scoring run, when the Horned Frogs broke up a 6-6 tie by outscoring MSU 6-1 to take a 12-7 lead, the finished the match with scoring runs of four and three consecutive points. Jones said part of that arose from experimentation. "That was slightly to do with the lineups I put out there," he said, "changing things and challenging our athletes to step up in those moments."
Jones played three setters, including freshman Hofer. "I think Delaney and Allie have a slight advantage having a lot of experience," he said. "I think Audrey is extremely talented. The thing we have to remember is that this is the first time our underclass group, the sophomores and freshmen, have ever played in front of a crowd so there are going to be some moments where their nerves get the better of them. I think that's where Allie and Delaney have a slight advantage because they've done it before, but Audrey's good. I have confidence in any of the three of them to go out and get it done."
A crowd of 1,014 packed Shroyer Gym on Thursday, the first full-capacity on-campus sporting event for a Bobcat team since the spring of 2019. Jones was thrilled with the turnout. "It was awesome," he said. "Oh man, there's nothing better than a packed out Shroyer, and to have 1,100 people in here on a Thursday night for an exhibition game was great. It's exciting to have people back on campus, it's exciting to engage with the community again, and as I watch kids playing here on the court (after the match) I get chills, because this is how it should be."
In all, Jones considered the match a success. "I couldn't be more proud of the effort from the girls," he said. "I felt like the first two sets we were a little slow to get going, but when we got our afterburners on late in the second set you could see what we can do."
#GoCatsGo
Players Mentioned
L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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