Friday, August 27
Boise, ID
10 a.m.
Montana State University
0-1,0-0Big Sky
2
vs
3
Long Beach State
1-0,0-0Big West
1
2
3
4
5
F
Montana St.
25
28
22
18
13
2
Long Beach St.
23
26
25
25
15
3
Kira Thomsen celebrates a point against Long Beach State on Friday morning.
Photo by: Jack Murrey
Cats Drop Season Opener
8/27/2021 2:56:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Montana State had Long Beach State on the ropes early, but the 49ers rallied with a 23-25, 26-28, 25-22, 25-18, 15-13 decision over the Bobcats in the season opener for both squads in the first match of the Boise State Invitational, Friday morning in Bronco Gym.
Montana State had Long Beach State on the ropes early, but the 49ers rallied with a 23-25, 26-28, 25-22, 25-18, 15-13 decision over the Bobcats in the season opener for both squads in the first match of the Boise State Invitational, Friday morning in Bronco Gym.
Montana State (0-1) jumped out early in the opening set and never relinquished the lead taking a 1-0 advantage on a Kira Thomsen kill. Thomsen, a product of Parker, Colo., recorded six kills in the first frame, while sophomore Avery Turnage added five. The Bobcats opened the contest hitting .306 from the field.
The second game featured nine ties and three lead changes. The Bobcats held a 24-21 advantage following a Long Beach State (1-0) hitting miscue. The 49ers fought off three set points with a 4-0 run taking its own set point at 25-24. Both teams then traded points, before MSU broke away at 26-all on a Thomsen kill and a Turnage service ace to go up 2-0.
"I thought we matched up very nicely with them," said MSU fifth-year head coach Daniel Jones. "Long Beach State is a very good team, and we went toe-to-toe with them. It was a meaningful match for them as they hadn't played in two years. Our win in set two was a point of pride.
"In our first few matches, the goal is to learn about ourselves," Jones added. "We'll use this as a learning tool and move onto the next match."
Long Beach State stormed out to a 16-8 advantage in the third set, before the Bobcats responded with a 7-1 run, pulling to within 17-15 following an Emma Pence kill. MSU closed the margin to 21-20 heading down the stretch on a block by Jourdain Klein and Kaycee O'Dell, but the 49ers closed out the set on a 4-2 run.
The fourth stanza also belonged to Long Beach State as the 49ers outhit MSU .483 to .114 setting up a fifth and deciding frame.
MSU rallied to open the final set taking a 5-4 lead on a LBS service error. The 49ers responded with a 7-1 run taking an 11-6 advantage following a kill via Erykah Lovett. Trailing 11-8, Bobcat sophomore Delaney Shearan went to the service line, beginning a stretch of four consecutive points capped by a LBS hitting error and giving MSU a 12-11 lead. With the set even at 13-all, the 49ers received a kill by Kashauna Williams followed by a Lovett ace to complete the come-from-behind victory.
"We have to learn to sustain and maintain our effort," Jones said. "This was too much of a roller-coaster. We need to be able to take care of the easy balls and steal the hard ones. It was a heartbreaking loss, but we'll learn and move forward."
Thomsen paced MSU with 15 kills and a .250 attack mark, while Turnage and Hannah Scott added ten kills, apiece. Shearan and Allie Lynch dished out 26 and 19 assists, respectively, as MSU finished hitting .188 from the field.
Defensively, libero Libby Christensen racked up 17 digs, while Thomsen (13) and Scott (11) also reached double-figures. Pence and Klein paced MSU at the net with seven and five blocks, respectively.
Long Beach State was led by Williams with 25 kills and Lovett 18.
MSU faces Dixie State this evening at 5:30 p.m.
Montana State (0-1) jumped out early in the opening set and never relinquished the lead taking a 1-0 advantage on a Kira Thomsen kill. Thomsen, a product of Parker, Colo., recorded six kills in the first frame, while sophomore Avery Turnage added five. The Bobcats opened the contest hitting .306 from the field.
The second game featured nine ties and three lead changes. The Bobcats held a 24-21 advantage following a Long Beach State (1-0) hitting miscue. The 49ers fought off three set points with a 4-0 run taking its own set point at 25-24. Both teams then traded points, before MSU broke away at 26-all on a Thomsen kill and a Turnage service ace to go up 2-0.
"I thought we matched up very nicely with them," said MSU fifth-year head coach Daniel Jones. "Long Beach State is a very good team, and we went toe-to-toe with them. It was a meaningful match for them as they hadn't played in two years. Our win in set two was a point of pride.
"In our first few matches, the goal is to learn about ourselves," Jones added. "We'll use this as a learning tool and move onto the next match."
Long Beach State stormed out to a 16-8 advantage in the third set, before the Bobcats responded with a 7-1 run, pulling to within 17-15 following an Emma Pence kill. MSU closed the margin to 21-20 heading down the stretch on a block by Jourdain Klein and Kaycee O'Dell, but the 49ers closed out the set on a 4-2 run.
The fourth stanza also belonged to Long Beach State as the 49ers outhit MSU .483 to .114 setting up a fifth and deciding frame.
MSU rallied to open the final set taking a 5-4 lead on a LBS service error. The 49ers responded with a 7-1 run taking an 11-6 advantage following a kill via Erykah Lovett. Trailing 11-8, Bobcat sophomore Delaney Shearan went to the service line, beginning a stretch of four consecutive points capped by a LBS hitting error and giving MSU a 12-11 lead. With the set even at 13-all, the 49ers received a kill by Kashauna Williams followed by a Lovett ace to complete the come-from-behind victory.
"We have to learn to sustain and maintain our effort," Jones said. "This was too much of a roller-coaster. We need to be able to take care of the easy balls and steal the hard ones. It was a heartbreaking loss, but we'll learn and move forward."
Thomsen paced MSU with 15 kills and a .250 attack mark, while Turnage and Hannah Scott added ten kills, apiece. Shearan and Allie Lynch dished out 26 and 19 assists, respectively, as MSU finished hitting .188 from the field.
Defensively, libero Libby Christensen racked up 17 digs, while Thomsen (13) and Scott (11) also reached double-figures. Pence and Klein paced MSU at the net with seven and five blocks, respectively.
Long Beach State was led by Williams with 25 kills and Lovett 18.
MSU faces Dixie State this evening at 5:30 p.m.
Team Stats
MSU
LBSU
Kills
51
69
Errors
22
24
Attempts
154
167
Hitting %
.188
.269
Points
65
85
Assists
48
65
Aces
5
8
Blocks
9
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB/OH
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