MISSOULA, Mont. -- Sacramento State won the first set, and held a 20-15 lead in the second set, but Montana bounced back and eventually defeated the Hornets, 3-2 (20-25, 26-24, 25-17, 16-25, 15-10) on Thursday afternoon at Dahlberg Arena.
After never trailing the entire first set and cruising to an easy win, Sacramento State looked to have things under control after taking a five-point lead (20-15) late in the second frame. However, two video replay reviews went against Sacramento State and the Hornets committed four attack errors while allowing Montana to rip off an 8-0 run to take a 23-20 lead.
The Hornets would eventually save three set points to get within, 24-24, but a service error followed by another attack error gave Montana the set. Each of the remaining three sets were each decided by at least five points. And despite having three more kills than Montana (9-6) in the fifth set, the Hornets were done in by three Montana aces, and three Grizzly blocks in the frame. Montana used a 6-1 run to break a 4-4 tie and take a 10-5 lead.
The Hornets (16-10, 9-4) saw their four-match winning streak snapped. With three matches left in the regular season, Sacramento State dropped into a tie for third in the conference standings - two games behind first-place Northern Colorado (11-2). Sacramento State will need to win its final three matches and get a lot of help from other teams if it wants to repeat as Big Sky regular season champs.
Sacramento State had 10 more kills than Montana (64-54), but the Grizzlies had 12 aces (tied for second most against the Hornets this season) and 10 team blocks. Many of those aces came at crucial times in the match, especially the fifth set when a Grizzly ace secured points at 2-2, 13-9, and 14-9.
The Hornets received 22 kills from
Bridgette Smith (one shy of her season high) as well as 15 digs. The senior outside hitter also had three aces, moving her season total to 62, which ties the Sacramento State Div. I-era single-season record.
Caitlin Volkmann had 16 kills, eight digs and three blocks,
Ellie Tisko 10 kills and a .333 hitting percentage, and
Skyler Gartin six kills, three blocks and a .455 hitting percentage.
For Tisko, it marked her sixth straight match of hitting above .300.
Ashlynn Archer added six kills and three blocks, and setter
Kate Doorn two kills, 29 assists, three aces and nine digs.
Sacramento State is 2-1 on its current four-match road trip, and concludes the long roadie on Saturday at Montana State at 6 p.m. PT. That match will mark the team's final regular season road game. The Hornets conclude the regular season with a pair of home matches (Nov. 21, Nov. 23), before hosting the Big Sky Tournament during Thanksgiving Week (Nov. 27-29).
