MISSOULA, Mont.—It was a special night for Idaho libero Jenna Ellis inside Montana's West Auxiliary Gym on Thursday. The senior entered the match 11 digs shy of breaking the Idaho school-record. She totaled 18 digs, passing Meghan Brown's previous record of 1,420 (2002-05) in the Vandals' 3-2 win over the Grizzlies.

“I am super proud of her [Ellis],” head coach Debbie Buchanan said following the match. “She did a great job for us tonight at the service line, really getting Montana out of system. She finished with 18 digs to break the record. It was a huge match for her.”

Idaho improves to 4-3 in the Big Sky and 7-12 overall. Thursday's win marks the first time in program history that Idaho has won three consecutive 3-2 decisions.

“It was amazing to have those two [3-2] wins last week,” Buchanan commented. “Going into game five we knew we have more experience in winning these [five-set matches]. Let's go out there and get control early and we did that.”

Becca Mau and Sarah Sharp led the Vandals with 18 kills apiece. Sharp recorded season-highs in kills and blocks with six. Tineke Bierma totaled nine kills, while freshman Laine Waters had a season-high seven kills, finishing errorless on the night with a season-best .700 hitting percentage. She also added a team-high seven blocks. Redshirt freshman Kaela Straw recorded five kills and a .556 hitting percentage over the final two sets of the night.

“[Idaho's depth] is one of the benefits of our team right now,” Buchanan added. “We have some pin hitters that we can call to. Tonight was better for Becca. Sarah came in and did a great job. Kaela did a great job creating some offense for us off the bench. We can do some different things that allows us to give teams different looks.”

Montana (4-15, 0-7) played stronger than its record indicates. The Griz outhit the Vandals for most of the match, recording more kills than Idaho in three sets. Montana was more accurate than Idaho in the first set with a .235 attack percentage to Idaho's .174. Despite the adversity Idaho took the set, 25-22, with the help of Mau's five kills.  

The Grizzlies took the second set by an identical 25-22 score to tie the match. Once again Montana outhit Idaho, .419 to .333. Idaho held a 15-14 lead midway through the frame but Montana used a 3-0 run to claim a 17-15 lead. Idaho got to within two at 24-22, before Silerolia Gaogao closed out the set for Montana.

“Montana was doing some great things with its middles,” Buchanan explained. “When we had stretches of greatness they had a hard time stopping us. It was a pretty even match. I thought it was the best Montana has played. It was a battle back and forth.”

UM used a 7-0 run to shift the third set. Idaho held an 11-9 lead, by closed of the run the Grizzlies had a five-point advantage, 16-11. The Silver and Gold fought back and tied the match at 20. Montana was the first to get to set point, 24-22. Idaho tied the set at 24 and again at 25 with and ace from Meredith Coba and a kill from Mau. Gaogao put the Griz up again for good to close the set.

The Vandal offense turned it up a notch midway through the fourth set. Montana got out to a 12-10 lead when Idaho raced to a 15-13 lead. Two quick 2-0 runs put Idaho up 20-16. A solo block from Waters pushed Idaho to set-point at 24-18. The Griz fended off four set-points, when a UM attack error gave Idaho the set, 25-22.

Idaho jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the fifth, forcing Montana into a timeout. The Griz used a 4-0 swing to take an 11-9 lead. Three kills from Straw helped Idaho tie the match at 13. An attack error and Sharp kill proved to be the winning combination for Idaho. Five different Vandals recorded kills in the final game, led by Straw and her four kills. She hit .667 in six swings, helping the team hit .375 for the frame.

As a team Idaho combined for 69 kills, tying a season high. Idaho's 65 assists marked the third best total of the season. Coba finished with 32 assists to end the night. Her freshman counterpart, Natalie Jensen, added a season-high 32 assists. 

The Vandals continue in Montana on Saturday, facing off with Montana State in Bozeman. The Bobcats lost, 3-1, to Eastern Washington on Thursday. First serve is set for 6 p.m. PT.