Box Score MISSOULA, Montana – The University of Idaho Volleyball team fell to Montana, in the first game of the series on Sunday afternoon, 3-2. The Vandals (4,5,2-3) fell behind to the Griz (2-9,2-9) 2-1 in the match before tying the match up 2-2- in a thrilling fourth set, forcing a tie-breaking fifth set. The comeback bid fell short for the Vandals in the fifth, falling 16-14, and 3-2 in the match.
Kennedy Warren led the Vandals with 13 kills in the match. She also had three total blocks.
Peyten Ely totaled 23 assists and Donne'e Janzen had 15.
Alaina Lacey had a team-high 17 digs while Warren chipped in 14 and both Janzen and Ely had 10.
Nikki Ball had a team-high nine total blocks, including two solo. She also had 10 kills and hit .500 in the match. Lacey tied her career-high with a team-leading four service aces.
To open the contest Montana took control early and won the first set, 25-11, taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Vandals responded in the second set, flipping the script. The Vandals registered four service aces in the set and also had five total blocks. Lacey had three aces in the set. After hitting negative in the first set the Vandals bounced back, hitting .190 in the second. The Lady Griz hit just -.172 in the set. Idaho tied up the match 1-1, winning the set 25-11.
The back-and-forth match continued in the third set and Montana gained control early, jumping out to a 9-2 lead. The Vandals battled their way out of the seven-point hole but were unable to take the lead from the Lady Griz, falling 25-18 in the third. Montana hit .333 in the set while Idaho hit just .114. The Vandals didn't register any blocks in the set.
In the fourth Montana once again jumped out to an early lead, 7-1. A kill from
Kennedy Warren cut the lead to four, 11-15, but the Lady Griz extended their lead to six, 19-13. Idaho used an 8-2 run, cutting the lead to one, 20-19. A Warren kill once again cut the lead to two, 22-20 and back-to-back errors for the Griz evened the match up at 22 apiece. Down 24-23, Warren once again provided a clutch kill for the Vandals, tying the match up at 24. The Griz committed back-to-back errors in the final points, resulting in a 26-24 Idaho win, forcing a fifth set. Idaho hit .244 in the set.
After back-and-forth scoring to begin the tie-breaking fifth set, the Griz took an 8-5 lead. Montana extended their advantage to 12-8 before a kill from
Nikki Ball and a service ace from
Peyten Ely cut the lead to 12-10. The Vandals battled back, tying the set 14-14, but the Griz closed out the win, 16-14, scoring the final two points and taking the match victory, 3-2. Neither side hit well in the final set, but a 5-3 blocking advantage gave the Griz an edge.
Montana edged the Vandals in kills, 54-44, hitting .130, compared to just .083 for the Vandals.
The Griz held a narrow advantage in total blocks, 14-12. Both sides tied with 18 block assists each, but Montana had five solo blocks while Idaho had just three.
Idaho held the advantage in serving with eight service aces but also committed eight service errors. Montana had just four service aces and six errors.
UP NEXT: Idaho will take on the Lady Griz again tomorrow at 6 p.m.
