Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Montana State
'Cats suffer gut-wrenching 3-2 loss to Montana State
10/2/2010 4:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
OGDEN, Utah -- Heartbreaking doesn't quite cover it.
Literally a sniff from their first home court victory of the 2010 season, the Weber State University women's volleyball team suffered a gut-wrenching 3-2 loss (24-26, 25-17, 26-28, 25-20, 16-14) to Montana State in Big Sky Conference action on Saturday night at Swenson Gym.
The Wildcats led 14-12 in the fifth, and decisive, set against the Bobcats, needing just one point to claim the match, but it slipped through their grasp as Montana State scored four straight points to take the set.
It's Weber State's second consecutive five-set match, and third of the season overall.
Sophomore left side hitter Bethany Wray had a career-high 21 kills and 11 digs, the 11th time this season she has reached double-figures kills and her fifth double-double.
Freshman left side hitter Piper Wahlin also had a fantastic match, finishing with a career-high 12 kills and a career-high 12 digs.
Sophomore middle blocker Carissa Noble matched her career-high with 11 kills and three block assists.
Junior libero Nina Blake had a career-high 31 digs, matching the third-highest number of digs in a single match in Weber State history.
Senior setter Kim Lissinna had a season-high 52 assists, while redshirt-freshman Elli Graff had three solo blocks.
Weber State captured the first and third sets in thrilling fashion, staking out the first set 26-24 after 14 ties and six lead changes.
Montana State won the second set by eight, hitting .448 with 15 kills and just two attacks in the set.
The Wildcats again rallied to a nail-biting finish in the third set, winning 28-26 after holding set point three times.
The Bobcats claimed the fourth set by five to set up the decisive fifth set.
Montana State stormed out to a 6-1 lead in the final set, but Weber State rallied and eventually took a 9-8 lead.
After four consecutive service errors from the Bobcats and Wildcats, Weber State staked out an 11-10 lead, with Montana State tallying the next two points to go ahead 12-11.
Sophomore left side hitter Emily Jones tied the set at 12-12, and then Noble and Jones combined for a block to make it 13-12 before an MSU attack error made it 14-12.
The Bobcats gained back-to-back blocks to make it 14-14, with the final two points coming on a bad set and an attack error.
Weber State (0-5 Big Sky, 2-14 overall) will have to quickly regroup as the Wildcats are set to host Montana on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The Grizzlies are 2-2 in Big Sky play and 6-9 overall after falling 3-1 at Idaho State on Friday night.
