Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Montana
Wildcat volleyball wins 5-set thriller at Montana
9/29/2012 4:04:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
MISSOULA, Mont. - The Wildcats found a return to the road to be just the needed tonic.
Junior outside hitter Piper Wahlin had a career-high 18 kills and hit .255 with nine digs to lead the Weber State University women's volleyball team to a nail-biting 25-27, 25-16, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13 victory over the University of Montana on Friday night at West Auxiliary Gym.
Sophomore outside hitter Audrey Biggs added 12 kills, hitting a sizzling .500, including the final two of the match as Weber State broke a 13-13 tie in the fifth set to capture the win.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Rebecca Fuchs had 13 kills and five digs, while junior middle blocker Briana Wilms had a season-high eight blocks and seven kills. Senior middle blocker Dama Cox had seven kills, seven blocks and a career high-tying four service aces, and redshirt freshman middle blocker Audrey Gee added seven blocks, including two solo.
Senior setter Caitlin Penrod had 53 assists, her second highest mark of the season, and a career-high 16 digs while hitting .500 (5-0-10) with three service aces.
Senior libero Laurel Bodily had 18 digs, and junior defensive specialist McKay Tarbox had a career high 10 digs.
As a team, Weber State had season highs in kills (64), assists (63) and digs (68), and tied a season-high with 15 team blocks.
Montana (1-4 Big Sky, 3-11 overall) charged out to a 17-10 lead in the first set, but Weber State battled back to tie things at 25-25 before the Grizzlies scored the final two points.
After trading points early in the second and third sets, Weber State pulled away both times to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Montana rallied in the fourth to tie the match at two sets each, sending it to the decisive fifth set.
The fifth set was razor close with seven ties and two lead changes.
After trailing early, Montana built a 9-7 advantage, but Weber State rallied with a five straight points to make it 12-9. Penrod scored the final two points on the surge on service aces.
The Grizzlies made a rally of their own to make it 13-13 and forcing the Wildcats to call a timeout.
Coming out of the quick breather, Biggs hit back-to-back kills to seal the win.
Weber State (1-4 Big Sky, 7-9 overall) will be back in action on Saturday night against Montana State in Bozeman, Mont. The Bobcats are coming off their own nail-biting five-set win as they edged league-leading Idaho State 15-11 in the fifth set on Friday night at Shroyer Gym.
