Weber State University Athletics
Wednesday, November 23
Ogden
7:00 p.m.
Weber State University
17-11,11-5Big Sky
2
vs
3
Montana State
14-15,9-7Big Sky
1
2
3
4
5
F
Montana St.
25
20
25
13
15
3
Weber St.
21
25
20
25
13
2
Photo by: Robert Casey
Wildcats Fall in Five to Bobcats
11/23/2022 11:07:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
OGDEN, Utah – In dramatic five-set fashion, Weber State volleyball's Big Sky Conference tournament run came to a close on Wednesday night as they fell to the Montana State Bobcats 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-13, 13-15).
It was a match of ebbs and flows from the first serve. The two sides exchanged leads all throughout the first set. MSU took a 20-17 lead on a Weber State attacking error, but the Wildcats came storming back with four-consecutive points to regain a 21-20 advantage following a big block from Baylee Bodily and Kate Standifird. The Bobcats then went on a four-point run of their own to seal the first set at 25-21.
The second set turned into the Dani Richins show. As she's done so many times throughout her career, Richins put the Wildcats on her back and had seven kills in the second set alone to anchor the Wildcat offense. The set was knotted up at 18, but the Wildcats scored on seven of the following nine points – including three kills from Richins – and Weber State evened out the match at 1-1. Richins had a double-double after just two sets with 10 kills and 11 digs.
Momentum swung back in favor of the Bobcats in the third set, however. With Weber State leading at 12-10, Montana State took the next five points to regain its edge and they wouldn't trail again. The Bobcats won the ever-important third set 25-20.
Weber State responded emphatically with the most dominant set for either team on the evening. Weber State strung together runs of three, four, and five points, respectively, while Montana State never scored more than a pair in a row. Richins once again led the way with four kills in the set, while Ashley Gneiting, Emma Mangum, and Brielle Rueckert each tallied a trio of kills, and Weber State cruised to a most impressive 25-13 set victory.
The final set of the evening was as close as it could get. Both teams had leads and were vying for fifth-set supremacy and Weber State's All-American, Richins, was quite possibly the best player on the floor in the fifth. She scored on another seven swings in the fifth set, but ultimately the Bobcats scored three consecutive points to take an 11-9 lead and they never looked back. Montana State carried the set 15-13 and outlasted the Wildcats to advance to the Big Sky semifinals on Friday.
NOTABLES
-Richins finished the evening tying her career high in total attempts (67), and was one kill short of matching her career high of 24 kills.
-Rueckert once again proved to be a reliable weapon in Jeremiah Larsen's offense and had nine kills on 13 swings for an unfathomable .615 hitting percentage.
-Standifird (47 assists, 17 digs) and Richins (23 kills, 18 digs) were the members of Wednesday's double-double club.
-Weber State featured five players who tallied double digits in digs. Richins and Standifird, to go along with Macy Sumrall (13), Makayla Sorensen (16), and Charli Bouquet (17).
-Standifird led the Wildcats with three service aces for the match.
QUOTABLES
"I'm proud of our effort. I thought we put forth a really good effort. The outcome of that match is a result of us not attacking adversity and challenges in the season in the right way. A lot of times we wanted to sidestep adversity and challenges, but reap the reward of the success and you can't do that. […] We have a lot of young kids and we're tied for second. We feel good about that. This is a good jumping off point and how we react going into the spring and the preparation going into next season will determine if we've learned from this. I'm hoping we have some form of resolve to grow or else there is no bright side. We have all the pieces, but not the attitude." – Jeremiah Larsen
SOCIAL MEDIA
Make sure to follow Weber State volleyball on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to stay up to date with everything happening with the Wildcats.
It was a match of ebbs and flows from the first serve. The two sides exchanged leads all throughout the first set. MSU took a 20-17 lead on a Weber State attacking error, but the Wildcats came storming back with four-consecutive points to regain a 21-20 advantage following a big block from Baylee Bodily and Kate Standifird. The Bobcats then went on a four-point run of their own to seal the first set at 25-21.
The second set turned into the Dani Richins show. As she's done so many times throughout her career, Richins put the Wildcats on her back and had seven kills in the second set alone to anchor the Wildcat offense. The set was knotted up at 18, but the Wildcats scored on seven of the following nine points – including three kills from Richins – and Weber State evened out the match at 1-1. Richins had a double-double after just two sets with 10 kills and 11 digs.
Momentum swung back in favor of the Bobcats in the third set, however. With Weber State leading at 12-10, Montana State took the next five points to regain its edge and they wouldn't trail again. The Bobcats won the ever-important third set 25-20.
Weber State responded emphatically with the most dominant set for either team on the evening. Weber State strung together runs of three, four, and five points, respectively, while Montana State never scored more than a pair in a row. Richins once again led the way with four kills in the set, while Ashley Gneiting, Emma Mangum, and Brielle Rueckert each tallied a trio of kills, and Weber State cruised to a most impressive 25-13 set victory.
The final set of the evening was as close as it could get. Both teams had leads and were vying for fifth-set supremacy and Weber State's All-American, Richins, was quite possibly the best player on the floor in the fifth. She scored on another seven swings in the fifth set, but ultimately the Bobcats scored three consecutive points to take an 11-9 lead and they never looked back. Montana State carried the set 15-13 and outlasted the Wildcats to advance to the Big Sky semifinals on Friday.
NOTABLES
-Richins finished the evening tying her career high in total attempts (67), and was one kill short of matching her career high of 24 kills.
-Rueckert once again proved to be a reliable weapon in Jeremiah Larsen's offense and had nine kills on 13 swings for an unfathomable .615 hitting percentage.
-Standifird (47 assists, 17 digs) and Richins (23 kills, 18 digs) were the members of Wednesday's double-double club.
-Weber State featured five players who tallied double digits in digs. Richins and Standifird, to go along with Macy Sumrall (13), Makayla Sorensen (16), and Charli Bouquet (17).
-Standifird led the Wildcats with three service aces for the match.
QUOTABLES
"I'm proud of our effort. I thought we put forth a really good effort. The outcome of that match is a result of us not attacking adversity and challenges in the season in the right way. A lot of times we wanted to sidestep adversity and challenges, but reap the reward of the success and you can't do that. […] We have a lot of young kids and we're tied for second. We feel good about that. This is a good jumping off point and how we react going into the spring and the preparation going into next season will determine if we've learned from this. I'm hoping we have some form of resolve to grow or else there is no bright side. We have all the pieces, but not the attitude." – Jeremiah Larsen
SOCIAL MEDIA
Make sure to follow Weber State volleyball on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to stay up to date with everything happening with the Wildcats.
Team Stats
MSU
Weber
Kills
57
58
Errors
24
21
Attempts
180
173
Hitting %
.183
.214
Points
71
71
Assists
55
52
Aces
6
5
Blocks
8
8
Game Leaders
Kills
23
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballL/OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
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