MISSOULA — The Montana State Bobcats kicked off Big Sky Conference play with a bang on Tuesday night as they swept rival Montana, 3-0, at Dahlberg Arena.
MSU won 25-20, 25-23 and 25-17.
Jordan Radick and Hannah Scott each led MSU with eight kills apiece while Jourdain Klein added six. Audrey Hofer and Allie Lynch each had 15 assists for the Bobcats while Lynch led MSU with eight digs. Emma Pence also tallied eight blocks for the Bobcats.
Elsa Godwin led UM with six kills and Carly Anderson tallied 24 assists for the Grizzlies. Peyten Boutwell also led Montana with four blocks.
The Bobcats raced to a 19-13 lead in the first set before UM trimmed the deficit to 22-19. A kill from Pence finished the set off in favor of the Bobcats.
The Grizzlies started fast in the second set as they grabbed a 7-3 lead. But the Bobcats responded with nine straight points to retake the lead for good, though UM did get within 22-20 before an attack error from the Grizzlies made it 2-0 in favor of MSU.
UM again started fast in the third set, jumping out to an 8-4 lead before Montana State rallied again. The Bobcats ballooned their lead to 20-13 in the final frame before a block from Radick and Klein sealed the win for MSU.
MSU improves to 5-7 overall and 1-0 in conference play while UM falls to 5-6 overall and 0-1 in the Big Sky.
