Box score/play-by-play

University of Montana sophomore Brittany Quick had nine kills on .389 hitting and added a team-high four blocks, but Big Sky Conference co-leader Portland State hit .296 on its way to a 3-0 victory over the Grizzlies Friday night at the West Auxiliary Gym, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22. The loss was the second straight for Montana, which dropped to 9-12 overall and back to .500 in Big Sky play at 5-5.

The loss was only Montana’s second 3-0 defeat of the season. Both sweeps have come at the hands of the Vikings, who won their fourth straight to improve to 15-7. Portland State remained in a first-place tie atop the Big Sky standings with Eastern Washington at 9-2.

The Eagles, who play at Montana Saturday night, were 3-0 winners at Montana State Friday, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22.

The balanced and powerfully effective Vikings got 12 kills each from senior outside hitter Marija Vojnovic and junior outside hitter Whitney Phillips and a combined 15 kills on .714 hitting from senior setter Nique Fradella and junior middle blocker Christie Hamilton.

Senior middle blocker Erica Jepsen finished with a match-high seven blocks.

“I’m not discouraged at all by this match,” UM coach Jerry Wagner said. “We got beat 3-0 tonight, but we played pretty well offensively. Our hitting percentage (of .160) doesn’t really reflect that. We weren’t rewarded as often as we normally would be.

“Portland State played consistently well on the road. What makes them solid is they have two really exceptional left-side hitters and are balanced at every position.

“I knew it would come down to whether we could match them offensively. You can probably give up one three-point run and still be right there in the match. They just had theirs at the right time.”

Montana had its best hitting set of the night in the opener, finishing at .171, but the Vikings used a pair of 3-0 runs to turn a 10-9 lead into a 17-12 advantage. PSU hit a match-high .300 in the opener.

The Grizzlies never had the lead in the second set but managed to rally back from an early five-point deficit to tie the set at 19.

Portland State used one of its well-timed runs to score four straight points, two of the points coming on Phillips kills, to go up 23-19.

Quick would bring Montana within one, 24-23, but after a Portland State timeout, Fradella closed out the set with a kill.

The Grizzlies grabbed their first lead of the match early in the third set and had a 17-15 lead after a Phillips attack error.

The short runs Wagner referenced following the match proved to be the difference for the Vikings.

Four straight PSU points put the Vikings up 19-17 and forced a Montana timeout.

The Grizzlies came back with their own 3-0 run, the result of a Quick kill and a block assist by Quick and redshirt freshman Paige Branstiter, to go up 20-19.

Portland State answered that with the decisive 4-0 run, punctuated by back-to-back kills by Vojnovic to take a 23-20 lead.

Thibeault led Montana with 10 kills on .381 hitting, senior setter Taryn Wright finished with 31 assists and a pair of service aces.

Junior libero Brittney Brown was spectacular in the backcourt for the Grizzlies, digging a match-high 19 balls, many coming from the hard-hitting Phillips’ 43 attacks.

The Grizzlies and Eagles start at 7 p.m. tomorrow night at the West Auxiliary Gym.